The University of Greenwich Maths Arcade

I had been exercised for some time about how to stretch our most able students and those who have more prior mathematical knowledge, whilst at the same time support those with weaker backgrounds or who take a little longer to grasp the mathematical concepts we teach. When the opportunity came to put in a bid for University funding I devised a project designed to address these two ambitions

Mathematical motivators: using the history of mathematics to enrich the curriculum

This article provides a summary of the MSOR funded mini project Mathematical Motivators. Mathematics is usually, and of course correctly, presented ‘ready-made’ to students, with techniques and applications presented systematically and in a logical order. However, like any other academic subject, mathematics has a history which is rich in astonishing breakthroughs, false starts, misattributions, confusions and dead-ends. This history gives a narrative and human context which adds colour and context to the discipline

A combination of industry collaboration and flipped classroom to increase learners’ confidence and skillset

This paper discusses a new 15-credit module on Data Analytics taught at the University of Greenwich to level 6 students in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The module was designed with significant input from industry which is documented here. The paper starts by explaining the motivation behind the module from both the employer’s and the University’s perspective. It then discusses the reasoning behind the way in which the material is presented to students and ends with a summary of the results and student feed-back. Noel-Ann Bradshaw is the Faculty Director of Employability in the Faculty of Architecture, Computing and Humanities at the University of Greenwich. She has instigated several em-ployability innovations within her teaching in the Department of Mathematical Sciences and is now responsible for rolling out a set of Employability Descriptors at Greenwich in order to help firmly embed employability within the undergraduate curriculum. Ben Nicholas is the Director of Global HR Reporting and Analytics at GlaxoSmithKline. His role focuses on ensuring the company’s management has the people-related reports required to manage the workforce and delivering analytical projects to provide specific insights to im-prove decision making and track corporate strategies

Editorial

Editoria

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910): an unexpected master of data

Florence Nightingale is known for her nursing skills in the Crimean War. This article shows how she used her mathematical and statistical knowledge to advise the British Army and government on the best approaches for medical data collection and management, thus significantly reducing mortality rates. Many of the problems she described are just as relevant today

Creating videos to assist students understanding of the graduate recruitment process

This opinion piece describes how a Greenwich Seed Fund project using a kit comprising several video cameras has helped to combat student apprehensions regarding many aspects of the graduate job application process