A team of Estonian students ranked first in an international competition

Students who qualified for the international phase of the European Statistics Competition had to make a two-minute video on the topic “Europe reflected in statistics”. Using official statistics, contestants had to demonstrate how their country or region compares with its European counterparts.

Tim Allen from Eurostat, serving as the head of the international jury assessing the videos, noted that Radiaator’s video effectively compared Estonia to its European neighbours in a fresh and extremely well executed animated production. He added that, “taking into account the clever visuals and overall message, the jury was compelled to rank it first”.

“We are delighted that Estonian students stand out in an international competition with both great analytical thinking as well as creative skills, said Mihkel Rebane, head of the General Education Department of the Ministry of Education and Research. He also acknowledged the teachers who encourage students to apply their knowledge and skills in diverse ways.

See the winning video.

The award ceremony takes place on 11th of June in Eurostat office in Luxembourg.

Organised by the European statistical office Eurostat, the European Statistics Competition took place in academic year 2018/2019 in 15 European countries. Contestants in the younger age group were 14–16 years old and in the older age group 16–18. Estonia participated for the first time.

The competition consisted of two national phases and a European phase. Over 12,000 students from 15 countries signed up to the national competitions to solve mathematical problems and carry out statistical analyses using real data. The two best teams in each age group from each country were eligible to participate in the European phase of the competition.

In the European phase, the international jury assessed over 50 submissions and chose the top three videos per age group. Tim Allen noted, “It was a tough call but the winners convinced with their ability to tell a compelling, fun and accurate story.”

The objective of the European Statistics Competition is to promote curiosity and interest in statistics among students, encourage teachers to use new materials for teaching statistics as well as promote statistical literacy and show the role of statistics in the society.

The Estonian phase of the competition was organised by Statistics Estonia, the Ministry of Education and Research, SA Innove and the University of Tartu.

See the results of the European phase and the three best videos per age group on Eurostat website.

The results of the Estonian phase are available on the website of Statistics Estonia (in Estonian).

Official website of the competition.