Maths Week Ireland
| Abbreviation | MWI |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006 |
| Founders | Sheila Donegan and Eoin Gill |
| Focus | promote awareness, appreciation and understanding of maths through a huge variety of events |
Area served | both parts of Ireland |
Key people | Sheila Donegan Director of CALMAST Eoin Gill Coordinator of MWI Cordula Weiss Programme Manager CALMAST Rosario Burke Educational Resources Manager Diane Murphey Educational Resources Manager Ben Dolan Digital Engagement Manager |
| Website | mathsweek.ie |
Maths Week Ireland (MWI) is an all-island (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) mathematics outreach initiative founded in 2006 by Eoin Gill and Sheila Donegan, based on an idea by Eoin Gill. It is a project of the Centre for the Advancement of Learning of Maths, Science and Technology (CALMAST) the STEM outreach centre at Waterford Institute of Technology. It is run by Gill and Donegan who are the directors of CALMAST.[1] In 2019 MWI engaged over 400,000 people on an island with a population of under 7 million and is arguably the world's largest mathematics festival.[2][3]
Purpose[edit]
MWI is a partnership of over 50 organizations dedicated to promoting and celebrating mathematics across the island of Ireland, including universities, institutes of technology, colleges, museums, libraries, visitor centres, and other professional bodies.[4] Maths Week Ireland is supported by the Departments of Education in both parts of the island of Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the ESB Group, and various technology companies such as Google and Xilinx.[5]
MWI targets school and universities, as well as hosting weekend "street fairs" in cities such as Dublin, Belfast and Cork.[4][6] Events are run by the participants with materials delivered online by Maths Week Ireland. Most schools run their own special activities. Maths Week is a nine-day event (a Saturday to the Sunday of the following weekend, inclusive) which always includes the 16th of October, the day in 1843 when William R. Hamilton discovered quaternions.[2] The idea has been so successful that it has now been replicated in England and Scotland.[7]
MWI hosts the Maths Ireland website which is home to the monthly blogs[8] of the Annals of Irish Mathematics & Mathematicians (AIMM), authored by Colm Mulcahy.[9]
Starting in 2016, MWI has also produced the annual Irish Maths Calendars which are also archived at the Maths Ireland site.[10]
Presenters[edit]
Mathematicians and mathematics popularizers who have been MWI presenters include:
Maths Week Ireland Award[edit]
In 2016 MWI inaugurated the annual Maths Week Ireland Award to honor outstanding work in raising public awareness of mathematics. The award is presented during Maths Week Ireland.[18] Awardees so far are:
- 2016: Des MacHale[19]
- 2017: Peter Lynch[20]
- 2018: Anthony O’Farrell and Fiacre Ó Cairbre who founded the annual Hamilton Walk[21]
- 2019: Mark McCartney[22]
- 2020: Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin[5]
- 2021: Dara Ó Briain[23]
- 2022: Rafael de Andrade Moral[24]
References[edit]
- ^ Maths Week co-founder Dr Sheila Donegan named STEM businesswoman of the year techcentral.ie, 30 September 2019
- ^ a b Maths Week Ireland 2018 – The world’s largest maths festival launches and is set to engage 300,000 people Science Foundation Ireland
- ^ Home Page 2020 Maths Week Ireland
- ^ a b Home Page 2017 Maths Week Ireland
- ^ a b Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin receives 2020 Maths Week Ireland award The Irish Times, 14 October 2020
- ^ Maths Week Ireland 2018–The world’s largest maths festival Science Foundation Ireland 2018
- ^ a b c d Maths Week 2020 launches with bumper programme of activity to help people ‘Rethink Maths’ Science Foundation Ireland
- ^ monthly blogs at Mathematics Ireland
- ^ Atlas of Irish Mathematicians at Mathematics Ireland
- ^ Irish Maths (wall) Calendars at Mathematics Ireland
- ^ The Sum of All Parts The Irish Times, 04 September 2009
- ^ Maths Often at Root of Creative Endeavours Says Professor The Irish Times, 12 October 2010
- ^ Why Being a Lefty is All Right When it Comes to Sport The Irish Times, 16 October 2012
- ^ a b Maths Week Ireland 2012 The Aperiodical, 27 October 2012
- ^ Maths Week Events Take Place Throughout Ireland Today The Irish Times, 14 October 2013
- ^ Clowns Puzzles and Teasers for Maths Week The Irish Times, 13 October 2014
- ^ Maths Week Pianist on a Numerical Mission The Irish Times, 14 October 2015
- ^ Maths Week Ireland Award Maths Week Ireland
- ^ Irish mathematician Des MacHale honoured with Maths Week award by Colm Gorey, Silicon Republic, 16 October 2016.
- ^ Peter Lynch honored for raising awareness of maths The Irish Times, 18 October 2017
- ^ Irish mathematicians receive Maths Week Ireland Award The Irish Times, 18 October 2018
- ^ Ulster University Mathematician Receives Award For Raising Public Awareness Of Maths The Irish Times, 28 October 2019
- ^ Dara Ó Briain receives Maths Week Ireland award The Irish Times, 20 October 2021
- ^ "Statistics Lecturer Rafael De Andrade Moral receives Maths Week Ireland Award for Raising Public Awareness of Maths". MATHS WEEK IRELAND. 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2023-01-04.