Mathematics for Industry

Content

Schedule. Friday 09:00-15:00.

Aim. The aim of the course is to provide students with problem solving skills in an industrial context, as a preparation for a future career where mathematicians contribute their part in interdisciplinary teams working on real-life problems.

Format. The course consists of six meetings. On the first meeting of the course, real-world industrial problems of a mathematical nature will be presented by representatives with various industrial backgrounds, such as software companies, banks, online shops, governmental research institutes. The participating students will organize themselves in groups of 8-10 students according to the problem of their interest and will query the problem presenter in detail about all aspects of the problem, trying to formulate it in a precise mathematical way. In the next four meetings, each group will work on its problem and try to solve it, where necessary contacting the problem owner for further input. In the final meeting, the solution found by the group is presented in an oral presentation, in the presence of the industrial representatives, and a concise (10-20 page) report is handed in with a description of the solution intended for the problem owner, including a one-page management summary.

Prerequisites. Mathematical maturity in a diversity of subfields of mathematics, at the level of having finished a bachelor degree in mathematics or equivalent. Admission to the master Mathematical Sciences.

Required materials. Bring your own laptop, for internet access, data analysis, and possibly for running/developing software.

Evaluation. Final written team report 50%, final team presentation (by at most 3 team members) 20%, active individual participation 30% (judged on the basis of attendance, activity, and an individual log of work done).

Learning goals. After completion of the course, the student is able to:

• translate a possibly ill-posed industrial problem into a mathematical problem that captures the essence of the original problem
• solve this problem within a given limited amount of time, possibly in approximated form or with additional assumptions on the input
• work together in a team with diverse backgrounds, towards a common goal
• present the solution orally in a form understandable to the original problem poser
• present the solution in a written report, which is concise but still contains the most important insights

Evaluation matrix.

	report 50 %	presentation 20%	personal log 30%
is able to translate a possibly ill-posed industrial problem into a mathematical problem  that captures the essence of the original problem	x
is able to solve this problem within a given limited amount of time, possibly  in approximated form or with additional assumptions on the input	x
is able to recognize and describe his/her personal contribution to group work			x
is able to present the solution orally/in slides in a form understandable to the original problem poser		x
is able to present the solution in a written report, which is concise but still contains the most important insights	x