Unlike many other competitions, the Qiu Chengtong award is not given to individuals but to teams. A candidate team consists of one to three team members and an instructor. Each team chooses a research topic independently in basic mathematics or applied mathematics. The team must submit a research plan and report to the selection committee. The instructor and the middle school provide reference letters and the selection committee picks the winner.

According to Liu Kefeng, Chair of the Selection Committee in China, candidates are chosen from five regions, including the central, southern and northern regions of China's mainland, Taiwan and overseas. This year, 800 teams enrolled for the competition, and nearly 300 teams submitted the required materials. On September 21, 12 contestants from each region met to defend their reports. Ten famous professors from each region sat in judgment and selected five teams for the finals.

"The competition encourages teamwork, creativity, and presentation skills in Chinese and English. These are the qualifications that modern scientists must have. The papers should be on original mathematics research and application," Liu said.

Liu hopes that through the competition, talented students will be identified so that they can be trained further.

Qiu told Beijing Review he expected the award would promote education reform in China and help to bring mathematical education to an international standard.

In fact, long before the launch of the Qiu Chengtong award, the Math Olympics, an international competition, was already popular in China. Famous mathematical educators from around the world design examination problems for the Math Olympics, which are more difficult than the math problems in China's national college entrance examination.

"Mathematics is a research tool. The fundamental thing about research is to ask question and answer them. Winning the Math Olympics only proves one's ability in taking a test, rather than one's research ability. This type of testing stifles the students' curiosity and creativity," Qiu said. "Worse still, when students are used to being asked questions by others, rather than asking questions, they will not be highly creative in the future."

Qiu said, in the United States, students are not required to participate in the Math Olympics as part of their extracurricular activities. They participate out of their own interest. In China, many students compete in the competition as a kind of qualification, because some famous universities prefer to recruit Math Olympic medalists.

Parents also force their children to focus on the Math Olympics at the cost of other interests or other subjects of study, which is detrimental to a child's development. Once the child reaches their Math Olympics goals, they might give up thinking, and give up mathematics too, Qiu said.

As a Harvard professor, Qiu has many students from Chinese mainland, and some of them are Math Olympics gold medalists. Although often seen as mathematical geniuses, few students can meet Qiu's standards. He usually has to retrain them to do mathematical research.

"Why have so many Chinese students won medals in the Math Olympics, yet few have become mathematicians?" Qiu asked. "The reason is that they focus too much on taking exams. That is the problem of the education system in China, which tends to tie academic achievements with competitions and examinations." In Qiu's opinion, in addition to mathematics, a real mathematician should have a good understanding of other subjects as well. The Math Olympics narrow a student's attention down to one subject, which is not good for the overall growth of a student.

Interest is key

During the first competition, Qiu found that the contestants' research ability, teamwork and communication skills in English were much better than he and other members of the selection committee had expected. Qiu said, "The youths in China are talented, and they need better guidance."

Some middle schools in China are improving their education methods by putting increasing emphasis on cultivating students' creativity and research ability, Qiu said.

He added that he has noticed Chinese parents often deprive their children of spare time and make them take additional classes after school. Chinese students also have more homework assignments than students in many other countries.

To the children, this forced study is not enjoyable. Qiu said Chinese parents should not force their children to learn; rather, the most important thing is to cultivate a child's interest, and boost their confidence. American parents or teachers often bring children to various activities and students also organize discussions, which opens up their minds.

Improving education

Mathematics is the mother of science. To become an economic power, China must first be strong in science and technology, which in turn requires that China be strong in mathematics, Qiu said.