We were joined by partners Syngenta and RSS-Hydro for ITT18 which took place at the Bath Royal Literary & Scientific Institution (BRLSI) from 12-16 June 2023.
SAMBa’s 18th Integrative Think Tank (ITT) was delivered in partnership with Syngenta, one of the world’s leading agriculture companies and RSS-Hydro, a dynamic R&D company operating across geospatial field of earth observation, remote sensing, ML and modelling of water risks. The ITT model brings participants from across SAMBa together with external partners to reformulate large challenges into mathematical questions that will lead to collaborative research projects.
During the first two days, groups considered potential mathematical questions and approaches to a range of challenges presented by the partners. For the remainder of the week, the participants worked in teams, each exploring a particular approach to one of the challenges. The ITT was brought to a close with student presenting the work done by their team during the week and suggestions for potential future directions.
Richard Marchese Robinson, Product Safety QSAR Modelling Expert from Syngenta, found the ITT to be a very positive experience:
“I was hugely impressed by how talented the students were and how well they coped with a very challenging experience. I am not sure I would have coped as well, when I was in their position, with having to comprehend industrial challenges, work on problem-formulation, deliver proof-of-concept solutions, then prepare and deliver high quality presentations in the space of a few days. Moreover, the general level of engagement from the students and enthusiasm to both work on the problems, engage with the industrial partners and work as a team was very welcome to see. The way in which these events promote industrial engagement, team work and enthuse the students is to be applauded.
Following the ITT, students compose technical reports which describe the potential of the research opportunities. ITT projects can lead to collaborative research for our SAMBa cohort, via PhD topics, or as smaller group projects. Through working with partners at SAMBa ITTs, we have built deep and long-term relationships.
Paolo Tamagnone, Flood Modeller at RSS-Hydro, thought the ITT was a great forum for bringing academia and industry together:
The ITT is an interesting and valuable initiative which brings together academia and the private sector in a stimulating and vibrant environment. Problem-solving is the key aspect that drives the young researchers during the week, channelling their skills and passions towards the accomplishment of ground-breaking challenges. The ITT represents a successful story, a role model to follow in order to strengthen the bond between the two worlds. RSS-Hydro is grateful for the involvement and genuinely thanks the SAMBa group for the impeccable organization.
We are currently planning for ITT19 which will be held from 29 Jan to 2 Feb 2024.
You can find out more about the ITT model, and read about previous ITTs, on the Integrative Think Tanks webpage.
Welcome to Cohort 10! This week will provide an opportunity for you to explore campus, meet other students and members of staff, find out more about the programme, undertake introductory training and participate in some fun social activities.
Congratulations to the Maths team who won the friendly summer rounders event hosted by the Sports Department on 26 July. The team, comprising PhD students and staff, took on the Sports Training Village in the final, winning by a crucial half rounder!
The next in the series of joint events between the University of Bath, UNAM (Mexico city), CIMAT (Guanajuato, Mexico), and University of Warwick. The format will be three mini-courses and talks by senior colleagues and students. It is a great occasion to learn about different topics and to meet the international community.
A new book published by Dr Kit Yates discusses how we make predictions, how they can go wrong, and how we can use maths to act as a guide to avoid the pitfalls.
Wolfson Lecture Theatre, 12.00-16.30 Students from cohort 9. who have completed their first year and are starting their PhD research, present an overview of their thesis formulation reports. We will also include introductions to students from cohort 10.
A residential retreat for SAMBa students at the lovely Ammerdown retreat centre, set in the heart of beautiful Somerset countryside. Students from across the SAMBa cohorts will be able to dedicate two days to writing, including structured and facilitated quiet writing time, goal-setting and review.
The Doctoral Recognition Awards, organised by the Doctoral College, recognise students and staff who have made contributions to enhancing the doctoral student experience. Congratulations to Carmen van-de-l'Isle, Jenny Power, Pawel Rudnicki and Tosin Babasola who all won student awards and to Pranav Singh who won a staff award.
The SAMBa conference provides an opportunity for students to showcase their work in a supportive environment, alongside external keynote speakers. The work of SAMBa students includes projects in statistics, probability, analysis, numerical analysis, mathematical biology, fluid dynamics, machine learning and high-performance computing.
The event aims at gathering PhD students and young researchers from the University of Bath (UK) and the University of Torino (Italy), and from their closest scientific partners. The purpose of the event is to promote scientific knowledge exchange in the respective fields of research and to foster potential new collaborations.
In May 2023, the Behind The Research team had a chat with Kit Yates, lecturer, author and all round cool dude (link to YouTube video). Find out more about Behind The Research: https://behindtheresearch.github.io/
