Characteristics
- Course: Couples Project
- Programme: Bachelor's in Mathematics
- Group size: 10 students
- Study load: 3 EC
- Year: second-year and third-year Bachelor's students
Course description
In the academic year 2018-2019, Nicos Starreveld received a grant to develop a new education project for Mathematics. The aim of the Couples Project was to experiment with interdisciplinary team work and popular science communication. Two third-year Bachelor's students in Mathematics and one Master's student in Chemistry participated in the project. They worked individually on their own graduation projects, but the topics were chosen at the interface of mathematics and chemistry. As a team, they made a scientific poster and they wrote a popular science article discussing the joint project. To support the students, Starreveld developed a workshop about Popular science communication.
Starreveld would have liked to continue the Couples Project, but different time schedules make it difficult for students from different programmes to work together in a joint graduation project. He now coordinates an honours course ‘Math Communication Skills’, where Mathematics students get training on popular science communication and produce a poster and article. The materials developed can be used in other disciplines out of mathematics as well.
I am very interested in science communication and I enjoy writing about the beauty of mathematics for a broader audience. Furthermore, in the various study programs students invest a lot of energy in projects that are full with beautiful ideas. In this Honours module, I want to work with students to communicate their work.Nicos Starreveld