Rushil Mathur is a three-time awardee of the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad and author of the book “An Exploration of Olympiad Combinatorics". He will also be one of the 6 students representing India at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) this year in July. Besides his achievements, he is actively involved in teaching Olympiad Math through being associated with the Sophie Fellowship and being an instructor at OTIS. He has recently published his book, An Exploration of Olympiad Combinatorics. In an exclusive interview with us, he spoke about how he developed his interest in maths and the things students can do to ace the subject.
How does preparing for the Math Olympiad build up one’s Math skills?Math Olympiads are a series of examinations at the regional (IOQM & RMO) and national level (INMO) that lead to the International Mathematical Olympiad, where 6 participants represent each country. Olympiad Math is quite different from the math we learn at school, wherein, at school, the mathematics taught is mostly based on theorems and formulae that need to be memorised. What we miss learning is the “why” behind these theorems and the skill of solving problems.
