Cambridge Maths Graduate (First Class). Expert in MAT, TMUA, STEP, GCSE, A-level Maths, Further Maths and Maths Olympiads. Over 6 yrs of tutoring experience.

Find out more about Max

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I started developing affinity towards mathematics when my mum sent me to abacus lessons at the age of 6, where I learnt how to use the abacus to calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of many numbers. When I was studying in secondary school, I began to participate in maths competition/Olympiad which allowed me to study more advanced mathematics that were not taught in school. And naturally, I chose to study mathematics thereafter for my university degree.
  I discovered the pleasure of tutoring when I was teaching A-levels students in Shanghai as part of the summer exchange programme when I was in my second year of university. Moments of students understanding the solutions ("Oh I got it now!") are something I cherish throughout my life.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  Maths at A-level, maths entrance exam (STEP, MAT, TMUA, etc.) and maths competitions. I would discuss any topics, but usually I tend to focus more on difficult concepts that require more understanding.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Yes! Andrew Ng inspires me in many ways. He is one of the important figures in Artificial Intelligence. He has published many papers and promoted democratisation of AI. His Stanford CS229 Machine Learning lectures are some of the best lecture videos that are freely available online.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  The ability to explain a concept to students so that they could understand. Dedication. Passion. Knowledgeable. Patience. I think these are essential qualities to be a good tutor.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I pursued my undergraduate and master's degree at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. There are many great academic figures (some are Nobel Prize winners) from my college. The most famous one is Stephen Hawking, and some of you have probably heard of Francis Crick, Max Born and James Chadwick.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  Sometimes it can be discouraging when you couldn't solve a maths problem. And this happens all the time when I was doing a research project for my summer internship. It took efforts to understand the maths behind the project and I feel accomplished having done that independently, with the support of my supervisor and colleagues.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I love problem solving. It doesn't matter if it is a maths puzzle, probability question, programming quiz, I love solving problems. I have a curious mindset of understanding how things work.
  Teaching is definitely one part of my life that I enjoy a lot, as I get to meet wonderful students from different background and have the opportunities to introduce the beauty of mathematics.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I have tutored many students. Many of them achieved great results and got into their dream universities. I explain difficult concepts well and make sure my students fully understand them.