About the Competition

The Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition is jointly organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, the Alibaba Philanthropy, and Alibaba DAMO Academy. Its aim is to provide a platform for global math enthusiasts to engage in competition, training and communication.

Given the growing importance of fundamental science in society, we seek to showcase the elegance of mathematics through this online competition, encouraging more individuals to delve deeper into its intricacies.

Participation in this event is open to all individuals who share a passion for math, regardless of their background or profession. Let us come together to create a shared experience in the world of mathematics.

Event Overview

2023 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

Welcome to the 5th Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition. The competition has one qualifying round and one final round. For specific details regarding each round, please refer to the comprehensive instructions provided below. 

Good Luck!

Qualifying Round

Format: Online Individual Competition

Type of Questions: Multiple Choice, Problem solving, Proof Questions, and Open-Endedd Questions

Schedule: 8AM April 15th, 2023 (Saturday) -  8AM April 17th, 2023 (Monday) (UTC+8). Contestants have 48 hours to complete this round.

Language: The questions will be provided in both Chinese and English, and contestants may use either language to answer them.

Competition Rules:

-  The competition consists of one qualifying round, with finalists determined based on the results of this round. The shortlist of finalists will be announced on June 8th.

- The qualifying round is open book, and the contestants may refer to online or offline materials. The use of programming software is allowed.

- Cheating, discussion, and transmission of the problems are strictly prohibited.

- For 2023, one open-ended question will be included in the qualifying round.  Participants with outstanding answers will be invited to the offline Xixi Math Colloquium and have the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with world-leading mathematicians like Prof. Yitang Zhang.

To help contestants familiarize with the online competition system, a practice round is scheduled between April 3rd and April 11th, 2023 (UTC+8). Answers for the practice round will not be graded and will not be counted towards the final marks of the qualifying round or award presentation.

Final Round

Date: June 17, 2023-June 18, 2023 (UTC+8) 

Time: From 2:00PM on June 17th  to 6:00AM on June 18th (UTC+8) . You may choose any continuous 8 hours within this time window to complete the final round Competition.

Format: Online Individual Competition

Type of Question
The final round includes five tracks of different subject areas:
- Algebra & Number Theory
- Geometry & Topology
- Analysis & Differential Equations,
- Applied & Computational Mathematics
- Combinatorics & Probability.

Topics covered in the final round:

- Algebra & Number Theory: Abstract algebra, Algebraic Number Theory, Commutative Algebra, Group and Representation Theory.
- Geometry & Topology: Algebraic Topology, Differential Topology, Manifolds and Lie Groups, Riemannian Geometry.
- Analysis & Differential Equations: Harmonic Analysis, Elliptic Equations, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis.
- Applied & Computational Mathematics: Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Optimization Theory, Numerical Linear Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Machine Learning.
- Combinatorics & Probability: Extremal/Probabilistic/Algebraic Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Discrete Geometry, Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes, Operations Research and Combinatorial Optimization,  Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science.

Competition Rules:

-In the final round, contestants are required to select one major track and one minor track before entering the answering interface. Note that the selection, once made,  is final and cannot be altered.
- Contestants can submit solutions to all the five problems in the major track and at most two of all the problems in the minor track. Awards will be given based on the total marks of the major and the minor track.
- The final round is a closed-book exam. Reference to any materials and use of computing software are not permitted.
- Please take the competitions with integrity and complete the problems independently. Cheating, discussion, and transmission of the problems are not permitted.

Award

Gold Award (4 winners) with 40,000 USD each
Silver Award (6 winners) with 20,000 USD each
Bronze Award (10 winners) with 10,000 USD each
Honorable Mention (50 Winners) with 5,000 USD each

Awards will be decided by the results of the final round.

Contact Us

alibaba-math@service.alibaba.com

Please check your spam regularly during the competition. It is also strongly recommended to add our official email into your white list so that you won’t miss important update.

Please refer to the latest email notification you have received!

2022 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

2022 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

Welcome to the 4th Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition. The competition has one qualifying round and one final round. Detailed instructions for each round can be found below.

