Becoming a partner university

At the Imperial–Cambridge Mathematics Competition, we endeavour to allow as many university students as possible to take part in our Individual Competition. This is not possible without the help of mathematics societies/departments at other universities. If you are a mathematics society or department and would like to become a partner university, please create an account on the ICMC Portal and contact us before the 15th of November, quoting your username and your role/position in your society/department. We'll then give you access to the Organiser Dashboard, from where you will also have access to the Partner Pack.

What does being a partner involve?

Your university will need to appoint an ICMC Organiser – they will be our main point of contact for the university. Note that the ICMC Organiser can be a student, and they can participate as a contestant provided that they aren't invigilating. Their main task is to arrange a venue for students at your university to sit Round One, which will be held on Sunday, 22 Nov 2026, starting between 11:30 and 14:00 (inclusive) on Sunday 22 Nov 2026, UTC time. Their full responsibilities are:

  • helping us promote the competition at your university,
  • communicating your university's arrangements to your registrants,
  • booking one or more venues,
  • assembling a team of (student or faculty) invigilators who will be available on the day.

To help you advertise your event, the Partner Pack will include posters and slideshow displays in PNG, PDF, or SVG formats. We can also customise the promotional material for your specific institution.

Each contest venue needs a Head Invigilator. Only the head invigilator should have access to their provided email address – this is crucial as we will distribute the contest paper via this email. Note that the head invigilator must be a faculty member, a PhD student, or a student society committee member. A person can act as both the ICMC Organiser and the Head Invigilator. Their full responsibilities are:

  • assembling a team of (student or faculty) invigilators who will be available on the day,
  • printing out copies of the contest paper,
  • providing blank paper for working and solutions,
  • checking-in contestants on the day of the contest,
  • invigilating the contest,
  • scanning and uploading the contestants' solutions.

What does the Partner Pack include?

  • Customised posters and slideshow slides.
  • A registration form specific to your university for you to send out to students.
  • This year's Organisers' Guide, Invigilators' Guide, and Contestants' Guide for Round One.

What is the ICMC responsible for in this process?

We are responsible for overseeing venue creation and contestant registration, composing the contest paper, marking the solutions and sending out results and prizes. We will send our contest paper to our partners in advance (the exact schedule will be communicated by email). After marking is completed, you will be able to see the statistics specific to students from your institution.

Is there a deadline to become a Partner University?

Yes, please contact us before the 15th of November, and provide all the required details above before the 17th of November.

I am an individual wanting to participate in this year's ICMC. What can I do?

Encourage your university mathematics society (or mathematics department) to contact us. Once they create a venue you will be able to register via that venue on the ICMC Portal.

What about Round Two?

Partner universities close to London in the UK have no responsibilities for Round Two. The highest-scoring candidates across all universities will be invited to Imperial College London for this final round. It is currently scheduled to take place at 10:00–14:00, on Sunday 28 Feb 2027, UTC time. If you think the Round Two date might not work very well for your institution due to, for example, a major event that we are not aware of, please let us know!

Partner universities further away from London may need to host Round Two as well if any of your students qualify and are not able to attend Round Two in person. Note that as fewer contestants participate in Round Two, a smaller venue is sufficient. In the past, some universities have been able to fund their round two qualifiers a trip to Imperial College London.