Mathematics in Industry and Technology

During the school holidays, Arashdeep Dhaliwal, Jessica Bhardwaj, Asini De Rosario and Hasini Senadheera attended the Mathematics in Industry and Technology (MIT) Challenge held at Melbourne University. The day consisted of listening to past students who majored in Maths and Statistics in their University courses and researchers who use mathematics and problem solving skills in their jobs. The day gave the students an insight into where and how maths is used in the real world. The girls were fascinated to see how relevant and useful the concepts they learn in maths classes are for research and solving everyday problems in big companies.

The students also had the opportunity to work in a school teams to solve a real world problem using maths and problem solving skills. Each team was given access to a computer with an excel document containing statistics. The teams had 2 hours to solve the problem and write a report on it, presenting their best solution. They used a combination of maths skills and communication skills to make the report. The girls really enjoyed this activity even though it was a very challenging task.