Can a common denominator unite warring contestant nations at the International Mathematics Olympiad?

635 students from 114 countries will compete at the International Mathematics Olympiad for medals – and, potentially, a ticket into any university in the world. Photograph: Pepper Productions

A resounding cheer erupted when on Monday three Palestinian teenagers shuffled on to the stage of a convention centre tucked away behind the golden beaches of Australia’s Sunshine Coast.

All of them from the West Bank, they were only half of a team able to attend the International Mathematics Olympiad, a gathering of the world’s brightest young mathematical minds, where medals can offer tickets to any university in the world and launch brilliant careers.