Maria Maloney TY Maths Outreach Article

27 Nov 2024

Read about Maria Maloney's time in the TY maths outreach programme ran by the School of Mathematical Sciences.

Hi, my name is Maria Maloney, and I am one of the students who were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to participate in an outreach programme held by The School of Mathematical Sciences at University College Cork earlier this year. I visited the School of Mathematical Sciences between January 22nd and January 26th.

During the week, I attended a variety of undergraduate lectures, I worked on research projects and I learned and practiced teaching skills by participating in teaching workshops.

Among the lectures I attended were Stochastics Decision Science, Financial Mathematics and Chemistry for Mathematicians. I also attended lectures in Abstract Algebra, Calculus for Science and Probability and Statistics. I found these lectures to be very interesting, and they were a real eye-opening experience for me. I realised that many abstract ideas and problems can be solved using logical steps. The lectures were one hour long, and I attended two lectures every day. Sitting amongst the students of University College Cork during their lectures throughout the week and being given the opportunity to learn with them was a real privilege, and I have made memories at the college with them that I will always cherish.

In addition to attending lectures, I participated in small research projects such as researching Euler’s formula, researching regular polyhedra and researching number bases. Anca Mustata, who is the organiser of this outreach programme, conducted these research projects, as well as students in the related areas. Each day of the programme, I participated in a different research project. Every research workshop I attended was engaging, and I was truly fascinated by each of them. However, one of my favourite research projects was when I was shown the proof of how there are only 5 regular convex polyhedra, also known as the five platonic solids. I was captivated by the fact that something I had never really thought too deep about had a mathematical and logical reason behind it and this is something that I had never investigated before. It made me realise that the mathematical facts we learn as children, such as this, can be explored and explained fully using maths instead of just being accepted.

During the week, I also participated in teaching workshops, where I learned and practiced teaching skills. In these workshops, my team and I ran a short class on extra-curricular mathematics. This earned me a teaching diploma which certifies

my training to work as a maths tutor. I also was awarded Highly Commended in the teaching tournament at the end of the week. These accomplishments hold significant value to me, and I believe they symbolise my personal growth as well as my success while attending University College Cork.

The kindness and support from all the people who were around me is something I will always remember about University College Cork, and they made this an extremely enjoyable and inspiring experience. I believe this experience has motivated me and inspired me to move forward in a positive direction. I would absolutely recommend this programme to anyone who enjoys science and maths, and is interested in learning about and understanding new and exciting concepts about maths.