Good Luck!

Qualifying Round

Format:Online Individual Competition

Type of Questions:Multiple Choice, Problem solving, and Proof Questions

Time:8AM April 23rd, 2022-  8AM April 26th, 2022 (Beijing Time). You have 72 hours for this round.

Language: The questions are provided in both Chinese and English. You may use either language to answer them.

Competition Rules:
-  The Competition includes one qualifying round. Finalists are determined based on the results of the qualifying round and the shortlist is scheduled to be released at June 8th.
- The qualifying round is open book. Contestants may refer to online or offline materials. Use of programming software is allowed.
- Cheating, discussion, and transmission of the problems are not permitted.

To help you familiarize with the online competition system, a practice round is scheduled between April 11 and April 18, 2022 (UTC+8). Your answers for the practice round will not be graded, and will not be counted into your final marks of the qualifying round as well as award presentation.

NEW The results of the qualifying round and finalists will be released in June 8th

 Final Round

Date: June 18. Beijing Time 

Time:  8:00 – 24:00 on June 18th ,2022 (Beijing Time) . You may choose any continuous 8 hours within this time window to complete the final round Competition

Format: Online Individual Competition

Type of Question
The final round includes five tracks of different subject areas:
- Algebra & Number Theory
- Geometry & Topology
- Analysis & Differential Equations,
- Applied & Computational Mathematics
- Combinatorics & Probability.

Topics covered in the final round

- Algebra & Number Theory: Abstract algebra, Algebraic Number Theory, Commutative Algebra, Group and Representation Theory.
- Geometry & Topology: Algebraic Topology, Differential Topology, Manifolds and Lie Groups, Riemannian Geometry.
- Analysis & Differential Equations: Harmonic Analysis, Elliptic Equations, Complex Analysis, Real Analysis.
- Applied & Computational Mathematics: Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Optimization Theory, Numerical Linear Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Machine Learning.
- Combinatorics & Probability: Extremal/Probabilistic/Algebraic Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Discrete Geometry, Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes, Operations Research and Combinatorial Optimization,  Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science.

Competition Rules:

- In the final round, contestants are required to select one major track and one minor track before entering the answering interface. Note that the selection, once made,  is final and cannot be altered.
- Contestants can submit solutions to all the five problems in the major track and at most two of all the problems in the minor track. Awards will be given based on the total marks of the major and the minor track
- The final round is a closed-book exam. Reference to any materials and use of computing software are not permitted.
- Please take the competitions with integrity and complete the problems independently. Cheating, discussion, and transmission of the problems are not permitted.

Award

Gold Award (4 winners) with 40,000 USD each
Silver Award (6 winners) with 20,000 USD each
Bronze Award (10 winners) with 10,000 USD each
Honorable Mention (50 Winners) with 5,000 USD each

Awards will be decided by the results of the final round.
As part of the honorable mention award, Ruiyun Xu Scholarship will be established to encourage more women to participate into math and fall in love with it

Contact Us

alibaba-math@service.alibaba.com

Please check your spam regularly during the competition. It is also strongly recommended to add our official email into your white list so that you won’t miss important update.

2021 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

2021 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

Welcome to the 3rd Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition. The competition has one qualifying round and one final round. Detailed instructions for each round can be found below.

To help you familiarize the online competition system, a practice round is scheduled between May 6th and May 12th. 2021 (Beijing Time). The practice round is for you to get familiar with the system you will use during the competition. Your answer for the practice round will NOT be graded, and will NOT be counted into your final score for the qualifying round.

Good Luck!

Qualifying Round

Format:Online Individual Competition

Type of Questions:Multiple Choice, Problem solving, and Proof Questions

Time:8AM May 16th, 2021 -  8AM May 19th, 2021 (Beijing Time). You have 72 hours for this round.

Language: The questions are provided in both Chinese and English. You may use either language to answer them.

