+ Together with <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.icms.org.uk" rel="external nofollow">ICMS</a><img src="img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> the Society initiated a pilot programme of <strong>generic skills</strong> training for Scottish-based mathematics and statistics PhD students, and ran them for two years. The successful <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.icms.org.uk/activities/pgcourse" rel="external nofollow">generic skills programme</a><img src="img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> is now entirely funded by participating departments.<br />

+ Click <em>No such attachment on this page</em> (produced in March 2012).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />

+ The next meeting will be held from 28 to 30 May 2012, and details can be found <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.icms.org.uk/workshops/burn2012" rel="external nofollow">on the ICMS website</a><img src="img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />.<br /><br /><br /><br />The previous meeting was held from 30 May to 1 June 2011, organised by Radha Kessar (Aberdeen) and Max Neunhoeffer (St Andrews) with help from Maria Chlouveraki (Edinburgh). In total 23 students from five universities participated.<br />

-

- Registration information for the next meeting will be available in due course.

+ <ol><li>Applications should be made on the <a href="tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=70&amp;page=Application Procedure&amp;download=y" class="wiki" title="EMS_fund_form.txt">form</a>. Closing dates for applications are as follows: 15 September, 15 November, 15 January, 15 March and 15 May. Applicants should expect an acknowledgment of receipt within a week after the closing date and are requested to contact the <a class="wiki" href="mailto:&lt;mth020@abdn.ac.uk&gt;" rel="">Research Support Fund Convener</a> if they do not receive this. Applications will normally be decided in about six weeks, but early application is recommended and at least three months should be allowed whenever possible.

+ <div style=" width:152px;"><a href="http://journals.cambridge.org" class="internal" target="_blank" title="Proceedings"> <img src="http://journals.cambridge.org/cover_images/PEM/PEM.jpg" height="200" width="150" style="float:right;" alt="Image" title="Proceedings" /></a> <div class="mini" style="width:150px;"> <div class="thumbcaption">Sample Image. </div> </div></div><br />

+ <strong>General Secretary</strong> Prof Agata Smoktunowicz<br />

- <strong>Convener Ed Comm</strong> Dr Colin Campbell (by invitation)<br />

+ <strong>Convener Ed Comm</strong> Dr David Pritchard (by invitation)<br />

+ We welcome new members - the <a title="Membership" href="tiki-index.php?page=Membership" class="wiki ">Membership</a> page contains information on how to join as well as details of the societies with which the EMS has reciprocity agreements. <strong>Mathematical sciences PhD students at the Scottish universities are entitled to free membership.</strong><br />

+ <h1 class="showhide_heading" id="Application_Procedure_and_Guidance">Application Procedure and Guidance</h1>

- <ol><li>Awards this session will be made for activities taking place before 30 September 2012. Each institution will be restricted to at most two applications with a total limit of £500 in a single school year, although note that one application can cover multiple activities and it is expected that many applications will be for smaller amounts. Note also that there is a limit of £125 payable as a fee to commercial organisations or individuals. Applications should be made on the accompanying form. There are no closing dates but early submission of applications is strongly encouraged. They will be considered at any time until the fund's budget is exhausted. After completion, the application form should also be signed by the applicant's Head Teacher/Head of Department (or other appropriate person) to indicate their support.<br /></li><li> Applications will normally be decided within about six weeks.<br /></li><li> Importance is placed on supporting activities for which funding is not available from normal school sources.<br /></li><li> A self-contained case for support should be provided. It should not exceed three sides of typescript and should cover the following points.<br /><ul><li>A description of the activity proposed.<br /></li><li>Who will benefit from the activity and in what way.<br /></li><li>A financial breakdown of the expenditure involved.<br /></li><li>Details of any other applications made to support the activity and the dates when the results of such applications will be known.<br /></li><li>An explanation of why normal school funds will not provide support.<br /></li></ul></li><li>Applicants are welcome to discuss their proposal before submission with the Convener of the Society's Education Committee, Dr David Pritchard (<a class="wiki" href="mailto:david.pritchard@strath.ac.uk" rel="">david.pritchard@strath.ac.uk</a>, tel: 0141 548 3819).

