For Yam, the motivation is practical – he sees maths not as abstract scribbles on a page as many of us might, but as an engine for real-world change.
“I’m looking forward to doing projects within climate change and looking for alternative clean energy,” he said.
“There is a ton of potential to use mathematical modelling to model things like energy transfers or energy storage.”
Yam believed his drive to turn data into real-world results fits well with EIT.
Macleans College graduate Alston Yam spent the better part of a year completing his application for a scholarship to the University of Oxford from the Ellison Institute of Technology. Photo / Supplied
EIT – with funding from Ellison, who briefly became the world’s richest man last year as Oracle shares boomed alongside AI data centre spending – aims to speed innovation by commercialising research faster.
And Yam last year demonstrated how advanced maths can translate straight into the real world and even into the lives and lounge rooms of typical sports fans.
He and fellow Macleans College students used complex maths to model a match schedule for a global sports league as part of their participation in the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge.
Their solution took into account logistics, fan travel requirements, carbon footprints, local time zones and the sporting preferences of home fans about how and when they liked to attend matches.
Travelling to Hong Kong last July, their presentation to judges earned them recognition as one of only two outstanding teams in the world, beating out hundreds of others.
Formula for success
Yam spent his early life with his head in the stars, with a passion for astronomy.
But in the middle of his high school education he attended his first Math Olympiad competition, a moment that became a turning point.
The competition helped develop problem-solving skills – skills he could take anywhere and use as a formula to decode the real world, he said.
Larry Ellison was the key figure behind Oracle Team USA, which had a long history of competing in the America’s Cup, including being beaten by Emirates Team NZ in 2017. Photo / File
“That’s one of the big things why I love maths so much, because of the different strategies you need to solve problems … that very accurately reflects real life,” he said.
Success followed quickly on the back of his maths.
He was dux of Macleans last year, a part of the school’s “outstanding” International Mathematical Modelling Challenge team in Hong Kong, and a multiple New Zealand rep at the International Mathematical Olympiad – the world’s most prestigious high school maths competition.
He was also one of 13 students last year named an NZQA Premier Scholar – the highest academic honour in the country for school students.
Last year, he also revived New Zealand’s International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics team.
He personally set up a committee to start the team and mobilised university professors and others to help, resulting in the country sending its first competitors in 12 years.
Despite doing all that, he ruled himself out of joining the team, having decided taking part would be a conflict of interest because he organised the selection process.
Auckland’s Alston Yam hopes his future research can help tackle problems caused by climate change. Photo / Supplied
That well-rounded attitude and leadership served him well in his EIT scholarship application.
Trying out for it turned into a tough, year-long assessment process.
Starting in May 2025, Yam worked on essays, technical videos, admissions testing and multiple rounds of interviews.
It paid off and he starts at Oxford in September.
His scholarship includes full Oxford tuition fees as well as a 10-week paid summer internship each year at EIT, where Yam was expected to collaborate with world-leading researchers.
He said he’s excited to tackle Oxford’s rigorous studies and socialise with other EIT scholarship winners from countries such as India, South Korea, the US and Britain.
And unbeknown to Yam until recently, he’s not the only Kiwi in the exclusive list of 20.
Westlake Boys’ High School graduate Jason Tao, a physics standout, has also earned an EIT scholarship.
Macleans College principal Steven Hargreaves praised Yam, saying he was widely respected for his humility and collaboration.
“His achievements were matched by a commitment to service within the school community,” he said.
The school said Ellison personally reviewed scholarship candidates before the final selections.
Billionaire’s bet
EIT had been billed as a world-leading research hub, although a Financial Times article in November suggested some of the multibillion-dollar plans had been scaled back.
Heavily backed by Ellison, who co-founded software giant Oracle, it aimed to finance research into medical and agriculture science, climate change, and AI and robotics.
Ellison may be best known here as the leading force behind America’s Cup contenders Oracle Team USA, who lost the 2017 cup to Emirates Team New Zealand.
Ellison and his son David Ellison have also made headlines for recent high-profile business deals and as allies of US President Trump.
Not only did Ellison briefly become the world’s richest man last year, but he was a key player in US investors taking majority ownership of TikTok as of January this year.
David Ellison most recently led Paramount in beating out Netflix to secure a US$110 billion ($186b) takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery – uniting large swathes of Hollywood production as well as news outlets CNN and CBS under one umbrella.