All Faculty of Mathematics courses

An opportunity to meet and engage with mathematics alumni who have taken a variety of interesting careers paths. The purpose of this event is to give you a glimpse of possible career opportunities beyond academia. You will hear about the different experiences of DAMTP and DPMMS alumni who have chosen to work outside of academia, with an opportunity to ask questions, obtain advice, and network over lunch.

The running order of the morning will be:

• 10.00 Arrival with Coffee/tea & pastries
• 10.30 Talks/presentations by alumni (see speakers below)
• 12.00 Panel discussion, chaired by Prof Nick Dorey (DAMTP)
• 12.30 Networking lunch
• 13.30 Finish

Speakers:

• Dr Cleo Loi
• Dr Shayan Iranipour
• Dr Mahdi Godazgar

Hosted by: Professor Nick Dorey

This event will provide the opportunity for graduate students to meet and engage with mathematics alumni who have taken a variety of different career paths. It will present an opportunity for you to hear about the different experiences of those who have chosen to work outside academia, and to ask questions and obtain advice. All alumni attending have at some stage completed degrees at the CMS.

In this session, DAMTP and DPMMS researchers who have succeeded at Grants and Fellowship applications will pass on what they know. The presentation will cover:

• Overview of the funding landscape
• How Fellowship applications work
• Guidance on writing proposals
• Guidance on the interview process

There will be an interactive element to the session, during which participants can get their 1 page proposals and CVs reviewed by academics and peers.

This session will help you to identify the key ideas within your research that you wish to communicate, and then develop your understanding of how to use a mixture of conceptual approaches, examples and analogies to explain complex mathematical ideas to an audience with no specialist mathematical or scientific knowledge. The workshop is designed to be very practical, with the aim that you’ll come away with at least an opening and closing paragraph, and an outline for a piece of work. Participants are asked to prepare for the workshop by identifying an idea they would like to work on.

This session will aim to develop a finished piece of writing, focussing on editing and finessing a piece participants have already drafted (for those also attending the writing workshop, this can build on the piece you worked on in the writing workshop). The workshop will involve practical exercises that can be used to improve a piece of writing. The workshop will include time to work individually and in groups redrafting existing work. The aim is to come to the workshop with a draft, and leave the workshop with a finished piece of writing.

"Communication is not a skill to be learned, but an art to be cultivated" This session will include reference to:

• The communication process
• Barriers to communication
• The four key communication styles
• Using assertive communication to get your message across

"Communication is not a skill to be learned, but an art to be cultivated"

This session will aim to:

• Explore every day ‘little n’ negotiations
• Assess own approach to negotiations
• Consider how professional relationships in the workplace support negotiation skills

This session is suitable for those who are interested in understanding how our working styles can impact on time management and will cover:

• How do we work? Identifying personal time preferences and the influence of individual working styles
• The brain and its bodyclock: synchronising to our body’s master clock
• Using The Eisenhower matrix for prioritising activities
• Time stealers and ways to manage them

"Team Dynamics” are invisible forces that operate between different people or groups in a team. They can have a strong impact on how a team behaves or performs and their effects can be complex. This session will explore:

• Stages of team development: knowing what ‘time’ it is in your team
• Addressing the challenges of each stage"

Resilience is becoming recognised as a defining characteristic of people who deal well with the stresses and strains of the modern workplace. This workshop will include:

• Defining resilience: what are the key elements?
• Creating a personal roadmap to build resilience and enhance well-being