Public Engagement
At ICMS, we believe that Maths is for everyone and found everywhere. Each year we participate in many different public engagement events, which you will find more information about here. If you would like to propose your own idea for public engagement and apply for some money to do it, please take a look at our funding call.
Public engagement funding opportunities
Black Heroes of Maths Poster
In October 2022 we designed (with content advice from Nira Chamberlain) a poster to celebrate a small selection of amazing Black mathematicians. You can download the poster for free here: digital or print. We recommend taking to a printers and printing size A2 or larger.
If you are interested in helping us create translated versions of the poster get in touch with comms@icms.org.uk
Public Lectures
Sometimes from speakers at our scientific workshops, and sometimes just from great visiting speakers, we have a whole programme of public lectures. We cover a range of mathematical topics, including computing, red squirrels, art, and Black heroes of mathematics!
Festivals & Maths Weeks
For the Edinburgh Science Festival 2022 we have developed a narrated walking tour of Edinburgh that features some of the city’s most important places for maths. A Mathematical Tour of Edinburgh
In 2023 ICMS is running a hands on event as part of the EarthFest weekend at the National Museum of Scotland. Called Complete Chaos, it is all about the mathematics of chaos and what that can tell us about climate and weather!
ICMS regularly participates in both Maths Week Scotland and Maths Week Ireland, having previously run competitions for in-person Maths Magic! workshops in both Scotland and Ireland.
ICMS Visiting Fellow in Music
Musician Julien Lonchamp is the ICMS visiting fellow in music. He will is the first of what we hope will be a long stream of visiting fellows in the arts at the Centre.
He is interested in how sound and music work at the interface with other disciplines, including visual art and science. He aims to create novel immersive “sound-worlds” by combining a wide range of composition processes in order to communicate abstract or complex ideas.
He is working with us for 6 months, from the end of 2022. He is looking for mathematicians to speak with about their work to inspire some of his piece(s). If you are interested in speaking with Julien, please get in touch with director Minhyong Kim in the first instance.
Exhibitions
From 27-29 June 2022 we supported an exhibition in Milton Keynes. The exhibition was created by the Open University and will be about the beauty of aperiodic tiling - including sculpture, 3D printed items, hands on activities, and Islamic art.
We are working with Artists-in-Residence at ICMS and hope to exhibit the works created from this residency programme. Stay tuned for more information.
Other Public Engagement
We have run many training courses in Public Engagement to help develop online public engagement skills, with the help of professional maths communicators and experts in the field.
We’ve also hosted film screenings and even commissioned our own animated short films. You can watch the short video, about how maths can impact parasitic infections, below.
Video – Improving the Treatment for Parasitic Infections in Sub-Saharan Africa