Yulia's Dream

Yulia's Dream

Yulia’s Dream is a free math enrichment and research program for exceptional high school students (grades 10-11) from Ukraine. Under this program, students meet online once a week in small groups to study advanced math topics beyond high school curriculum or work on math research projects under the guidance of academic mentors from among MIT Math Department graduate students and MIT math majors. The instruction is available in Ukrainian, English, and Russian.

Yulia’s Dream is an initiative under PRIMES – Program for Research in Mathematics, Engineering and Science for High School Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The research and reading groups at Yulia's Dream operate similarly to those at PRIMES-USA, the remote section of PRIMES.

The first annual cycle, 2022-2023, started with 48 students in late May 2022. On May 14-15, 2023, the First Annual Conference was held online. Final research papers are posted online.

The timeline for the 2023-2024 cycle:

• July 7, 2023: Admissions open
• September 15: Application deadline
• Late September: Admissions decisions
• October – mid-December: Guided reading period
• December 15: Reading report due
• Mid-December 2023 – May 2024: Active research period / Advanced reading period (for reading groups)
• Early June: Online conference
• July 1: Final research and expository papers due

Apply online in English or Ukrainian. Solutions to the 2023 entrance problem set and two letters of recommendation are required. The deadline for applications is EXTENDED to September 15, 2023.

For preparation, please consult the 2022 entrance problem set and its solutions.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

Recommended readings:

А.Б. Сосиньский, Mathematical English. Пiдручник англiйської для математикiв.

Pavel Etingof, How to Succeed in Mathematical Research / Павло Етiнгоф, Як досягти успiху в математичних дослiдженнях.

Yulia’s Dream is dedicated to the memory of Yulia Zdanovska, a 21-year-old graduate of the National University of Kyiv, a silver medalist at the 2017 European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad, and a teacher for the “Teach for Ukraine” program who was killed by a Russian-fired missile in her home city of Kharkiv. We hope to help other Ukrainian boys and girls fulfill her dream.

Biographical podcast about Yulia Zdanovska (in Russian and English)

Yulia's Dream in the Media:

“Yulia’s Dream” to support young, at-risk Ukrainian students of mathematics: MIT Department of Mathematics launches a free math enrichment and research program for Ukrainian high school students and refugees (MIT News, March 30, 2022)

Siobhan Roberts, In Ukraine, Mathematics Offers Strength in Numbers (The New York Times, September 12, 2023)