The University of Nottingham is one of five universities to share a £2.5 million pot to create 'next-gen' degree designs that connect foundational mathematics to key applications in an increasingly AI and data driven world.
The Maths Degrees for the Future programme, launched by the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences (CaMS) has awarded funding to Cardiff University, King's College London, Imperial College London, the University of Nottingham and The Open University.
Maths graduate numbers are forecast to drop by a fifth between 2030 and 2035, raising concerns of a growing skills gap in the very areas the UK is relying on for growth: AI, climate science, fintech, and national security.
The Maths Degrees for the Future programme is a strategic push to ensure maths remains at the heart of the UK's future. CaMS, a collaboration of learned societies and experts across the mathematical sciences, is leading this effort to reimagine what a maths degree can offer in a rapidly changing world.
The programme is fully funded by the leading algorithmic trading firm XTX Markets, a major donor to maths education in the UK.
The University of Nottingham will create Mathematics in the Age of AI – aiming to evolve mathematical degrees to fit the new demands and challenges of a rapidly evolving world, whist retaining the fundamental mathematics that is the foundation of new scientific and technological advances.
The University of Nottingham is delighted to receive this Maths Degrees for the Future award. AI is changing our lives so this funding will be used to teach our students the mathematics on which all AI tools rely. The number of undergraduate maths students in the UK has fallen by 8% in the last three years. This funding will enable us to attract more students to mathematics, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds.
Professor Jens Marklof, Chair of the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences, said, "Maths Degrees for the Future offers a vision and a pathway to providing the maths skills that the nation is going to need in the years and decades ahead.
"The projected fall in the number of maths graduates and the ongoing shortfall of specialist maths teachers are punctures in the pipeline of maths talent.
We decided to take action and help create a new generation of mathematics degree programmes. The campaign has been delighted by the large number and high standard of the submitted proposals. Our expert panel faced a tough choice! The five institutions receiving funding have put forward transformative ideas and we are excited to see how the programmes bed in and develop and to share their successes with the wider mathematical sciences community.
