The mathematics community has been awarded £3.3 million by the government to ensure the next generation of students includes enough graduates in the mathematical sciences.
As numbers entering higher education have increased by over 13 per cent since 2001, the numbers studying mathematical sciences has remained almost constant. At the same time, demand for such graduates is still increasing. Without a significant increase in students enrolling in mathematical sciences courses, there could be a considerable shortfall of suitably trained people entering the workforce.
The Increasing the Supply of Mathematical Science Graduates programme will support school and college students in gaining – and then sustaining – an interest in the mathematical sciences. It will also encourage them to study the mathematical sciences in higher education.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) announced the funding for mathematics as part of its programme to safeguard strategically important and vulnerable subjects. The project aims to draw in new mathematics students from under-represented groups in higher education and increase the overall amount of graduates in mathematical sciences.
David Eastwood, chief executive of Hefce, said, “We are delighted to be supporting this project. Not only do the mathematical sciences support our science base, they are also vital to almost every other sector of employment and so they are crucial for the future economic well being of this country. We are pleased to work with partners – including the learned societies, universities, schools, colleges and employers – to stimulate interest and excitement in these subjects and to bring them to the attention of pupils from a wide range of backgrounds.”
Professor Duncan Lawson, Chair of the Steering Group for the Project said, “We’re hoping to make students aware of the breadth of career opportunities that studying mathematics can open up. But we also want to help students understand the purpose of their studies, help them realise their potential and most of all to enjoy mathematics.”
The project will be led by the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Maths, Stats and OR at the University of Birmingham with three partner institutions: Coventry University, the University of Leeds (supported by Sheffield Hallam University) and Queen Mary, University of London. It will initially concentrate on three designated regions: West Midlands, Yorkshire & Humberside and London.
In addition, the project will provide support for mathematics teachers and offer them opportunities for professional development which will in turn raise students’ aspirations and achievements. Finally, the project will carry out a review of the higher education curricula to ensure they meet the needs of the students of the future.
Professor Celia Hoyles, Mathematics Advisor to the Department for Education and Skills said, “I am delighted to see this project going forward. There has been a decline in the numbers taking mathematical sciences at university over the past decade, although the trend is showing signs of reversing. We must build on the increasing numbers of students taking and achieving good grades in mathematics at A-level and encourage more young people to continue their studies to a higher level.”
The project was devised by a consortium of mathematical organisations: – the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications, the London Mathematical Society, the Royal Statistical Society, the Heads of Departments of Mathematical Sciences and the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Maths, Stats and OR.
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Notes for Editors
- For further information contact: Caroline Davis (Mathematics Policy and Promotion Officer, LMS) − De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell Square, London, WC1B 4HS. (+44 (0)20 7927 0804; caroline.davis@lms.ac.uk).
- The bodies involved in the study are: The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA), The London Mathematical Society (LMS), The Royal Statistical Society (RSS), The Heads of Departments of Mathematical Sciences (HoDoMS) and the Higher Education Academy – Mathematics, Statistics & Operational Research Network (MSOR). It is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).
- The project website is at www.moremathsgrads.org.uk.
