Professional Standards Board

Support and recognition for mathematical scientists and professionals

The IMA is proud to offer professional standards and routes to registration for mathematicians, which recognise applicants’ education, qualifications and professional competency. The IMA also offers: the chartered designation for mathematics teachers CMathTeach which is awarded by the Chartered Mathematics Teacher Registration Authority and is incorporated within the Royal Charter of the IMA; the Chartered Scientist designation as part of a Science Council licence; and Advanced Data Science Professional certification (AdvDSP) in support of the development of professional and accreditation standards for data science as part of the Alliance for Data Science Professionals.

As with many institutes, all applications for CMath and CSci are peer reviewed by volunteer members of the Membership Committee, who have obtained similar levels of IMA recognition and chartership. This committee is responsible for assessing both individual membership and chartership applications and is chaired by the Honorary Secretary for Membership. Achieving and maintaining such recognition requires recipients to adhere to the IMA’s professional codes of conduct and maintain appropriate levels of continuous professional development (CPD). These have latterly been overseen by the Professional Affairs Committee, chaired by the VP Business, Industry and Government (formerly VP Professional Affairs). PAC has recently reviewed its remit and now focuses primarily on building and maintaining relationships with, and supporting mathematicians working in, business, industry and government (BIG) settings, and is now known as the BIG Committee. There is not scope within the Membership Committee, thanks in part to increasing numbers of membership and chartership applications, to dedicate meeting time to more general oversight of the standards.

Therefore, Council have agreed to create a dedicated board to oversee the IMA’s Professional Standards, which draws on the expertise of both committees. It will also include representatives from the IMA’s education areas, who oversee our degree accreditation programme which is aligned to the educational requirements for CMath and advanced membership grades.

Reporting to the IMA’s Trustees, the Board will lead the oversight of the IMA’s professional standards, codes of conduct, processes and procedures, related accreditation schemes, and CPD requirements to ensure they remain relevant, are subject to quality assurance reviews and continue to meet the needs of our community.

A Working Group has been formed to establish all elements required for the Board, including its composition and Terms of Reference (ToRs) in preparation to launch the board in early 2027.