The ECM Committee provides a focus for the ideas and activities of early-career IMA members, in addition to engaging, empowering and mobilising this group in supporting the IMA’s charitable aims, including promoting mathematics. Most prominently, the committee collaborates with the wider IMA to organise and run many events for the early career mathematician community, such as Virtual Maths Teas, idea exchanges on teaching in academia, hackathons and mock study groups, a seminar series and a webinar series. These provide a platform for attendees to meet and network with like-minded individuals.
Over recent years, the ECM has seen great success and continues to go from strength to strength. This has only been made possible through the hard work and dedication of the ECM Committee. We are therefore looking for enthusiastic and committed ECM members to take up the mantle and work to build on the great work that has been achieved so far. Please note that the committee collaboration mostly takes place online and there is no expectation to volunteer in-person.
The posts available for election are:
Vice Chair and Chair Designate – The Vice Chair supports the Chair, arranges committee meetings, and records and circulates committee discussions and actions. The Vice Chair is also the Chair Designate and is expected to take over as the new Chair the following year.
The Chair provides leadership and a focus for the group and supports all committee endeavours. The Chair is responsible for leading committee meetings, coordinating responses to emails sent to the IMA ECM email mailbox, and acts as direct liaison with the IMA Council and Secretariat.” The total time in the committee is 3 years: 1 year as Vice Chair and Chair Designate, 1 year as Chair, and 1 year as Immediate Past Chair.
Event Leader Designate – The Event Leader Designate shadows and assists the Event Leader in the development of new and existing events for the ECM community.The Event Leader Designate is expected to take over as the new Event Leader the following year. The Event Leader is responsible for supporting the leadership of our ECM subgroup to coordinate event organisation over the year. The role is to come up with new ideas for events, connect with maths communities to identify volunteers to support in sessions and facilitate events. The total time in the committee is 2 years: 1 year as Event Leader Designate and 1 year as Event Leader.
Engagement Leader Designate (New Post) – The Engagement Leader Designate shadows and assists the Engagement Leader. The Engagement Leader Designate is expected to take over as the new Engagement Leader the following year.
The Engagement Leader’s role is to encourage ECM members to participate more actively with the IMA through the promotion of ECM events, encouraging the upgrade of membership and gaining Chartered designation, or encouraging engagement at the local IMA branch level if available. In addition, the Engagement Leader is involved in coordinating the Committee’s communication channels such as regular updates in Mathematics Today, and supporting the development and curation of engagement channels. The total time in the committee is 2 years: 1 year as Engagement Leader Designate and 1 year as Engagement Leader.
EDI Leader Designate (New Post) – The Diversity and Inclusion Leader Designate shadows and assists the Diversity and Inclusion Leader. The Diversity and Inclusion Leader Designate is expected to take over as the new Diversity and Inclusion Leader at the end of the 2 year term of the current Diversity and Inclusion Leader (February 2026).
The Diversity and Inclusion leader’s role is to ensure the actions of the ECM committee are inline with the wider IMA diversity and inclusion activities. They are to provide oversight on how ECM committee actions may be best implemented to promote Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and to make sure that any EDI concerns are appropriately addressed. They are to suggest ways the ECM committee can better engage with, and encourage, ECMs from more diverse backgrounds to follow mathematics as a career, become involved with the IMA, and become involved with the ECM committee. The Diversity and Inclusion leader liaises with the IMA’s diversity champion, ECM events leader, and ECM engagement leader to achieve these aims. They also feedback directly to the IMA diversity champion thoughts that the ECM committee has to improve diversity and inclusion in the ECM population, and the IMA as a whole. The total time in the committee is 3 years: 1 year as Diversity and Inclusion Leader and 2 years as Diversity and Inclusion Leader.
To put forward a self-nomination for this year’s ECM Committee, please send a short biography¹ and a paragraph outlining which role you are applying for and why you feel you would be a good fit for this position. For reference, you may wish to look at the role outlines and biographies of the current committee on the ECM Committee webpage. If you would like further information, perhaps about a particular role or the commitment required, please email ecm@ima.org.uk.
The deadline for nominations is 23:59 on Wednesday 8th January 2025. All ECM members who hold an IMA membership of any grade (e.g. Member, Associate Member, Student Member) are eligible, so submit your nominations ASAP! The election period will then run from 13-24 January 2025, during which time all self-nominations received for the above posts will be circulated. IMA ECM members will be eligible to vote for those who they believe best fit these posts. Results are expected to be finalised early in the new year, so that the new committee will be ready to take over by Monday 3 February 2025.
Please send nominations to ecm@ima.org.uk.
We follow the IMA Diversity Statement, and endeavour to create a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere at the committee, with a diverse range of participants. Applicants from groups which are under-represented in the mathematical sciences are particularly encouraged.
¹ By submitting a biography for consideration, you give your consent for it to be used in emails as part of the election process, and in print and on the website should you be successfully elected. Should you be elected a photograph (High-resolution preferred) will also be requested, and used in print and on the website.
