The math problem in front of Boyan Litchev felt familiar — something a professor might pose in class. For the next two hours, the second-year computer science and math specialist worked through it, erasing and starting over more than once. When he set down his pen with 20 minutes to spare, he felt satisfied. And for good reason.
Litchev was the highest University of Toronto scorer at the 2025 William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, a prestigious contest for undergraduate students across Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. The competition awards scholarships and cash prizes of up to $2,500 to top students and up to $25,000 to top schools.
Following the achievement, Litchev also became a U of T Excellence Award (UTEA) recipient — a rare honour for a second-year student.
Finding meaning in the challenge
While the recognition is significant, for Litchev, competitions like Putnam are just as much about something else: a deeper connection to the subject.
“The biggest benefit of Putnam is the opportunity to get excited about math and discuss math with others,” he says. “There’s also something really fun about seeing a question and intuitively knowing why the claim would make sense, but working out the details and making sure your answer is coherent so you can share it with others. It creates a sense of community.”
Professor Ignacio Uriarte-Tuero understands that sense of community well. As the local organizer for Putnam, he helps students prepare through group study sessions. He sees the competition as a strong indicator of ability and potential.
“Success indicates that students have a very good ability to solve problems and high standards of rigour because the marking system is very hard,” he says. “People who have done well in Putnam have often gone on to be very good researchers later. There is a high correlation.”
Unlike more procedural problem-solving, where the path to a solution is often clear, Putnam-style questions require patience and a willingness to explore. Not knowing where a problem will lead and working through the ambiguity is part of the draw. At the same time, Litchev says coursework concepts helped inform his approach, highlighting how competition math and classroom learning reinforce one another.
“There were Putnam problems I solved because of what I had learned in the classroom,” he says. “Analysis and topology especially helped. I’ve also heard people say that competition improves their mathematical maturity and helps them approach problems better, which also helps in class. The process of thinking about abstract math is transitive.”
From competition to research
That trajectory is already taking shape through Litchev’s UTEA fellowship, which will give him direct experience on a faculty-led research project. UTEAs are valued at a minimum of $7,500. Litchev says he’s looking forward to spending 16 weeks in the lab, working with his supervisor and peers on developing a cryptographic protocol.
“I’m excited to be able to work on this project over the summer, and I’m already starting to think about how I’ll approach it,” he says. “I’m also glad the university is valuing this type of research and trusting me to do it. It’s a great opportunity.”
