CoRE-Math Africa–Europe Cluster of Research Excellence in Mathematics Africa–Europe Clusters of Research Excellence

Programmes & Projects

Industrial Mathematics

The CoRE-Math Industrial Mathematics programme brings mathematicians and students together with companies, public organisations and other external partners to work on problems where mathematics can contribute. Activities include Mathematics–Industry Contact Workshops, Modelling Weeks, Study Groups with Industry and follow-up research.

The programme aims to develop research and collaboration around problems arising outside academia and to give students experience of mathematical modelling. Expected outcomes include problems developed into suitable topics for mathematical investigation, documented results from Study Groups, new research and student projects, and collaborations that continue beyond individual activities.

The programme builds on a long history of collaboration in applied and industrial mathematics in Africa and Europe.

How it works

Problem identification → Study Group with Industry → Report → Follow-up research

This is the main Study Group process. Modelling Weeks are a separate educational activity.

Working with external partners

Mathematics–Industry Contact Workshops and other interactions bring mathematicians and external organisations together to identify problems of mutual interest. They may lead to problems being developed for a Study Group or to other forms of collaboration.

Study Groups with Industry

Study Groups with Industry are intensive workshops in which mathematicians and students analyse problems proposed by companies, public organisations or other external partners. The work is intended to develop mathematical formulations, methods and findings that can be documented and, where appropriate, investigated further.

Reports

Each CoRE-Math Study Group with Industry must produce a report for every problem studied. The report documents the problem, the mathematical work undertaken and the results, providing a record for the participating organisation and for possible further research. Reports should be deposited in Mathematics in Industry Reports (MIIR), the international open repository hosted by Cambridge Open Engage, and will also be linked from the relevant Study Group pages on the CoRE-Math website.

Follow-up research

Problems investigated during a Study Group may continue through MSc or PhD projects, research visits or other joint research. This work may produce publications, further mathematical results or continued collaboration with the external organisation.

Modelling Weeks

Modelling Weeks are educational activities in which students work in groups on mathematical modelling problems. Their purpose is to develop modelling, teamwork and communication skills through the preparation and presentation of a mathematical analysis. They are separate from the Study Group process.

Activities

History

Study Groups with Industry originated in Oxford in 1968 as intensive workshops in which mathematicians work directly on problems brought by industry. The model subsequently spread internationally, including to South Africa, where the Mathematics in Industry Study Group – South Africa at Wits University began in 2004 and has developed as a long-running African Study Group programme.

The European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI) was formed by European universities during 1986–87 to promote mathematical modelling in industry, educate industrial mathematicians and operate on a European scale. Study Groups therefore predate ECMI: ECMI did not create the model, but it subsequently became an important institutional framework for industrial mathematics in Europe and oversees the European Study Groups with Industry. ECMI has also organised annual Modelling Weeks for students since 1988, providing collaborative education in mathematical modelling based on real-world problems.

In Eastern Africa, collaboration in applied and industrial mathematics between regional and Nordic partners included East Africa Technomathematics (2007–2015) and Mathematics Education and Working Life Relevance in East Africa (2013–2015). This work contributed to the development of Modelling Weeks and, later, Study Groups with Industry in Eastern Africa. The South African and Eastern African developments are distinct regional traditions within the wider international industrial mathematics movement. The present CoRE-Math Industrial Mathematics programme builds on the Eastern African experience while connecting it to wider international practice through CoRE-Math’s formal partnership with ECMI.