Year of Competition: 2017
Grant amount: $2000
Project Duration: Single Year
Type of Report: Annual
Period Covered: August 6 - 16, 2018
Description of Activity:
This 2-week event isa combination of a Summer School for Undergraduate Women in Mathematics and a Summer camp for high school students from under-represented groups, who are interested in mathematics.
This is a 3-year event, planned annually for August 2018, 2019 and 2020 (with a possible extension into further years if appropriate funding is secured).
The two weeks were filled in with mathematics presentations and problem sessions, and panel discussions. The activities were mostly separate for undergraduate women and for high school students, but one afternoon a week was dedicated to join problem sessions, where undergraduate women were mentors for the activities.
There were several excursions: to TRIUMPH, Museum of Anthropology, Biodiversity Museum, and a one-day trip to SFU, where participants visited Trottier Observatory, had a tour of campus, and had some math activities.
Assessment of Effectiveness:
The goal of the project was to provide more exposure to interesting mathematics to both groups, and show career and graduate studies opportunities for undergraduate women, and information on mathematical studies and careers for high school students. Hopefully these will inspire future career decisions for both groups. Interactions between the two groups made these messages stronger for all.
Both groups voiced strong satisfaction with the Summer School, and that it strengthened their interest in studying mathematics and STEM disciplines.
Future Plans (if any):
We are planning to repeat the event in 2019 and 2020 and, if possible, continue in future years.
In future events, we plan to strengthen the interactions between the two groups.
Financial:
The event was funded by a 3-year grant from NSERC PromoScience, and, for 2018, grants from PIMS, Fields, CRM, AARMS, CMS, and from UBC Faculyt of Science, UBC Mathematics, UBC Computing Science, SFU Faculty of Science and SFU Mathematics.
Expenses included: Travel and accommodation expenses for undergraduate women, honoraria for speakers (for both undergraduate and high school parts) and for the coordinator of the high school activities, food, costs of excursions and field trips.
We hope that money left from the CMS Endowment Grant ($1,360.76) will be used for the 2019 event.
Contact Name: Malgorzata Dubiel
[October 15, 2018]
