The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) are pleased to announce that they will offer each year three scholarships to support Canadian undergraduate students registered in a mathematics or computer science program to attend a semester at the Math in Moscow program.

The Independent University of Moscow

The Independent University of Moscow (IUM) is a small, elite institution of higher learning focusing primarily on mathematics. It was founded in 1991 at the initiative of a group of well known Russian research mathematicians, who now comprise the Academic Council of the University. Professors Pierre Deligne and Robert McPherson, both permanent members of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, also played crucial roles in founding the Independent University. The American Mathematical Society has had a special (although not official) relationship with the institution as well, arranging for help in obtaining publications and helping financially during one especially difficult period.

The Math in Moscow Program

Recently, the Independent University of Moscow created a new program, offering foreign undergraduate students specializing in mathematics and/or computer science the chance to spend a semester in Moscow studying within its MATH in MOSCOW program. A list of titles of the courses available to program participants, together with a list of the faculty at IUM and those currently active in the MATH in MOSCOW program, can be found on the website: www.mccme.ru/mathinmoscow

The courses are taught in English. Besides mathematics courses, a Russian language course and a course in the history of Moscow (in English) will be proposed. For those who know enough Russian, courses in Russian literature and history (in Russian) are also be available. The list of math courses mentioned above includes two courses in theoretical computer science.

The main feature of the Russian tradition of teaching mathematics has always been the development of a creative approach to studying mathematics from the outset, the emphasis being on problem solving rather than memorizing theorems. Indeed, for the Independent University, discovering mathematics under the guidance of an experienced teacher is the central principle of its program, and the MATH in MOSCOW program emphasizes in-depth understanding of carefully selected material rather than broad surveys of large quantities of material. Even in the treatment of the most traditional subjects, students are helped to explore significant connections with contemporary research topics. This is possible because most of the program's teachers are internationally recognized research mathematicians, and all of them have considerable teaching experience in English, typically in the U.S. or Canada. (All instruction is in English.)

The MATH in MOSCOW program provides a fifteen-week-long research experience for students, not only with other mathematically talented and highly motivated undergraduates but also with some of the world's leading mathematicians. Students will be learning mathematics in an environment similar in spirit to that of an NSERC summer scholarship, but with much broader representation from a world-class international community. This is an excellent preparation for those who intend to pursue graduate studies in mathematics.

The following excerpt is taken from material on the MATH in MOSCOW program on the IUM web site.

We expect that the enrolment for all our courses will be small, so that the teachers will be able to work individually with all the students in the classroom as well as during consultation hours. Mathematics courses are taught with emphasis on problem solving rather than memorizing theory: this emphasis is characteristic of the Moscow school of mathematics.

However, we do not expect that students in the Math in Moscow program have had extensive math problem solving experience ... Our teachers are very attentive to student feedback; quizzes, tests, informal discussions allow them to control the level of the course, making it accessible to all the students taking it.