+ <h2 class="showhide_heading" id="What_sort_of_activities_do_we_fund_">What sort of activities do we fund?</h2><br /><br /><br />In the past we have supported a wide range of activities. The following list is not exhaustive nor in any order of priority, and we would be very happy to receive applications for other types of activity.<br /><br /><ul><li> Transport for pupils from isolated rural schools to attend events such as <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://scottishmathematicalcouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=21&amp;Itemid=30" rel="external nofollow">Enterprising Maths</a><img src="img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" />.<br /></li><li> P7 Maths Days for pupils from feeder primaries to help ease the primary/secondary transition.<br /></li><li> Maths/puzzle clubs and &quot;puzzle of the week&quot; competitions.<br /></li><li> Mathematics Masterclasses.<br /></li><li> Revision events and study camps for Higher and Advanced Higher pupils.<br /></li><li> Whole-school maths &quot;roadshow&quot; events.<br /></li><li> Cross-curricular projects with a substantial mathematical element, such as mapping and building a scale model of the school.<br /></li></ul><br />Please note that the events should benefit (possibly among others) pupils who have particularly high potential in mathematics: thus, although we acknowledge the importance of promoting basic numeracy, this falls outwith the remit of the fund.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2 class="showhide_heading" id="Writing_a_good_case_for_support">Writing a good case for support</h2><br /><br /><br />A good case for support makes it easy for the Committee to identify what the expected benefits of the activity are and confirm that it represents good value for money. The case for support should not normally exceed three pages of A4 and should cover the following points.<br /><br /><ol><li>A <strong>description</strong> of the activity proposed. If it is in response to a particular need or if similar events have run successfully in the past then it would be helpful for us to know this.<br /></li><li>Who will <strong>benefit</strong> from the activity and in what way. It is helpful for us to know how many pupils, of what age group(s), will be involved. We are happy to support events for small groups as long as it is clear why this is appropriate.<br /></li><li>A <strong>financial breakdown</strong> of the total expenditure involved. We appreciate that it is often unrealistic to provide a very detailed budget a long time in advance, but please supply as much information as possible. In particular, if you are applying for money to purchase resources, please include details of the supplier and of the particular resources you intend to buy. (If an online catalogue reference is available then this is particularly helpful!) If the resources you have in mind are from a commercial supplier, we also advise you to check whether equivalent but less expensive resources are available elsewhere. For many activities, the <a class="wiki external" target="_blank" href="http://www.maths.liv.ac.uk/lms/funmaths/" rel="external nofollow">FunMaths Roadshow</a><img src="img/icons/external_link.gif" alt="(external link)" width="15" height="14" border="0" title="(external link)" class="icon" /> material produced by the Liverpool Mathematical Society may be appropriate, and has been used successfully in the past; note that this requires photocopying / printing, so you would need to include these expenses in your application.<br /></li><li>Details of any <strong>other applications</strong> made to support the activity and the dates when the results of such applications will be known. If non-financial support has been offered from other sources (e.g. staff giving up their free time to run an event, or another institution providing free accommodation for it) then it would also be helpful to know this. We are especially keen to support events when there is evidence of strong support from the school or from the wider community, although we recognise that this is not always possible.<br /></li><li>An explanation of why <strong>normal school funds</strong> will not provide support.<br /></li></ol><br /><br /><br />Applicants are welcome to discuss their proposal before submission with the Convener of the Education Committee, Dr David Pritchard (<a class="wiki" href="mailto:david.pritchard@strath.ac.uk" rel="">david.pritchard@strath.ac.uk</a>, tel: 0141 548 3819).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><h2 class="showhide_heading" id="Application_procedure">Application procedure</h2><br /><br /><br /><ol><li>Awards this session (2011/12) will be made for activities taking place before 30 September 2012. Each institution will be restricted to at most two applications with a total limit of £500 in a single school year, although note that one application can cover multiple activities and it is expected that many applications will be for smaller amounts. Note also that there is a limit of £125 payable as a fee to commercial organisations or individuals.<br /></li><li>Applications should be made on the accompanying form. There are no closing dates but early submission of applications is strongly encouraged. (We cannot support events retrospectively.) Applications will be considered at any time until the fund's budget is exhausted. After completion, the application form should also be signed by the applicant's Head Teacher/Head of Department (or other appropriate person) to indicate their support.<br /></li><li>A self-contained case for support should be provided, following the guidelines above. It should not exceed three sides of typescript. Importance is placed on supporting activities for which funding is not available from normal school sources.<br /></li><li>Applications will normally be decided within about six weeks. In some cases we may offer part-funding or conditional funding, or invite applicants to submit a modified version that meets concerns raised by the Committee.

- </li><li>If an award is made, a short report on the activity supported should be sent to the Society. This should include a brief, but complete, financial statement. The support of the Society should be acknowledged in any publicity material associated with the activity. Any profit from any activity supported by the Fund should first of all be used to refund the grant (pro rata with other awards received).

+ </li><li>If an award is made, then once the activity has taken place a short report should be sent to the Society. This should include a brief, but complete, financial statement. The support of the Society should be acknowledged in any publicity material associated with the activity. Any profit from any activity supported by the Fund should first of all be used to refund the grant (pro rata with other awards received).

+ Download the complete programme <a href="tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=151&amp;page=Meetings&amp;download=y" class="wiki" title="syllcard201112.pdf">here</a><br />

+

+ 3 June: CMS letter to EPSRC concerning the funding of mathematical physics

+