ICLMS Research Projects - Mentoring
What is Imperial College London Mathematics School?
Imperial Maths School is a state-funded sixth form in collaboration with Imperial. The aims of the school are to increase the pipeline of skilled mathematicians into degrees at high-tariff universities, widen participation in the mathematical sciences, and ensure that its graduates are well prepared for university study and beyond. This project is part of a programme, supported by experts in their fields, to enrich the studies of ICLMS students beyond the A level curriculum.
What would the project involve?
We are looking for mentors either working in business or industry, or academic mentors at PhD level and above to work with a small group of Year 12 (16/17 year old) students on a research project.
We are looking for a broad range of topics for projects but each should involve some application or use of mathematics. This role will involve:
- Setting an interesting project on a topic of your choice in your area of expertise for students to research.
- Providing guidance, mathematical support and sources in online meetings and via email.
- A 10-15 hour voluntary commitment between September 2024 and March 2025.
Students will produce a poster and report on their topic, and mentors will provide feedback on draft copies. Additionally, students will give a 10 minute presentation at Imperial at the end of the project, which their mentors as well as friends and family are welcome to attend. Some example topics from the last cohort of students include Period Doubling and Chaos in Nonlinear Maps, Investigating the Genus of Topological Manifolds, Galaxy Rotation Curves and Dark Matter, and Associativity of Floating-Point Arithmetic.
We are open to any topic with a mathematical aspect that can be studied at a level appropriate for high achieving early A level students.
Where can I see examples of projects and mentors from previous years?
Mentors come from a variety of disciplines and levels of academia, with all selected individuals teaching or conducting research at Imperial.
If you have any questions, or are interested in being involved in this, or any other ICLMS outreach activities, please contact the headteacher of the school David Lee (
dlee@imperialmathsschool.ac.uk) copying in Savannah Hersov (Imperial Outreach Team -
s.hersov@imperial.ac.uk).