UQ hosts State's brightest young students at Tournament of Minds

Children from some of Queensland's most isolated places, including Moa Island in the Torres Strait, will attend the State finals of the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Minds at The University of Queensland on Sunday, September 3.

Tournament of Minds is a national program aimed at developing the ingenuity and team work of students aged six to 16 (Years 1 to 10).

University of Queensland Dean of Students Dr Lisa Gaffney said the University was pleased to host the State final for the sixth time.

"This is a chance to see some of Queensland's best young minds in action," she said. "The tournament gives participants the chance to solve problems using imagination and creativity."

The annual event this year has attracted 616 schools, more than 1377 teams, 1500 facilitators, 1400 judges and an estimated 25,000 supporters.

Winners from each category in 14 regional Tournaments will vie for the opportunity to represent Queensland at the State finals, with winners to be announced at the awards and closing ceremony at Mayne Hall, St Lucia, Brisbane from 4.45pm to 5.30pm. Winning State teams from each category will then contest the Australian finals at Macquarie University, Sydney on October 21. Director-General of Education Jim Varghese will attend the Brisbane ceremony.

In the Tournament, teams of seven students work together according to specific criteria and time-frames to solve problems in Maths Engineering, Language Literature, or Social Sciences. Students are judged on team skills, divergent thinking, performance and creativity in solving the given problems.

Tournament of Minds (Qld) Incorporated State director Fiona Meyer said it was encouraging that an increasing number of schools was entering the event, despite the existence of many other programs for teachers and students.

As well as hosting the State finals, The University of Queensland is co-sponsoring the Maths Engineering problem with the Institution of Engineers Australia. The list of Queensland finalists for the September 12 event is attached.

Media: For further information, contact Fiona Meyer (telephone 07 3356 4455) or Dr Lisa Gaffney (telephone 07 3365 9132).