Mathematics Centre Maastricht launches successfully
Mathematics in Maastricht? Why yes – for more than 30 years already! The recently-established Mathematics Centre Maastricht (MCM) is a first, however, and has already seen over fifty researchers from across the university join its ranks.
Last month’s kick-off meeting gathered a band of 30 researchers for a lively discussion on Zoom. Which direction will their mathematics centre take? What sort of events do they plan to organize? And most importantly: who are those other colleagues at Maastricht University, working on surprisingly closely related projects?
Back to the 80’s
Maastricht University actually used to have its own mathematics department, which was founded in 1987. As departments and faculties developed into the university we know today, mathematics spread out and matured in various faculties. Ties between today’s Department of Data Science and Knowledge Engineering (FSE) and the Department of Quantitative Economics (SBE) go all the way back to the 80s – and staff members involved with the original mathematics department are still active today.
It is therefore no surprise that participants in the MCM kick-off meeting hit it off like old friends. They identified numerous opportunities for collaboration, which is one of the centre’s main goals – to unite mathematics-oriented research and teaching across Maastricht University. Mission successful: “I had no idea we were so many”, one visibly happy participant exclaimed.
Reunited and ready to pack a punch
The centre also serves another purpose: to bring visibility and representation to UM’s mathematics community on a national level.
Outreach activities which already existed prior to the centre’s founding – like the MMM high school competition and the Math/Maastricht city guide – are now all part of the centre. MCM already represents our university’s mathematics community in various national platforms, and judging by the many ideas that flowed from the kick-off meeting, the centre is on course to make an even bigger splash in the near future. Stay tuned!
Are you a mathematics-oriented researcher or lecturer at UM, and do you want to become part of the Mathematics Centre Maastricht? MCM is open to everyone at Maastricht University: send an e-mail to info-mcm@maastrichtuniversity.nl to join.
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