Busan Foreign School proudly hosted the inaugural Global Math Data Challenge (GMDC) on Saturday, December 6, marking the first major event organized by the SKAIS Math Club Alliance (SMCA) – a newly formed network uniting international school math clubs. SMCA was founded by Rebecca Jeong, President of the BFS Math Up Club, with the goal of bringing student math clubs together for shared learning and collaborative activities.

Real-World Data. Real-World Solutions.

Working with a dataset adapted from OECD global sustainability indicators and refined in partnership with professors from Pusan National University, students analyzed tens of thousands of data points—searching for meaningful patterns, testing hypotheses, exploring correlations, and constructing mathematical models to support their evidence-based policy proposals. Teams worked independently with minimal teacher guidance, mirroring authentic academic research conditions, and tackled complex modeling challenges that pushed them far outside their comfort zones.

The competition brought together 37 students, forming 11 teams from three SKAIS schools –BFS, ISB, and GIFS. We were also fortunate to welcome professional judges from local universities, who analyzed the students’ findings, reviewed their hypotheses, and evaluated their proposed solutions with academic rigor:

• Judge: Professor Myung Eun Seok (Dong-Eui University)
• Judge: Dr. Woon Seok Cho (Pusan National University)
• Judge: Professor Younkyoung Nam (Pusan National University)

Award Highlights

• Problem-Solving Excellence Award
  Ariel H., Irene K., and Maria Y. (Grade 11 Team, BFS)
  For analysis connecting homicide rates and income levels to policy proposals advancing community safety.
• Innovation Award
  Lauren L., Marie M., Cindy P., and Liz R. (Grade 9 Team, BFS)
  For comparing gender wage data and women’s nighttime safety, leading to proposals supporting improved city surveillance and nighttime security.
• Infinity Grand Prize
  Donovan S., Anirudhh S., and Jinmo L. (Grade 12 Team, GIFS)
  For modeling the relationship between income poverty and road-fatality rates to propose safer transportation systems.

 

A Promising Beginning

Student feedback following the event was overwhelmingly positive, as reflected in several anonymous responses:

“It was such a great experience… The best part was the challenge and new ways of thinking presented to us. Truly would attend again.”

“I learned more than I expected and discovered a deeper curiosity for statistics through this opportunity. I’m grateful I had the chance to be part of it.”

The success of the GMDC underscores the strong potential of student-led collaboration and signals an exciting beginning for the newly formed SKAIS Math Club Alliance, with additional joint initiatives already being planned.

BFS extends congratulations to all participants and sincere thanks to the students, faculty, mentors, university judges, and staff who made this landmark event possible.

Photos by Mr. Jeff Kuo