The meeting, held at the University of Plymouth on the 30 June 2022, had a mixture of talks from academics who teach employment skills and representatives of employees. Unfortunately, one employer who was originally scheduled to present, came down sick with Covid just before the meeting.
Dr McNeile started by reviewing his work on supervising students working on projects supplied by companies. In his first attempt he ran an afternoon workshop with material supplied by a local company that supplied analytics on web adverts. The workshop was part of a module, but because attendance did not count towards any assessment only a few students attended. The students, who did attend, enjoyed the activity. He was more successful in supervising final year group projects suggested by companies. For example, he had supervised projects using data from BT research, as well as data from a local company that was involved in moving valuable goods around the world. It was often a lot of work to convert the project supplied by the employer into a coursework at the correct level for the students.
A persistent request from industry is to improve the ability of mathematics graduates to work together in teams. Often students are put into groups and told to complete coursework, with very little guidance on how to work together and how to deal with disputes within the group. Dr. Jason Truscott from Plymouth presented a video on group work. He first explained why teamwork is important and gave some insight into the various roles in a group from leader to communicator. He suggested some good websites, which could help a student find their role in a team. Next there was a discussion about how to organize meetings and deal with discussions (and arguments) in the group.
Dr Edmund Chadwick from the University of Salford talked about the employability content in the Mathematics degrees at the University of Salford. He emphasized the importance of introducing applicants to employability, before they had even started their degree. His department runs an outreach event called Maths@WorkDays, where visiting school students were introduced to the mathematics taught at the University as well as mathematics used by employers.
Dr Wojtys from the University of Plymouth reported about teaching on the module: Operational Research and Monte Carlo methods, with content about employment in the second year. The module is fully assessed by coursework and it includes simulations using Excel and Simul8. A particular feature of the module was that one of the courseworks (worth 25% of the overall mark) was developed by Babcock International. The topic of the coursework was the analysis of items in a simulated warehouse.
The feedback from the students was mostly positive, particularly from the use of “real” data and coursework based on case studies. A few students found the additional freedom over a more traditional mathematics module to be stressful.
Tony Mann from the University of Greenwich described a final year module on Data Analytics, which was originally developed by Noel-Ann Bradshaw. The content of the module was developed after discussion with employers. Topics such as SQL, advanced Excel. the use of Tableau, and an introduction to machine learning were taught. There was a lot of emphasis on preparing students for placements and jobs after they graduate. For example, students were encouraged to create linkedin profiles. Representatives from employers gave regular talks to the students, and this was beneficial to the students, but it also allowed the staff to make sure the content taught was valued by employers. The feedback from employers was that the module trained the students well for future employment.
It was clear that the four talks from the academics that the modules with substitutional employability content had a fairly similar content. There was a focus on advanced Excel, SQL, and visualization techniques, but the modules also helped develop the student’s soft skills such as written and verbal communication.
Jo Byrne from the ESF Smart Specialisation, supported by the European Social fund, reported on her work on knowledge exchange between the University and SMEs in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. Amongst other activities, Jo had set up paid internships where students worked on projects codesigned between companies and staff at the University. Typically, the student worked with a company as part of their MSc or final year undergraduate project. Jo stressed that building relationships and networking with employers requires a lot of effort and that a dedicated person is needed for the role.
Sarah Littler from Select Statistical Services, a consultancy firm, gave an overview of working in the profession of statistical consultancy. She recounted how she became a consultant and gave an overview of the projects that Select Statistical Services work on, as well as the prestigious clients they work with. The work she did as a consultant was contrasted with doing research into statistics at a University. She stressed the importance of CPD in statistical techniques, but also that a critical skill in being a consultant was having good relationships with people.
The meeting was supported by the IMA, RSS, RSS South West Local Group, and ESF Smart Specialisation.
The talks presented at the meeting can be found on the dedicated webpage for the Involving employers in the development of the mathematical sciences curriculum workshop.
