Annual Report to Members 2015 Glossary ACME — Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education SET — Science, Engineering and Technology ALMAB — A level Mathematics Advisory Board S&FE — Schools and Further Education AoC — Association of Colleges SIAM — Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics BAMC — British Applied Mathematics Colloquium SIAM UKIE — UK and Republic of Ireland Section of BMC — British Mathematical Colloquium SIAM BIS — Department for Business, Innovation and Skills STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and CMath — Chartered Mathematician Mathematics CMS — Council for the Mathematical Sciences THE — Times Higher Education DfE — Department for Education TSST — Teacher Subject Specialism Training ECM — Early Career Mathematicians UCL — University College London EdMS — Edinburgh Mathematical Society UKIPG — UK Inter-Professional Group EPSRC — Engineering and Physical Sciences Research ULO — University Liaison Officer Council EuMS — European Mathematical Society EUROMECH — European Mechanics Society FE — Further Education FRS — Fellow of the Royal Society FTE — Full Time Equivalent GCE — General Certificate of Education GCSE — General Certificate of Secondary Education HE — Higher Education HEA — Higher Education Academy HEdSA — Higher Education Services Area HEFCE — Higher Education Funding Council for England HEI — Higher Education Institutions HoDoMS — Heads of Departments of Mathematical Sciences ICT — Information, Communications, Technology IT — Information Technology IMA — Institute of Mathematics and its Applications LMS — London Mathematical Society LSE — London School of Economics MA — The Mathematical Association MEI — Mathematics in Education and Industry MP — Member of Parliament MSOR — Mathematics, Statistics and Operational Research NANAMIC — National Association of Numeracy and Mathematics in Colleges NCETM — National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics NCTL — National College for Teaching and Leadership Ofqual — Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator ORS — Operational Research Society OUP — Oxford University Press PgLO — Postgraduate Liaison Officer PSRB — Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies QAA — Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education QTS — Qualified Teacher Status RCUK — Research Councils UK RSS — Royal Statistical Society 2 INTRODUCTION IMA AND GOVERNMENT 2015 was another good year for the IMA. Both in its own right and as a member of CMS the IMA has been involved with a wide range of We ran the Department for Education Mathematics engagement activities in Parliament this year. Initial Teacher Scholarships scheme for a third successful year recommending 76 outstanding We were awarded a fourth DfE / NCTL grant to run applicants for scholarship funds, and were awarded a the Mathematics Teacher Training Scholarships grant to repeat the process for a fourth year. scheme. Our e-Student undergraduate programme continues IMA Council members are in regular contact with to mature. We now have more e-Students than we DfE, BIS, HEFCE, and EPSRC. have traditional members. At December 2015 there were 5,930 e-Students. On 9 March John McWhirter chaired the panel of CMS judges who selected the ‘SET for Britain’ We continue to engage with social media and now mathematics awards (which is now run by the have over 9,370 members of our LinkedIn Group; Parliamentary and Scientific Committee). We were and our ‘Company’ LinkedIn Group has over 13,820 very thankful for the generous sponsorship of these followers. This represents a major national and prizes by the Clay Mathematics Institute and the international following! Bank of England. This is the largest science event held in the Houses of Parliament annually, with the Our conference team ran 12 events welcoming 661 aim of strengthening dialogue with Parliamentarians. delegates. The Voice of the Future event took place on 4 Our fourth Employers’ Forum was hosted by Rolls- March 2015 at Portcullis House. The event, Royce, with a bonus visit to their wonderful Rolls- organised as part of National Science and Royce Heritage Trust! Engineering Week, was an opportunity for scientists aged 16-35 to put questions to a panel of MPs. We continued to develop our Mathematics Matters case studies that have been so successful. The Parliamentary Links Day took place on 23 June at the Houses of Parliament. The theme of the 2015 We played a leading role with the CMS in the event was the ‘Science and the New Parliament’. inclusion of mathematics within SET for Britain at Parliament. Our researchers and posters were so Our Executive Director, David Youdan, has strong that we have been invited back for 2016. continued to serve as an Advisor to the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee. The IMA ran the biggest maths stand in the biggest Big Bang ever. 65,000+ students and parents in four SERVICES TO MATHEMATICS days! The IMA MathsCareers website attracted almost Big Bang 250,000 visits over the year and it has over 3,980 In 2015, the Big Bang Science and Engineering Fair followers on Twitter. We also issued three more returned to the Birmingham NEC. The survey of the editions of our e-16+ newsletter. 