The 12th Annual IMMC 2026 Greater China Final Presentation Competition held successfully at the HKU

With HKSIAM as one of co-organizers, a thrilling and intellectually charged mathematical modeling feast — the 12th Annual International Mathematical Modeling Challenge (IMMC 2026) Greater China Final Presentation Competition — was successfully held on April 24 and 25, 2026, at The University of Hong Kong (HKU).

Professor YIN Xiaobo, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Chair Prof. of Sustainability Technology, Faculty of Engineering at HKU, Mr. CHAN Siu Chuen, Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Mathematics) of the Hong Kong SAR Government Education Bureau, Professor Frederick LEUNG, Chairman of IMMC Greater China and Grand Jury of IMMC 2026 Greater China officiated the opening ceremony together with distinguished guests.

At the opening ceremony, Professor YIN Xiaobo, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Chair Prof. of Sustainability Technology, Faculty of Engineering at HKU; Mr. CHAN Siu Chuen, Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Mathematics) of the Hong Kong SAR Government Education Bureau; Professor Frederick LEUNG, Chairman of Chairman of IMMC Greater China; along with distinguished guests and the Grand Jury, jointly officiated the event, marking the official start of this grand gathering.

https://youtu.be/QW8nea7w-8k?si=VKcMF_PN6sZObyU5

Reaching this final was no easy feat! This year, over 1,400 teams from across the Greater China region (Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan) bravely participated, undergoing the rigorous challenges of the Autumn, Winter, and International rounds. After multiple rounds of strict paper reviews, 51 elite teams stood out to advance to the final presentation, representing the highest level of participation this year.

Finalist Teams, Jury Experts and Distinguished Guests at the IMMC 2026 Final Presentation Competition Opening Ceremony on 24 April 2026 at HKU

The host organization, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Hong Kong, founded in 1912, is not only one of the founding faculties of HKU, Hong Kong's oldest tertiary institution, but also a leading engineering school in Asia and the cradle of Hong Kong’s first astronaut of national manned space engineering. Over the years, the Faculty has kept pace with developments in the engineering world and has always been at the forefront of engineering research. The Faculty has evolved into one of the largest Faculties in the University with four departments and two schools providing undergraduate postgraduate and research degrees in a wide range of important fields of modern engineering, technology and computer science. Guided by its vision to provide technological solutions to global challenges and nurture future leaders, the Faculty fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and international partnerships to drive societal impact, sustainability, and prosperity. Its strong alumni network contributes significantly to Hong Kong, China and the world. 

In his welcome address, Professor YIN Xiaobo encouraged the students from an engineering education perspective: The challenges you are tackling through IMMC are not only academic exercises; they are the beginning point of how you are able to tackle those great challenges for the entire world and to the whole humanity. It reflects the real world problems that demands creativity, rigor, modeling, and interdisciplinary thinking. He added humorously and warmly, "No matter you aspire to be future engineering innovators, or you want to dive deeper into science, or say, 'I just want to be a pure mathematician,' HKU is your best home for all of you." He further noted, "Mathematical modeling has long been the heart of engineering and science. Now we see our world being digitized and driven by data. Mathematical modeling enhances our decision-making efficiency and is truly changing our life."

Professor YIN Xiaobo, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Global), Chair Prof. of Sustainability Technology, Faculty of Engineering at HKU delivered opening speech

Mr. CHAN Siu Chuen praised IMMC as a distinguished platform: IMMC integrates engaging and interdisciplinary themes, fostering students' mathematical thinking, critical thinking, and creativity. Through active participation, students are inspired to explore innovative uses of mathematics to expand knowledge boundaries and build a better world. He added, "The Hong Kong Education Bureau is actively promoting mathematical modeling through teacher training programs and student activities, aiming to integrate it into classroom teaching, thereby enhancing students' ability to investigate and solve real problems through a mathematical lens."

Mr. Siu Chuen CHAN, Chief Curriculum Development Officer (Mathematics), Education Bureau, the Government of HKSAR, delivered opening remarks

Professor Frederick LEUNG shared his insights on mathematical modeling: "Mathematical modeling is a way of thinking and an attitude. Making assumptions, systematic thinking, critical thinking, logical reasoning, and making judgments — these are the essence of mathematical modeling." He encouraged participants not to fixate on final results: "The most important thing is that you have gone through the modeling process, sharpened your thinking, and consequently become more mature human beings who can better understand the world." He emphasized that mathematical modeling is not just about solving problems but also about helping ourselves become critical thinkers who can make independent judgments.