Competition Rules:
- The full score of the qualifying round is 120. Finalists are determined by the result of the qualifying round.
- You may refer to printed or offline materials. Programming is allowed during this round.
- Please complete the test questions independently. Cheating, discussing with others, or publicizing the questions is NOT Allowed.

Results for the qualifying round and the finalists are scheduled to be released on June 18th, 2021(Beijing Time). Please check your registered email for further notice.

 Final Round

Format: Online Individual Competition

Type of Question
The final round includes five tracks of different subject areas:
- Algebra & Number Theory
- Geometry & Topology
- Analysis & Differential Equations,
- Applied & Computational Mathematics
- Combinatorics & Probability.

Topics covered in the final round will be released later in June.

Date of the Competition:  8:00AM, June 26th –  12:00 AM, June 27th.  You may choose any continuous 8 hours in between to complete the final round.

Competition Rules:
- When the final round begins, we will ask you to select one major track and one minor track. The selection, once made, is final.
- You can submit solutions to all the five problems in your major track. In the minor track, however, you can choose any of the five problems to solve but submit solutions to NO more than two problems.
-  The final round is a closed-book exam. 
- Please complete the test questions independently. Cheating, discussing with others, or publicizing the questions is NOT Allowed.

New!Topic Coverage for the Final Round

- Algebra & Number Theory: Abstract algebra, Algebraic Number Theory, Commutative Algebra, Group and Representation Theory.
- Geometry & Topology: Algebraic Topology, Differential Topology, Manifolds and Lie Groups, Riemannian Geometry.
- Analysis & Differential Equations: Harmonic Analysis, Functional Analysis, Complex Analysis, Heat Equations.
- Applied & Computational Mathematics: Ordinary Differential Equations, Partial Differential Equations, Optimization Theory, Numerical Linear Algebra, Numerical Analysis, Machine Learning.
- Combinatorics & Probability: Extremal/Probabilistic/Algebraic Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Discrete Geometry, Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes, Combinatorial Optimization,  Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science.

Award

Gold Award (4 winners) with 20,000 USD each
Silver Award (6 winners) with 10,000 USD each
Bronze Award (10 winners) with 5,000 USD each
Honorable Mention (50 Winners)

Award winners will be invited to Math Colloquium in Summer 2021.

Contact Us

alibaba-math@service.alibaba.com

Please check your spam regularly during the competition. It is also strongly recommended to add our official email into your white list so that you won’t miss important update.

2020 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

Overview 

2020 Alibaba Global Mathematic Competition includes 2 qualifying rounds and 1 final round.  The finalists will be determined by the total score of the 2 qualifying rounds.

 

Qualifying Round (Online)  - Completed

The results of the qualifying round and finalists will be available on April 10th, 2020.  Please log in first and check your competition status under “ Profile”.
Question type: Mathematical questions that are close to real life.
Competition Rules: The competition is divided into two qualifying rounds. Each of the qualifying round has 4 questions. The finalists are selected based on the total points of the two rounds.  For each of the qualifying rounds, participants will have 48 hours to answer the questions, during which they may save their answers and take a short break. 
Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are supported. Adobe Flash must be enabled.

 

Final Round  

The final round is an individual online competition. It consists of four tracks of different subject areas:
➤ Algebra & Number Theory (5 problems)
➤ Geometry & Topology (5 problems) 
➤ Analysis & Differential Equations (5 problems)
➤ Applied & Computational Mathematics (5 problems)
When the final round begins, we will ask you to select one major track and one minor track. The selection, once made, is final.
You can submit solutions to all the five problems in your major track. In the minor track, however, you can choose any of the five problems to solve but submit solutions to no more than two problems. Every problem is worth 20 points. You can obtain up to 100 points from your major track and up to 40 points from your minor track. The final awards are selected based on total points. 
Date & Time:  April 18th, 2020; 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM (GMT+8), 6 hours total.
Language: English or Chinese

 

Awards

Gold scholarship (4 winners) with 20,000 USD each
Silver scholarship (6 winners) with 10,000 USD each
Bronze scholarship (10 winners) with 5,000 USD each