2014 event suggested that visitors lacked awareness of careers in mathematics following their attendance. And on top of this we ran our regular activities Consequently, in the 2015, mathematics activities covering branches, education, grants, journals, were distributed through the show to improve mathematics consultations, and Mathematics Today. interaction. We hope that you enjoy reading the comprehensive The IMA was allocated 45 m2 in which it details in the rest of this report. demonstrated both Outreach Kits, the Space Shuttle 3 simulator and the Foam Cube Challenge. All the invited collaboration from other members of the items proved very successful with visitors. The IMA committee to feed into the response. was fortunate in being supported by enthusiastic students from local universities and also Bath. Professor Elizabeth Mansfield was an invited speaker at the “Successfully Integrating Women In To Overall there were fewer maths exhibits although STEM” meeting in September 2015 which was Steve Joiner from Coventry, the team from GCHQ organised by Inside Government. Diversity in the and the University of Essex all made welcome Mathematical Sciences community continues to be returns. an important topic for the Committee. Visitors to the NEC were at roughly the same level as in 2014 and despite concerns about the new layout, Journals the stand was as busy as ever as 65,000 visitors The Institute owns seven academic journals, which engaged enthusiastically with maths activities. are published in print and online by Oxford University Press (OUP). The journals are: Research Committee • IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics Professor Elizabeth Mansfield, Vice President Learned Society, chaired the Research Committee in Editors: Alan R. Champneys, University of 2015. Professors Darren Crowdy, James Davenport, Bristol; Yibin B. Fu, University of Keele and Rod Halburd, Rebecca Hoyle, Ian Roulstone and Demetrios T. Papageorgiou, Imperial College Ahmer Wadee joined the Committee during 2015. London. The full membership of the Committee can be • IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis viewed via the Quick Link ‘Research’ on the IMA Editors: Arieh Iserles, University of Cambridge website homepage. and Endre Süli, University of Oxford. • Mathematical Medicine and Biology: A Journal These researchers contribute to our discussions with of the IMA the research funding councils and policy makers, and Editors: Oliver E. Jensen, University of work to promote the benefits of fundamental and Manchester; John R. King, University of applied mathematical research to the economy and to Nottingham and James P. Keener, University of society. The Research Committee also assess Utah. applications for Small Grants. • Information and Inference: A Journal of the IMA In 2015 the Research Committee contributed its Editors: Robert Calderbank, Duke University; views towards a CMS response to the “Nurse Review David Donoho, Stanford University; John of UK Research Councils”. Research Committee Shawe-Taylor, University College London and nominated young researchers, via CMS, to be Jared Tanner, University of Oxford. considered for participation in the “Voice of the • IMA Journal of Mathematical Control and Future 2015” event, which provided a unique Information opportunity for young scientists and engineers to Editors: Nicos Karcanias, City University and enjoy a ‘Science Question Time’ with members of Sarah Spurgeon, University of Kent. the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology. • IMA Journal of Management Mathematics Editors: Philip Scarf, University of Salford; Aris The Research Committee submitted a response to the Syntetos, University of Cardiff and Rogemar BIS consultation on Support for Postgraduate Study. Mamon, University of Western Ontario. An interview of Research Committee member, Dr • Teaching Mathematics and its Applications: an Helen Wilson, which described the challenges faced International Journal of the IMA by mathematicians today and introduced the Editors: Duncan Lawson, Newman University; Institute’s Mathematics Matters case studies was Christopher Sangwin, Loughborough University published in International Innovation; Dr Wilson and Anne Watson, University of Oxford. 4 Five journals currently have impact factors. The IMA • 15th IMA International Conference on Journal of Numerical Analysis, The IMA Journal of Cryptography and