The UK has many world-leading mathematicians and centres of excellence, but realising the full potential of UK mathematical sciences has long been hampered by fragmentation between different parts of the mathematical sciences community, and between academics, teachers, policymakers and industry.
The creation of a National Academy for the mathematical sciences, to act as the coordinating focal point for the community, was a key recommendation of the 2018 Bond Review of knowledge exchange in the mathematical sciences.
With the creation of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences (AcadMathSci), this ambition is becoming a reality.
The academy is a community-led initiative, bringing together academia, business, industry, government, and education – providing crucial connectivity for rewiring education for the AI and data age, while championing the importance of mathematical excellence and cutting-edge mathematical sciences research, both fundamental and directly applicable, and bolstering communication channels between researchers and users of mathematical sciences.
In numbers
And the contribution that the mathematical sciences make to the UK could not be more important. In 2013, an influential report by Deloitte estimated the contribution of mathematical science to the economy to be £208 billion. Today, the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences is publishing an updated estimate which shows the contribution of mathematical sciences to have more than doubled – with an estimated impact of £495 billion in 2023, or 20 per cent of the whole UK economy, and with 4.2 million people (13 per cent of all UK employment) working in occupations which either involve, or use tools and techniques derived from, research in the mathematical sciences.
Although a remarkably large number, it also makes sense. One only needs to look at the REF 2021 Impact Case Studies to see striking examples of the impact of mathematical sciences research on the manufacturing and financial sectors, on public policy and services, on health and wellbeing, the environment, national security, and culture and sport. And of course, REF case studies, while providing examples of the direct impact of cutting edge research conducted in HEIs, reflect only a tiny fraction of the impact of the full breadth of the mathematical sciences on the economy and society.
As a mathematician, I firmly believe in the intrinsic importance of foundational, curiosity-driven research in the mathematical sciences. But even from a purely utilitarian perspective, the reasoning of the mathematical scientist represents the ultimate transferable skill, and the body of knowledge being developed provides the essential foundations for future societal and economic impact.
Maths, policy, and convening power
The convening power of an academy that represents the whole community, across all four nations, means that it is uniquely placed to lead for the mathematical sciences community on both “maths for policy” (where mathematical sciences can support and inform policy development and implementation) and “policy for maths”.
Teaming up with the Council for the Mathematical Sciences (which brings together the five UK learned societies in mathematical sciences), the academy provided a first glimpse of what is possible when the different parts of the community come together, producing and publishing the first ever Maths Manifesto. Going forward, the academy will be a high-impact delivery mechanism to address essential national priorities – supporting the pipeline of people, knowledge, and skills that is vital for economic growth and societal wellbeing.
One major challenge that we face as a discipline is that the huge contribution of the mathematical sciences is largely unknown to society – not just to the general public, but also to decision makers: politicians, entrepreneurs, businesses, journalists.
For too many people, it is a school subject that they are relieved to say that they have left behind. The academy is ideally placed to develop programmes to provide those involved in developing policy and strategy with the foundational knowledge that they need to make informed decisions.
This doesn’t mean training them to be mathematicians, but instead equipping them with enough background to be able to make use of the straightforward access that the academy can provide to deep expertise from the full UK mathematical sciences community, in areas that range from AI, statistical modelling, and data science, to curriculum design, to national resilience. We will use our convening power to bring together stakeholders to identify the barriers to embedding mathematical science and scientists in projects from their inception – so that the full power of mathematical science reasoning is harnessed – and work with them to devise mechanisms to overcome those barriers.
For years to come
The health of the discipline is reliant upon shoring up the people pipeline at all stages from school through to research – including the supply of excellent teachers to ensure a virtuous circle. The academy’s education workstream is leading on developing a response to the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review chaired by Professor Becky Francis, and on engaging with Scottish education experts to assess and guide the mathematics curriculum in Scotland.
Evidence-based interventions will be needed at key points of the “people pipeline” to drive the supply of highly-trained mathematical scientists to industry, teaching, and the public sector, as well as strengthening the UK’s world-leading position in foundational research.
Alongside this, we will build a sustained campaign of advocacy to policymakers and wider society – over years and decades – so that in time we shift the dial on the national attitude to mathematical sciences.
My personal ambition is that one day I can introduce myself as a mathematician without being almost guaranteed the response, “I was no good at maths at school”.
I’m pro maths and many of the author’s points are well taken. However, I would like to see much more interest on the part of this maths spokesperson in partnering with other modes of knowledge rather than on insisting on maths’ singular importance, even superiority to those other knowledges (as expressed in the phrase “the reasoning of the mathematical scientist represents the ultimate transferable skill”). Quantitative reasoning already dominates public evidence, and quant skills are virtually the only ones businesses are said to care about, so it feels a bit as though the author protests too much. In addition, we live in a society in which mathematical procedures are asking for billions or, in the case of OpenAI, trillions of pounds in capitalization while society crumbles around us, in part owning to a lack of respect for sociocultural, experiential, and situated knowledges. So cooperation, please, rather than general competition.