News - Department of Maths and Stats local

Speaker: Prof. Peter Ashwin

Abstract

As a researcher, we routinely take on problems that we will not be able to solve. Too little progress can become demoralizing and defeating. On the other hand, maybe we are just lacking a skill or knowledge that will enable us to easily solve the problem. How can we tell the difference? How long should one battle against a problem? Can we find a way around to solve a related but different problem? How can we identify and develop the skills that we are lacking? Are we just diverting ourselves by putting off doing something (e.g. studying, talking to someone) that may really help but is out of our comfort zone? In this session we will discuss some common roadblocks to research progress and some practical ideas to overcome them.

Speaker: Prof. Layal Hakim

About the Speaker

Layal Hakim is an associate professor and a director of education and student experience in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Exeter. In 2010, she graduated with a Bachelors of Science (Hons) in Mathematics from the Department of Mathematics Sciences at Brunel University. Shortly after, she started a PhD in the same department and researched in the applied mathematics field of Integral Equations in Fracture Mechanics. On completing her PhD, she worked at Imperial College as a postdoctoral researcher and teaching fellow, where she taught in the Department of Computing and Department of Mathematics. Since joining the University of Exeter in May 2018, she led and lectured modules across all stages of the undergraduate programme, and was actively involved in the design and development of the resources. She champions personalised learning whereby all students can identify their own strengths and weaknesses as well as the support required to help them advance in their education. She led and worked on several education research projects, where innovative approaches were introduced with the aim to make education and the learning journey inclusive and enjoyable. She is a member of national and international level committees and groups around higher education such as the Global Classroom and the Committee of Women and Diversity in Mathematics. This talk will give an overview of Layal’s journey and will give an overview of the project she worked on and other university-level and external activities she is involved in.  

View the recording of the talk here.

Speaker: Prof. Peter Ashwin

Abstract

As you develop as a researcher, you will probably be expected to undertake an ever wider range of activities and to develop a range of disparate skills. In this session, I plan to discuss how these skills might fit into a “research lifecycle” – from the first germs of an idea to publication and beyond to wider influence. We can then use this to talk about the following questions, with mathematical sciences in mind:

• What does it mean to lead or manage research rather than do it? Is there a difference?
• What is the difference between writing a dissertation, a paper, a review, an outreach material or a grant proposal?
• How can I use this to help prioritise activities about what needs (and does not need) to be done right now?

View the recording of the talk here.

The Research Students’ Conference (RSC) in Probability and Statistics is an annual conference for postgraduate research students in all areas of probability and statistics. The 2024 edition was hosted by PhD students within the department on 20-24th August 2024. See their site for more information!

There will be a one-day workshop on 24 July 2024 and online, focused on how interactive theorem provers, like Lean and Isabelle, can be used in mathematics and computer science. This event is ideal for educators and researchers who use deductive proof.

No prior experience is necessary: the day starts and ends with hands-on sessions that provide practical experience for those unfamiliar with Lean.

To register and for more details see:

https://exlean.org/workshop-interactive-theorem-proving-in-education-and-research-july-2024/#

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