At the 6th ICCM (International Consortium of Chinese Mathematicians) Best Thesis Award Ceremony, Xu Mengxia and Liu Jiayang won the Silver Award for Best Thesis. Liu is a 2016 mathematics graduate of the College of Mathematics and Computer Science of Zhejiang Normal University and is currently enrolled in the program of mathematics teaching at Zhejiang Normal University. Xu is currently enrolled in the program of applied mathematics at Beijing Normal University. The award brought great confidence and encouragement for them to continue to engage in scientific research and pursue academic dreams in the future.

The ICCM Best Thesis Award was established in 2007 by Shing-Tung Yau, a Fields Prize winner and internationally renowned mathematician. It was originally called the New World Mathematics Awards and was officially renamed the ICCM Thesis Award this year. The award aims to select outstanding Chinese mathematics students around the world, motivating them to pursue the study of mathematics and contribute to the development of mathematics in China and the world. The awards are divided into three categories: doctoral, master’s, and undergraduate thesis. The awards are selected once every three years, and the awards ceremony is held once every three years. The award has become an important reference for admissions of leading research institutions and universities.

The award ceremony this year was hosted by Yau Mathematical Sciences Center of Tsinghua University and co-organized by the School of Mathematics of Southeast University, Nanjing Center for Applied Mathematics Center, and Shing-Tung Yau Center of Southeast University. The committee consists of nine of the world’s top mathematics experts and is chaired by Professor Yau. The award committee this year selected a total of 19 winners, including 2 gold prizes and 6 silver prizes. The bachelor’s thesis of Xu (supervised by Zhong Jie) and Liu Jiayang (supervised by Liu Yang) won the silver prize. This is the second time ZNU alumni won the prize.  The winner in 2016, Sun Jingjie, is currently studying for a PhD at Hong Kong University.

For a long time, the College of Mathematics and Computer Science has been making efforts on the thesis work of undergraduates and the comprehensive innovation and development of students. In terms of thesis work, the college has developed and issued implementation rules, standardized the work flow, established an admissions system, implemented a system of blind review by experts from inside and outside the university before the thesis is defended, improved the performance incentive system for supervising, and controlled the quality of the thesis. For student innovation and development, the college adheres to the philosophy of collaboration among research, education, and human development. The college has taken teachers as the core, established students’ innovation studios, promoted academician projects and competitions, and formed a whole chain of innovation and entrepreneurship training mechanisms. The innovation studios provide teachers and students with an effective way to communicate outside of lectures, solve the communication barriers, bring students into the research teams, and create an integrated academic training model of “bachelor-master-PhD-supervisor,” which guides students in project research, practice and expansion of professional skills, cultivates high-level scientific research results, and improves students' scientific research ability. (Source: College of Mathematics and Computer Science, ZJNU,  translated by Lin Yuqin, edited by Mariam Ayad)