Preparing for its third year, the MATHletes challenge for 2016 is now open under a new name – LearnStorm – for registration for Irish students, with a prize fund of €20,000 being made available to the competition’s best mathematicians.
The MATHletes challenge was first started back in 2014 by entrepreneur Sean O’Sullivan and the Khan Academy to develop a better understanding and appreciation of maths among students in the country, which has so far culminated in more than 13,000 students completing more than four million minutes of maths skill tests.
This year’s edition is particularly special given that the competition has been re-named LearnStorm following the event’s milestone last year when it went international, with an event hosted in the US under the LearnStorm name.
The free event is not location-based and is accessible from anywhere online and, starting on 29 January, students can earn recognition for themselves and their schools by mastering maths skills on Khan Academy.
Aiding future third-level students
Open to students across the island of Ireland, the LearnStorm Ireland event has a total prize fund of €20,000 and is open to all students from fourth class to fifth year in the Republic of Ireland and from year six to year 13 in Northern Ireland.
With funding provided by The O’Sullivan Foundation and Camara Ireland, global partnerships lead at the Khan Academy, James Tynan, said of the event: “We know that the more you grapple with something, the more your capacity expands. LearnStorm is for everyone as it rewards students for hard work and mastery, no matter if they’re learning basic arithmetic or advanced calculus.”
The need for higher standards in maths education at primary and secondary level would appear apparent given the recent news that a “considerable minority” of third-level students struggle with the mathematical elements of their courses and are becoming reliant on learning support.
Disclosure: SOSV is an investor in Silicon Republic
