Aims

• To develop oral and written presentation skills for mathematics and statistics;
• To develop the ability to communicate technical scientific results to non-specialists;
• To understand the responsible and ethical use of AI in their studies;
• To understand how to use LaTeX to typeset reports and academic posters;
• To develop teamwork, management and organisational skills;
• To develop the ability to write thorough and complete academic reports;
• Develop an understanding of an area of mathematics, statistics or mathematics education beyond those taught in the degree programme.

Outline Of Syllabus

In semester 1 students will be provided with key skills training split into three blocks:

Research skills: Finding information and reading strategies, typesetting with LaTeX, appropriate use of AI and ethical considerations;
Professional skills: Communication skills, groupwork & EDI, employability;
Specialised skills: Specific skills dependent on academic topic

In semester 2 students will work in groups of three-four to undertake a project in one of Applied Mathematics, Pure Mathematics, Statistics or Mathematics Education. Guidance is provided by an academic staff advisor who supervisors the group and assists in project management and monitoring. Groups will attend regular meetings with their supervisor, working towards an in-person presentation, a written report and poster. Participation is assessed using a weighted peer assessment with input from the academic supervisor.

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Students will develop:
• Research skills (including information sourcing, LaTeX typesetting, and ethical AI use) through lectures, and application to project work.
• Teamwork and communication skills through group projects, peer assessments, and regular meetings with academic advisors.
• Presentation skills through lectures on communication techniques and delivering oral and poster presentations, with feedback for improvement.
• Mathematical and statistical writing skills via lectures, group work, and feedback on written reports.
• Professional skills (including employability and EDI awareness) through targeted lectures
• Specialized skills through section specific training including lectures, tutorials and school placements where appropriate.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Groups assessed on a portfolio basis. Feedback and feedforward align to the development of graduate level skills: a magazine article, oral presentation, poster and technical report demonstrating the role of tailoring to media and audience. An end-point poster event aligns to academic community in a social context for informal discussion with peers, academic colleagues and external partners through the school’s Business Engagement and Advisory Board.

Portfolio elements assess students' individual and team-working skills in mathematical and statistical presentation and writing. Assessment contains both group and individual marks, with a contribution from peer assessment Group will collate content through the course of the year:
• A magazine article produced during an icebreaker event at the end of semester 1;
• An interim presentation (mid-point semester 2);
• An endpoint technical report and poster (semester 2);
• Individuals are expected to contribute equally to all portfolio elements (e.g. sections of report and time during the presentation);
• Individuals peer-assess the others and provide feedback;
• The presentation and report each have an individual and group assessment; the magazine article and poster are purely group assessments;
• Reports should be 12 pages (11 point type)
• Each assessment element marked according to separate, criteria matrix grading schemes provided at the beginning of the module
• An end-point poster-event is formative and experiential