Hornorable Mention (50 Winners) 

 

Topic coverage

➤ Algebra & Number Theory: Group Theory, Diophantine Equation, Galois Theory, Algebraic Number Theory, Abstract Algebra, Commutative Algebra
➤ Geometry & Topology: Algebraic Topology, Differential Topology, Manifolds and Lie Groups, Riemannian Geometry
➤ Analysis & Differential Equations: Real Analysis, Harmonic Analysis, Partial Differential Equation
➤ Applied & Computational Math: Combinatorics, Graph Theory, Probability, Optimization Theory, Ordinary Differential Equation, Partial Differential Equation, Numerical Analysis

2018 Alibaba Global Mathematics Competition

Qualifying Competition (Individual)

Question type: Mathematical questions requiring analysis and solution of problems close to real life
Competition duration: 48 hours (9:00am Sep. 18th - 9:00am Sep 20th 2018 GMT+8)
Answering method: Online
Assessment: According to the results, the top 300 contestants will be selected to enter the final competition

Reference Answers Download

 

Final competition (Individual)

Preliminary mathematics knowledge:
➤ Geometry and topology: Four questions
➤ Number theory and algebra: Four questions
➤ Analysis and differential equations: Four questions
➤ Applied mathematics and computational mathematics: Four questions
Competition duration: 4 hours (8:00am - 12:00am, Sep. 25th 2018 GMT+8)
Answering method: Online
Assessment: 40 contestants with the best ideas will be selected. The top 20 contestants will be recommended to the selection round of gold, silver and bronze medals. The following 20 contestants will win the Excellence Award. The Steering Committee collectively decides the final gold (4 people), silver (6 people), and bronze (10 people) award winners, and provides letters of recommendation for winners who are willing to continue their studies. Meanwhile, these 20 winners will enter the Master Class and study with the experts.

Shortlist for Final Match

 

Prizes:

Gold Award (4 people): US$20,000 scholarship per person, with tickets to the Master Class
Silver Award (6 people): US$10,000 scholarship per person, with tickets to the Master Class
Bronze Award (10 people): US$5,000 scholarship per person, with tickets to the Master Class
Excellence Award (20 people): Tickets to the Master Class

Final Contest Awards List

 

Organizing Committee
Honorary Chairman
  • Jinpeng Huai

    Minister of Education of the People's Republic of China
Steering Committee
  • Jeff Zhang

    Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Group
  • Gang Tian

    Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
    Chair Professor of Peking University
  • Jianshu Li

    Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Director, Institute for Advanced Study in Mathematics, Zhejiang University
  • Yitang Zhang

    Professor of Mathematics, University of California, Santa Barbara
  • Weinan E

    Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Professor at Peking University and Princeton University
  • Tao Tang

    Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Chair Professor of Mathematics, Southern University of Science and Technology
  • Jianya Liu

    Professor at Shandong University
  • Yurii Nesterov

    Professor at Catholic University of Louvain (UCL), Belgium
  • Frank Kelly

    Fellow of the Royal Society, Professor at University of Cambridge
  • Alessio Figalli

    Professor at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich),
    2018 Fields medalist
  • Ling San

    Deputy President and Provost at NTU Singapore,
    Professor at Nanyang Technological University
  • Binyong Sun

    Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
    Professor at Zhejiang University
  • Brenda Lynn Dietrich

    Geoffion Family Professor of Practice at Cornell University
    INFORMS Fellow, IBM Fellow Emerita,
    Member US National Academy of Engineering
  • Wilfrid Gangbo

    Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles
    Founder of EcoAfrica
  • Semeon Bogatyi

    Professor at Lomonosov Moscow State University
Organizing Committee
  • Xiangwen Liu

    Assistant Dean of Alibaba DAMO Academy
  • Wotao Yin

    Professor at University of California, Los Angeles
  • Chenchang Zhu

    Professor at University of Göttingen
  • Yi Liu

    Researcher at Beijing International Center for Mathematical Research
Competition News

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