International recognition for Pune-Mumbai students in mathematical modelling

Four students from Pune and Mumbai were awarded a Meritorious Recognition at the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge (IM²C) 2026. They secured a spot among the top 11 teams globally from 68 teams representing 37 countries. Representing India, the team consisted of Tanish Rajesh Kulkarni from Bharati Vidyapeeth Rabindranath Tagore School of Excellence in Pune, Anshveer Bindra from Oberoi International School in Mumbai, and Nipun Saha and Vedansh Saha from Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai.

The team, led by Dr. Sagar Shrivastava, reached the top two spots in India in the national round, earning their representative role in the international competition. They attended the IM²C Summit and Award Ceremony in Boston, Massachusetts, from August 5 to 9, 2026, held at Harvard University's Science Center. Alongside their advisor, the students toured Harvard University and MIT, gaining exposure to top academic institutions.

The competition, organized by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP), challenged teams to develop mathematical models for real-world problems. This year's challenge focused on risk management in Etosha National Park in Namibia, involving tourist-wildlife interactions, poaching, forest fires, and other natural hazards.

The team employed a data-driven and spatially informed framework, processed vast amounts of data, and wrote over 3,000 lines of code. Team India placed second at the European Tournament of Enthusiastic Apprentice Mathematicians (ETEAM) 2026 in Lausanne, Switzerland, alongside six other members from the Lodha Genius Programme at Ashoka University. The team's success was sponsored by the Lodha Foundation.