The IMA is proud to announce the return of the National Best Maths Project Competition for 2026. This prestigious national celebration recognises the most outstanding undergraduate project work in Mathematics, Statistics, and Operational Research from across UK universities.
About the event
Each UK university is invited to nominate one undergraduate student with the highest project grade to represent them in this exciting academic showcase. To be eligible to be nominated, the student must be an undergraduate (either BSc or MMath) who is graduating this academic year from a mathematics degree (this includes mathematics with a minor), has completed a project based module as part of their degree and whose project has a sufficient amount of mathematical content (e.g., in the past we have had entries who have presented work done on mathematics communication, statistical physics, and engineering). The nominated student will present their project in a live online competition before a panel of academic representatives and IMA staff.
The nominated student will be invited to attend an online presentation workshop, produced by the Early Career Mathematicians’ Committee, to learn some helpful tips and tricks and to practice their presentation in front of experienced Committee Members for feedback. This workshop will also be a place for the nominated students to meet their competitors to make connections.
Please note: if a student is nominated, then a member of faculty will also need to be part of the event as a member of the panel.
Event Details
Event: IMA National Best Maths Project 2026
Date: Friday, 24 July 2026
Time: 3:00pm start* (Panel briefing from 2:30pm)
Location: Online (Zoom details will be sent)
Who’s attending: University Representatives, Academic Judges, IMA Staff, Student Presenters
Awards
1st Place £500
2nd Place £250
3rd Place £150
The winner and runner up will also be invited to speak at a special event in December 2026.
The winner will also be asked to contribute an article to Mathematics Today.
*The length of event will be subject to application numbers. For guidance, last year 18 students delivered their presentations in 4 breakout rooms – which took about 3 hours.
How to Enter
To register a student, please email emma.emmerton@ima.org.uk by Tuesday 30 June 2026 with the following:
- Full name of the student
- University name
- Student’s personal email address
- Project title and a brief abstract
- A summary of the feedback given to the top scoring student on their project. This feedback will be used to aid fair judgement across universities and fields.
This event is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate student achievement, foster inter-university collaboration, and spotlight the future of mathematics in the UK.
Image credit: Canva
