Posts in STEM
The Times: Tencent: Tech giant backed by Beijing funded Cambridge research

Cambridge University received a “generous gift” from a Chinese software company with links to the communist regime to fund an engineering fellowship, The Times has learnt.

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UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Grade Boundaries (over the last 24 years) - IMC

For those parents whose children sat the UMKT Intermediate Maths Challenge from the 1st - 4th February, I’ve pulled together the last 24 years of grade boundaries. Going forward, you’ll be able to find yearly updated boundaries on my website Grade Boundaries

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The Times: The world’s finest maths brains By Monique Rivalland

Grigori Perelman, 54

Alex Gerko, 41

Demis Hassabis, 44

Terence Tao, 45

Sir Martin Hairer, 45

Alexandra Botez, 25

Wang Pok Lo, 16

Sir Roger Penrose, 89

Jim Simons, 83

Hou Yifan, 26

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The Times: INTERVIEW - Meet Milo Beckman, the whizz-kid making maths supercool

Milo Beckman was studying advanced algebra when he was 8. By 15, he was a Harvard prodigy. Now aged just 25, he’s written a brilliant book that takes everything we know (and fear) about maths out of the equation – starting with numbers.

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The Times: University students ditch arts degrees and opt for medicine

New medical schools have opened, allowing 12,000 students to start medical degrees last autumn

The arts degree is in steady decline as medicine, computing and engineering soar in popularity, university entry figures show today.

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The Guardian: London maths teacher shortlisted for $1m teaching prize

Dr Jamie Frost’s tuition website went viral during lockdown, helping millions of pupils around the world with their studies.

A London mathematics teacher has been shortlisted for a $1m (£780,000) international teaching prize after his tuition website went global during lockdown, helping millions of pupils in the UK and around the world to continue their maths studies at home.

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The Sunday Times: UK university rankings: the best universities by subject

As well as institutional rankings, The Sunday Times and The Times have identified the centres of excellence within each of 67 subject areas. The subject rankings are based on student opinion on teaching quality and their wider university experiences, combined with the outcomes of the 2014 research assessments, graduate job prospects and course entry standards.

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Simon Singh: The Maths Masterclass Tutorials (Year 8 & Year 11)

NB Parents can nominate children. Please see the rules at the bottom of this page.

The Maths Masterclass Tutorials are an intense programme of FREE online Maths tuition designed to stretch and challenge the very best young mathematicians

Following the huge success of our pilot in May, we are now scaling up to a year-long FREE programme. The Maths Masterclass Tutorials programme is delivered by TalentEd in partnership with best-selling author Dr. Simon Singh.

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Guardian: Houston, we have a parent: what draws sci-fi to motherhood?

As I live with a screenwriter husband, we watch films as a family a lot, and I do mean A LOT!

We’ve watched our fair share of space movies and although our daughter is intrigued by all things space, the thought of travelling there is a big no no. It frightens her. However she is interested in working for NASA, when she’s an adult.

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Guardian: Covid symptoms: diarrhoea and vomiting may be key sign of coronavirus in children – study

Interestingly, a few days before I started to suffer from Covid symptoms (19th March), my 12 year old daughter complained that she felt nauseous. We assumed she might be suffering from a little anxiety, caused by the virus’s spread and her potentially being over tired. I took her into school late on the Tuesday (11am), school closed 4pm on the Wednesday, to start remote lessons on the following Monday and I started to get sick on the Thursday.

Did she catch Covid and pass on to me? We still don’t quite know. I donated blood plasma and now know that I have antibodies, although sadly not high enough to donate again. My husband and daughter have not yet been tested.

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Edutopia: Dragons and Fairy Tales in Science Class

“Did you know that a long, long time ago, long before there was even pizza in Chicago, we were known for something else—dragons?”

The students laugh, knowing it’s not true, but they lean forward to hear more.

“See, here in Chicago we had the most beautiful dragons that anyone had ever seen. Dragons that had colors that people couldn’t even imagine. If you were stealthy enough and watched over by the lake, you could have seen dragons of the deepest blues, whose scales changed colors with the seasons. Over in Grant Park, you might spot dragons with scales in jewel-toned greens hiding in the trees, and white winter dragons that shimmered in the coldest weather. But then everything changed.”

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The Guardian: Can you solve it? Are you smart enough for MIT?

I have a 12 year old, maths head of a daughter, who has MIT or CalTech aspirations. I will show her this article this week. I have found out recently, that if she’d like to study maths at MIT, she needs to be one of the UK’s top mathematicians! No pressure!!!

In 1966, MIT student Allan Gottlieb published his first Puzzle Corner in the MIT Technology Review.

More than half a century later, Gottlieb – who has been a computer science professor at New York University since 1980 – continues to publish Puzzle Corner in every issue.

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UKMT - JMC (Junior Maths Challenge) 30th April 2020 UPDATED

My year 7 daughter has begun her 12 week countdown to the UKMT (UK Maths Trust) JMC (Junior Maths Challenge - year 8). This year she's decided to use only past papers, which has meant I spent part of last week printing papers & answers to create folders (JMC 1999-2019, Kangaroo bonus 1999-2019, Olympiad 1999-2019 and IMC 1999-2019 papers). She used the IMC (Intermediate - year 11) for her Kangaroo bonus round practice last year, scoring 112/135. 

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“Risk-taking only happens when you give students the chance to push ahead”

What happens when you bring together high-school students, teachers, and technology entrepreneurs to experiment with new ideas for learning? Christoph Wittmer talks about shaping the future of education with innovation.

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America's 14-year-old 'Top Young Scientist' has a plan to fight superbug diseases

Your average American 14-year-old just started his or her freshman year in high school. They might be trying out for their school basketball team for winter sports or they could be auditioning for the school play.

But Kara Fan is not your run-of-the-mill 14-year-old. She is America’s Top Young Scientist.

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Evening Standard: Episode 5 of Evening Standard's Women Tech Charge podcast with Alice Bentinck of Entrepreneur First

The Evening Standard’s Women Tech Charge podcast is back for series two and Entrepreneur First co-founder Alice Bentinck is this week’s guest.

Hosted by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, the CEO of STEMettes.org, Women Tech Charge invites women from all areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to share amusing and insightful insights into their careers and what it’s really like to be part of the 17 per cent of the UK’s tech workforce that identifies as female.

Bentinck had her first taste of entrepreneurship when she was 16 and tried the Young Enterprise programme at school. Her team was given £10 and tasked with coming up with a product.

“It was just the beginning of understanding that business was a thing and that start-ups were a thing and just the rush of having a small team, creating a product and then selling it to people and they will give you money.”

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