Professor Frederick LEUNG, Chairman of IMMC Greater China delivered commentary speech

Mr. Steven DENG, Business Development Manager of IEEE China, congratulated all finalists, saying, "Through IMMC, you have also learned teamwork and leadership. This is exactly the IEEE stand for — the spirit of engineering and IEEE’s mission- advancing technology for humanity. We hopes to see more young people like you discover the beauty of mathematics, the beauty of engineering, and the beauty of working together as a team."

Mr. Steven DENG, Business Development Manager of IEEE China delivered opening remarks

Following two days of intense live final presentation sessions and jury reviews, 27 teams, including Beicai Senior High School Affiliated to Shanghai Maritime University, Escola Sun Wah, Pui Kiu Middle School, Taipei Municipal Yongchun Senior High School, among other schools, received the IMMC 2026 Greater China Outstanding Award, of which 14 teams in Regional Contest, and 13 International one. The team including Shanghai Hongkou Experimental School and other Junior High teams won the Outstanding Award for the Junior High School category of IMMC 2026 Greater China. In recognition of the innovation and uniqueness in modeling, algorithms, and application of computational tools, the teams of Shanghai Hongkou Experimental School, St. Paul's Co-educational College, and Pui Ching Middle School, Macau, received the Baltamatica Star award in the Regional Round contest, while and Li-Chih Valuable School, Kaohsiung, the International Round contest.

The team from Pui Kiu Middle School reported their solution on Save money, save the earth, Problem E of IMMC 2026 Greater China, 24 April 2026 at HKU

The team from Guangzhou No.7 Middle School reported their solution on Protecting Wildlife at Scale, International Problem of IMMC 2026 Greater China, 25 April 2026 at HKU

Parallel to the competition, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Hong Kong arranged a variety of enriching campus tours and visits to teaching and research facilities, as well as workshops for participating teachers and students, including visits to the Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing and the Advanced Technology Institute at Cyberport, as well as engaging mathematical modeling workshops, leaving everyone with a rewarding experience.

A variety of interdisciplinary activities including laboratory visits and workshops were arranged for IMMC students and teachers to explore sciences and their recent topics and applications at HKU -Visit Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing, HKU

In addition to the Competition, participating students and teachers attended Mathematical Modeling Workshop

A variety of interdisciplinary activities including laboratory visits and workshops were arranged for IMMC students and teachers to explore sciences and their recent topics and applications at HKU-visit the Advanced Technology Institute at Cyberport

IMMC 2026 Problem Topics continued to reflect STEM education’s emphasis on interdisciplinary integration (mathematics with science, technology and engineering) and the application of mathematics to social, economy, and daily life. Topics of this year included:

• New Constellations (Problem A – Autumn);

• Are solar panel trackers useful? (Problem B – Autumn);

• Optimized lighting design for a museum exhibition hall (Problem C – Junior High School only – Autumn)

• Friday the 13th (Problem D – Winter)

• Save money, save the earth (Problem E – Winter)

• Halteres: Ancient Greek biohacking in modern school (Problem F – Junior High School only  – Winter); and

• International Problem: Protecting Wildlife at Scale

It is worth noting that the IMMC Greater China Contest serves both as an independent regional competition and a mechanism for promotion to the IMMC International Contest. The 8 papers of IMMC International Contest in Greater China, are recommended by the IMMC Committee-Zhonghua and Grand Jury for the Global Judgment by the International Expert Panel to compete for the global awards with the best teams from approximately 40 registered countries or areas.

Finally, special thanks go to the Grand Jury of IMMC 2026 Greater China Final Presentation Competition (in alphabetical order by surname):

• Chairman:

  Professor Yang WANG – Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) and Chair Professor of Mathematics, Computing and Data Science, Faculty of Science, The University of Hong Kong

• Members:

  Assoc. Prof. Chia-Chieh Jay CHU, Tsing Hua University, Taiwan

  Prof. Daihai HE, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  Prof. Canbing LI, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

  Assist. Prof. Wei-Jie LIANG, Pingtung University, Taiwan

  Prof. Liqiang LU, Fudan University

  Assoc. Prof. V. Brian VIARD, Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business

  Assoc. Prof. Yunfeng WU, Xiamen University

Based on the expert panel's paper review and the Grand Jury's Final Presentation evaluation, all successful teams in the Chinese region were awarded various prizes, including the Outstanding, Finalist, Meritorious, Honorable Mention and Successful Participant award. All winning teams can visit the official website of IMMC Greater China  www.immchallenge.org.hk to download their respective award certificates. The press release and the list the Outstanding, Finalist and Meritorious winners are published in the "News" column of the official website of IMMC Greater China.