School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences

Outreach

The CMS Student Admissions, Recruitment, and Outreach (ARO) Team plays a vital role in shaping the future of the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences. Our focus for outreach is to collaborate with schools, local communities, and external organisations to inspire interest in computing and mathematics and to promote access to higher education.

Undergraduate Outreach

Our undergraduates are involved in the Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme (UAS) and the Students in Classrooms Scheme whereby students are placed in schools to inspire and encourage younger students. UAS is incorporated into the module MA3511 Communicating Mathematics, and as such may be chosen as part of the Mathematics degree course.Teacher and students

If you are a mathematics teacher in Leicester or Leicestershire and would like to get involved with either UAS or the Student Associate Scheme, please contact Schools@le.ac.uk

Mathematics undergraduates involved in ambassador and teacher-training scheme at local schools

Several of our final-year mathematics undergraduates are involved each year in an ambassador and placement scheme with local schools in Leicestershire. This is a joint initiative between Mathematical Sciences, the School of Education and local schools focusing on outreach and widening participation in the region, as well as on the training of future mathematics and science teachers. As part of the 3rd year module MA3511 Communicating Mathematics, students each year are placed in schools and tasked to inspire and encourage younger high-school or older primary-school students.

Advanced Mathematics Support Programme

Problem courses

In conjunction with the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP), we deliver regular problem-solving classes for Year 12 and 13 students. This programme is aimed especially at widening participation students. We like to show you the beauty and elegance of mathematics by discussing fascinating problems.

For further information, please contact us. 

Year 10 Taking Maths Further

In partnership with the AMSP, in June 2024 we hosted a one day event for year 10 students, filled with stimulating talks and workshops designed to showcase the fun and usefulness of maths beyond the curriculum. We hope to make this an annual event in the coming years.

Mathematics articles

We create mathematics articles designed for schools to have more fun with mathematics. Here you can download our past issues.

Sample talks for schools

If you or your school is interested in getting an academic to give an outreach talk, please contact Schools@le.ac.uk. Below is a sample list of talks and workshops which we have given in the past.

Pi Day celebration 

The activity is a series of engaging experiences exploring the infinite mysteries of Pi. Students will participate in a Pi Memorization Contest, challenging their ability to recall and recite as many digits of Pi as possible. Interactive Pi Workshops will provide hands-on activities and problem-solving challenges to deepen their understanding of Pi’s significance in mathematics and real-world applications. A Keynote Lecture: The Magic of Pi will offer fascinating insights into the history, properties, and intriguing uses of Pi, inspiring students to appreciate its infinite nature.

Math curiosities

Image of students in classroom Explore "'unbelievable' math facts. Can you be convinced that the sum of all natural numbers is equal to -1/12? What is Hilbert's hotel and why is there always a room available? What is the birthday paradox and why is it boring if your sat with your twin?

Resources: slides with cool facts on etc, can be interactive through discussion, for example: how many people do you think need to be in a room for two to share the same birthday? Can you design a hotel that always has an empty room? Depending on age, you can debunk -1/12.

Spirographs

Pick two spirograph parts, can you determine how many points your spirograph image will have? Explore roulette curves and find a relationship between the inner and outer circle of the spirograph.

Text Classification

This activity introduces students to the fundamentals of text mining, a powerful technique used to extract meaningful patterns and insights from large volumes of text data. The session will begin with a short introduction to text mining, covering its applications in various fields such as search engines, sentiment analysis, and spam detection. Students will then engage in a hands-on exercise using Euclidean Distance for text classification, a simple yet effective mathematical approach to measure similarity between different text samples. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a basic understanding of how text mining works and how mathematical concepts like distance measures can be applied to classify and analyse textual data. 

The Moebius strip and beyond

This activity introduces students to the fascinating world of the Moebius strip, a one-sided, one-edged surface that challenges our intuition about geometry and topology. The session will begin with an introduction to the history and significance of the Moebius strip, followed by a hands-on investigation where students will create their own twisted loops using paper strips. Through cutting, tracing, and experimenting with these loops, participants will explore the unique properties of the Moebius strip, such as its continuous surface and unexpected behaviour when altered. By the end of the activity, students will gain a deeper appreciation for mathematical concepts in topology and their surprising real-world applications.

 Useful links

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