SA's Top Student-Mathematician Announced

The South African Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) is proud to announce the 2022 Standard Bank South African Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad (SATMO) winners. Benjamin Kleyn, a Grade 12 learner at Hoërskool Parel Vallei in the Western Cape, won the undergraduate division, and Callan Kotzen, a BSc (Actuarial Science) honours student at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, won the postgraduate division. Kleyn also represented South Africa in the 2022 International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO), the World Championship Mathematics Competition for high school learners, which took place in July this year.
 
"It is not the first time that a high school learner wins the Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad," states Prof Kerstin Jordaan, the executive director at SAMF and a full-time mathematics researcher at the University of South Africa (UNISA). She says, "Aaron Naidu, a third-year BSc (Data Science) student at the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, the first runner-up in the undergraduate division of this year's Olympiad, won in 2019 while he was still in Grade 12." In the joint first runner-up position of this year's SATMO is Danielle Kleyn, a second-year BSc (Mathematical Sciences) student from the University of Stellenbosch (US).
 
The other top performers of the 2022 SATMO are:

• Andrew Williams, a first-year BEng (Mechatronics) student at the US (second runner-up in the undergraduate division)
• Jordan Heugh, a first-year BSc student at the University of Cape Town (joint second runner-up)
• Caleb Sindi, an Applied Mathematics Honours student at the University of Pretoria (runner-up in the postgraduate division)

 A virtual Award Ceremony took place on 17 September 2022. Standard Bank announced the recipients of a bursary and two internships during the event. The company selected the recipients from the participants of this year’s SATMO. Callan Kotzen and Caleb Sindi received an internship and Benjamin Kleyn a bursary.
 
“Standard Bank is proud to partner with the SAMF in the sponsorship of the Tertiary Mathematics Olympiad,” says Myen Moodley, Head: People & Culture, Standard Bank South Africa. “As an African institution committed to being the source of support, education, and assistance to the progression of Africa’s Young Talent, we recognise the importance of mathematics in driving sustainable job opportunities for young Africans in an increasingly competitive global economy. We also hope to identify and nurture talent to ensure that we remain competitive in the global market. We are excited about this partnership and are looking forward to promoting increased participation in the Olympiad and showcasing Africa’s talent to the world.”
 
This year 135 students from 14 universities took part in the SATMO. Based on the contestant's results, the top-ranking 2022 university is Stellenbosch, followed by the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town.