An Introduction to Cumcm

The China Undergraduate Mathematical Contest in Modelling (CUMCM) is a national event held annually. Teams of up to three undergraduate students investigate, model, and submit a solution to one of two simulated real-word problems in engineering, management, etc. The aim of the contest is to expose students to the real-world challenges inherent to mathematical modelling and experimentations, and provide educational (creativity, challenge, etc.) experience unique to problem-based learning. In this paper, we briefly introduce the aims and scope, organization and achievement of CUMCM. A selected contest problem from CUMCM-2004 is discussed. We also talk about some problems and difficulties currently faced by the contest.