Kangaroo competition now in Ukrainian too
The Mathematical Kangaroo, one of the largest mathematics competitions in the world, took place on 16 March. More than 50,000 Swiss schoolchildren took part in this year’s challenge. To ensure that all the young participants understand the maths problems, the questions are translated into various languages – including, as of this year, Ukrainian. Alexey is a schoolboy from Ukraine. He has taken part in the competition several times in his home country and spoke to us about his experiences.
Alexey came to Switzerland from Ukraine in March 2022. He is 15 years old and has been attending a secondary school in the canton of Nidwalden since December 2022. Together with the organisational team from the Kangaroo Switzerland Association, he helped to adapt the competition tasks to the needs of Ukrainian-speaking primary school pupils in grades 3 and 4 (aged around 8 or 9), who took part in the competition in Switzerland this year.
At home in Ukraine, Alexey has taken part in the Kangaroo competition a number of times, so he has a great deal of experience to share as a former participant. He says that competitions are highly popular and widespread in his home country. The Kangaroo competition is a favourite among younger schoolchildren, and the older pupils also take part in the International Olympiads in disciplines such as mathematics, physics or informatics. According to Alexey, the reason the Olympiads are so important in Ukraine is because they can make it easier for participants to gain a place at university. If a school pupil achieves a good result in an Olympiad and also has good marks at school, they can go to university without having to sit an exam. This is down to the Ukrainian school system, which is different to the one in Switzerland: In Ukraine, all schoolchildren complete nine years of compulsory education before taking an exam in order to go to an upper secondary level school or specialised school, or to move on to vocational education and training. The concept of spending six years at a Gymnasium (similar to a grammar school), as some pupils do in Switzerland, does not exist in Ukraine. After leaving school, graduates can go to any university or institution of higher education as long as they pass the qualifying examinations.
“Competitions are highly popular and widespread in my home country.”Alexey
For Alexey, the advantage of the Ukrainian system is that school pupils do not need to choose their academic path until they are older and more mature and have more of an idea of what they are interested in. He wonders whether the Swiss system – where, depending on the canton, pupils sometimes have to decide whether they want to go to a Gymnasium at a very young age – is a sensible idea. It is a big decision, and one that has huge consequences for those who decide later on that they want to go to university but have to complete the Matura (the Swiss qualification for university entrance) first.
As his future in Switzerland is currently uncertain, Alexey is carrying on with his classes in Ukraine online alongside attending a Swiss secondary school. The lesson times often overlap, but as the classes are recorded, he can catch up in the evenings. His main priority is to finish school in Ukraine this summer to ensure he has a qualification to his name. After that, he plans to complete the Matura exam in Switzerland – but to do that he will have to learn French.
Kangaroo – one of the world's largest mathematics competitions
Kangaroo of Mathematics (German: "Känguru der Mathematik") is a mathematical multiple-choice competition for around six million participants in many European and non-European countries. It that takes place once a year on the third Thursday in March in all participating countries.
The aim of the competition is to encourage school pupils to think about maths in a fun way. An additional motivation for them to take part is also the fact that millions of other children are working on the same maths problems on the same day in lots of different countries worldwide.
Kangaroo goes Science – the girls day
The Department of Mathematics invites the hundred best girls who have taken part in the Kangaroo competition to visit the ETH Zurich. At the Kangaroo goes Science day girls can celebrate their outstanding achievements in the competition, but also have the opportunity to meet ETH students, attend workshops and visit various laboratories.