David Mugiraneza, a senior six student at Nu-vision high school emerged winner of the Rwanda Mathematics Competition that was finalised on May 20. Over 150 schools from all districts across the country took part in the competition. The first stage of the competition was held on March 11 at the district level and the second stage was held on April 29, 2022. Winners were announced on May 20 during an event that was held at the College of Science and Technology - University of Rwanda. 101 students competed in the 2nd stage where Mugiraneza competitively earned his win at the top. Mugiranza couldn’t contain his excitement over the win. He describes himself as an enthusiastic person with zeal to break any barrier that may be restricting him towards his full potential. He says the win came as a surprise, especially to his parents since he was never an excellent student in academics overall. “My parents were surprised because I wasn’t really good with academics in my O-Level. I wasn’t even among the best, so I think they were very proud,” Mugiraneza says. He however revealed the win came as a shock even to him, because he hardly prepared for the competition. He didn’t study for the test because he was still in his final exams. “I didn’t have time to study for it, and I don’t think you can really study for it because questions change every time, and it’s not like they have a particular order that they follow. It is just random and all about what you have already learned or know. There are no details or calculators given,” Mugiraneza says. He first took interest in mathematics as a subject when he was exposed to the Cambridge program this year. This is when he says to have started falling in love with the subject due to its rational and inspiring perceptive. “My interest in math also started after watching certain scientific movies like ‘The Flash.’ In such movies, they use science and math which I find really nice. But I also enjoy drawing portraits, sports because I play volleyball,” Mugiraneza says. He received several prizes that included a laptop, an iPad, and most importantly a scholarship at the University of Rwanda. During the competition, he reveals certain challenges he faced such as limited time yet questions were very complicated, something that forced him to overthink. Nonetheless, the calm and organised atmosphere during the competition helped him achieve his victory, as he says. Mugiraneza says he is further motivated towards achieving more goals in life; he wants to pursue a mechanical engineering program after graduating from high school. The National Competition was sponsored by the College of Science and Technology - University of Rwanda, in collaboration with The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, the UR-Sweden Programme, ISP through the EAUMP-UR Node, and EAIFR-ICTP.
