The Adam Smith Center, together with a dedicated team of organizers, including Jason Hausenloy (Education Officer), Abhay Malik, and Tanay Suresh (both students at UWCSEA), proudly hosted the first-ever Estimathon in Singapore. The event aimed to inspire the next generation of problem solvers by introducing them to Fermi Estimation, a powerful technique for estimating complex, real-world values.

Held at the UWCSEA East Campus, the Estimathon attracted approximately 100 high school students from various local and international schools, who collaborated in teams of 3-4 people to solve 15 Fermi Estimation questions.

These intriguing problems ranged from estimating the number of dump trucks needed to empty Mount Everest to determining the volume of the Antarctic ice sheet, encouraging participants to think critically and creatively. The winning team from Raffles Institution, consisting of Shrimay Bikash Saikia, Hui Zhou Rong Isaiah (Xu Zhourong), Liu Yuchen, and Abhyuday Kushwaha, exhibited such remarkable skills in answering the questions that we had to verify they were not using external assistance!

The Estimathon not only offered intellectual stimulation but also fostered a sense of camaraderie among participants. We provided a generous amount of free pizza, which contributed to a fun and relaxed atmosphere. The overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees has reinforced our belief in the value of such events.

The success of this Estimathon serves as an excellent foundation for the upcoming launch of Singapore’s Junior Economic Society. This new initiative aims to continue engaging and inspiring young minds in the fields of economics, problem-solving, and critical thinking. We look forward to hosting similar events in the future, incorporating feedback from participants and building on the valuable lessons learned from this pioneering Estimathon.