Mathematics for Understanding the Unfamiliar
IMIC is a new mathematics competition for students in Grade 8 and below, now in development. We are forming its founding Program Committee to prepare the inaugural competition in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a longer-term vision of connecting students across regions and countries.
IMIC challenges students to use mathematics to understand unfamiliar information, connect ideas across disciplines, and evaluate conclusions using evidence.
As information and AI-generated explanations become increasingly accessible, the ability to reason independently, test claims, and recognize the limits of a model is more important than ever. IMIC aims to make these capabilities an essential dimension of mathematical excellence.
First edition planned for August 2027
Traditional mathematics competitions challenge students to solve difficult problems using mathematical knowledge they have developed. IMIC adds another dimension.
Can students learn from unfamiliar information, identify its mathematical structure, determine whether a conclusion is justified, and transfer their understanding to a new situation?
Mathematics remains at the core. Biology, physics, astronomy, computing, art, music, economics, and other social sciences provide contexts in which students encounter new concepts and discover the mathematics behind them.
Students are not expected to have specialized prior knowledge in these disciplines. Each challenge supplies the information needed to begin reasoning.
IMIC brings mathematics into conversation with biology, physics, astronomy, computing, and other fields. Participants discover how mathematical ideas can explain patterns, illuminate scientific phenomena, and reveal connections between subjects they may have studied separately.
IMIC invites participants to explore unfamiliar contexts, connect knowledge across disciplines, and apply mathematical reasoning in new ways. By seeing how ideas from different fields come together to solve problems, participants develop a broader perspective and discover new ways of thinking.
As AI makes answers and explanations increasingly accessible, the ability to reason independently, evaluate information, and verify conclusions becomes more important than ever. IMIC challenges participants to apply their own mathematical reasoning to unfamiliar information and interdisciplinary problems, without using AI tools to generate their answers during the competition.
The founding Program Committee will help establish the intellectual and educational foundations of IMIC and prepare for its inaugural competition in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Founding contributors can help define IMIC’s intellectual standards, develop meaningful interdisciplinary challenges, and influence how students learn to reason from unfamiliar information and evidence.
We welcome a range of contributions. Members may focus on their own area of expertise, for example by reviewing questions in a single discipline, rather than taking on every aspect of the competition.
We are forming the IMIC Program Committee and inviting university researchers, faculty members, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, STEAM professionals, and experienced mathematics educators to contribute their expertise to the development of this new initiative.
This is an opportunity to help shape a competition that brings mathematical rigor together with interdisciplinary discovery, and to influence how students encounter mathematics beyond familiar textbook problems.
Developing and reviewing interdisciplinary challenges, establishing a reliable assessment framework, and preparing a high-quality first competition.
The first IMIC competition, held in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The initial edition is intended to establish a strong foundation for future participation through qualified partners in other regions and countries.
University faculty, researchers, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals are all encouraged to express interest. We value both deep subject expertise and an enthusiasm for helping young learners discover how mathematics connects ideas.
We are starting with three founding opportunities. You can contribute within your own expertise, and some people may serve both on the Program Committee and in a working group during the founding phase.
Shape IMIC’s vision, academic standards, and long-term direction. The committee approves the competition framework, sets review standards, and guides major decisions, while working groups carry out the detailed work.
University faculty, researchers, experienced mathematics educators, and leaders in mathematics competitions.
Contribute interdisciplinary questions, write answer keys and solutions, and review mathematical and scientific accuracy to build the inaugural question bank. Every question must be mathematically sound, scientifically accurate, and solvable from the information given to students.
Mathematics and STEAM researchers, graduate students, and experienced problem writers.
Help establish the assessment framework, including scoring criteria, difficulty calibration, consistency, and fairness. Recruit participating schools and institutions, and prepare the first competition in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mathematics educators, assessment specialists, competition organizers, academics, and nonprofit leaders.
Volunteers are also welcome for competition operations, technology, and communications, including event organizers, software and web developers, science communicators, writers, and designers.
If you are interested in contributing to the IMIC Program Committee, developing interdisciplinary mathematical questions, or advising on the competition’s academic framework, we would welcome hearing from you.
Contribute at a level that fits your expertise and availability, whether by serving on the Program Committee, developing or reviewing questions in your discipline, or advising on assessment design and partnerships. You do not need to take part in every area. The time commitment and meeting schedule will be agreed with each contributor based on their role.
Send us a brief introduction, your institution and role, your areas of expertise, and how you might like to contribute. We will follow up to discuss where your expertise fits best.