Admission requirements
Basic courses in Probability and Statistics, basic computer programming abilities.
Description
Mathematics plays a vital role in our everyday lives. From managing our finances and making informed decisions to understanding the world around us, mathematics provides us with a powerful set of tools and concepts that are applicable in various situations. However, problems are not always perfectly formulated in mathematical terms. The task of a mathematician working in an Industrial or Applied environment is to translate the problem into mathematical terms, apply existing or develop original mathematical tools to solve the problem, and to report solution to problem owners in terms they are able to understand.
In this seminar, we choose one real-life problem and try to solve it according to the above scenario..
Course Objectives
The main objective it to build experience on working on real-life problems. Each year we will treat one applied mathematical problem. For example, recommender systems, dynamic revenue management, analysis of specific data sets. In this seminar we will try to emulate a full cycle an applied mathematician has to perform in order to solve the problem. The emphasis will be on group work, brainstorming, implementation of mathematical methods, writing and reporting.
Timetable
You will find the timetables for all courses and degree programmes of Leiden University in the tool MyTimetable (login). Any teaching activities that you have sucessfully registered for in MyStudyMap will automatically be displayed in MyTimeTable. Any timetables that you add manually, will be saved and automatically displayed the next time you sign in.
MyTimetable allows you to integrate your timetable with your calendar apps such as Outlook, Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and other calendar apps on your smartphone. Any timetable changes will be automatically synced with your calendar. If you wish, you can also receive an email notification of the change. You can turn notifications on in ‘Settings’ (after login).
For more information, watch the video or go the the 'help-page' in MyTimetable. Please note: Joint Degree students Leiden/Delft have to merge their two different timetables into one. This video explains how to do this.
Mode of Instruction
In the first lectures the teachers will introduce the problems.
In subsequent weeks, the students will be divided in smaller groups, which will perform a "deep dive" (literature study) into the corresponding field, identifying potential approaches.
Collectively, we then choose 2-3 most promising which will be developed and/or implemented further. The groups will subsequently write a final report and present their findings (possibly, to problem owners from industry or other fields).
Assessment method
The grading is based on
Active participation
Implementation of methods
Presentations
Final report
Reading list
Will be provided in class.
Registration
Please register for the course in MyStudyMap. There are two registration periods per year: registration for the fall semester opens in July and registration for the spring semester opens in December.
Please note that it is compulsory to register your participation for every exam and retake. Not being registered for a course means that you are not allowed to participate in the final exam of the course. Not being registered for an exam means your grade will not be processed.
Contact
Dr. O. Kanavetas (o.kanavetas@math.leidenuniv.nl)
Dr. E. Verbitskiy (evgeny@math.leidenuniv.nl)