Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MathInParis2020 (International Doctoral Training in Mathematical Sciences in Paris)
Reporting period: 2022-12-01 to 2025-11-30
Cofund MathInParis2020 programme creates and scales up excellence networks to attract to Paris promising Doctoral students, under solid selection and mentoring practices, and ensures high-level Doctoral training and successful professional insertion. FSMP has a longstanding experience for project management, and the present programme aims at significantly scaling up its first Cofund MathInParis programme.
MathInParis2020, as an internationally visible portal to Paris mathematics research, promotes the increase and dissemination of a new generation of international mathematicians trained in Paris, creating a new network of young innovating Doctors integrated in the European Union who will develop novel key areas of expertise and act as scientific ambassadors worldwide. Ambition, mobility and curiosity, awareness of the impact of mathematics in economy, taste for risk taking, innovation and entrepreneurship are some of the many qualities that our laureates will acquire.
MathInParis2020 creates exceptional follow-up and mentoring conditions thanks to dedicated supervisors, by offering high standing research training in mathematics and helping students to seize many academic and inter-sectoral opportunities.
We develop new mechanisms to ease the transition of doctoral students to the widely increasing number of new emerging careers and promote public-private mobility by specific actions, in particular with intense intersectoral exposure. MathInParis2020 bridges academics and private sector partners, companies, banks, with the major objective of leading its laureates to successful careers. MathInParis2020 builds up innovation and new knowledge for the future in the European Union.
In summary, we have achieved the following key successes:
• Successfully recruited two cohorts of 20 doctoral students each through two open calls for applications, fully compliant with OTMR policy and the guidelines outlined in Annex 1.
• Provided comprehensive administrative and academic support to all 40 fellows over the course of three years.
• Ensured that every fellow completed their three-year contracts under optimal conditions.
• Supported all fellows in defending their theses (39 out of 40) and thriving as researchers, resulting in approximately 60 pre-publications and 39 published works.
• Delivered effective and valuable training programs for all 40 fellows.
MathInParis2020, as an internationally visible portal to Paris mathematics research, promotes the increase and dissemination of a new generation of international mathematicians trained in Paris, creating a new network of young innovating Doctors integrated in the European Union who will develop novel key areas of expertise and act as scientific ambassadors worldwide. Ambition, mobility and curiosity, awareness of the impact of mathematics in economy, taste for risk taking, innovation and entrepreneurship are some of the many qualities that our laureates will acquire.
MathInParis2020 creates exceptional follow-up and mentoring conditions thanks to dedicated supervisors, by offering high standing research training in mathematics and helping students to seize many academic and inter-sectoral opportunities.
We develop new mechanisms to ease the transition of doctoral students to the widely increasing number of new emerging careers and promote public-private mobility by specific actions, in particular with intense intersectoral exposure. MathInParis2020 bridges academics and private sector partners, companies, banks, with the major objective of leading its laureates to successful careers. MathInParis2020 builds up innovation and new knowledge for the future in the European Union.
In summary, we have achieved the following key successes:
• Successfully recruited two cohorts of 20 doctoral students each through two open calls for applications, fully compliant with OTMR policy and the guidelines outlined in Annex 1.
• Provided comprehensive administrative and academic support to all 40 fellows over the course of three years.
• Ensured that every fellow completed their three-year contracts under optimal conditions.
• Supported all fellows in defending their theses (39 out of 40) and thriving as researchers, resulting in approximately 60 pre-publications and 39 published works.
• Delivered effective and valuable training programs for all 40 fellows.
In the first period of the programme (December 1st, 2020-November 30th, 2022) the work has been mainly devoted to communication, dissemination, evaluation, and selection activities to complete at the best the recruitment of the 40 PhD students through two calls. In November 2022, the first MathInParis2020 soft skills day was organized to introduce all fellows to the main partners and activities. The main presentations focused on COP 27, the environmental crisis and mathematics, mathematics for development (in partnership with CIMPA) as well as on gender issues in the world of mathematics, presented by Femmes et Maths. There were feedback sessions from the fellows’ participation in "fête de la science" and teaching for unaccompanied minors (in partnership with Terre d'Asile). In addition, two sessions of a workshop “writing mathematics for the general public” were organized. MathInParis2020 fellows produced in the first period seven preprints and two publications all available on the open access server ArXiv.
During the final phase of the Cofund MathInParis2020 program (December 1, 2022 – November 30, 2025), our efforts were primarily focused on management and ongoing support. With the recruitment of all 40 fellows completed and the mid-term review conducted, the program’s two key objectives for the final three years were to provide comprehensive administrative and scientific support to the fellows and to deliver effective, high-quality training courses. We are pleased to report that these objectives were fully met: all 40 fellows successfully completed their three-year doctoral programs, and 39 of them have defended their theses.
During the final phase of the Cofund MathInParis2020 program (December 1, 2022 – November 30, 2025), our efforts were primarily focused on management and ongoing support. With the recruitment of all 40 fellows completed and the mid-term review conducted, the program’s two key objectives for the final three years were to provide comprehensive administrative and scientific support to the fellows and to deliver effective, high-quality training courses. We are pleased to report that these objectives were fully met: all 40 fellows successfully completed their three-year doctoral programs, and 39 of them have defended their theses.
The scientific training received by the fellows combined with the high level of recruitment targeted will make them outstanding mathematicians, which is necessary to ensure their future careers. If in certain situations this may be sufficient to obtain a job, we are convinced that it is not satisfactory, and the stated ambition of this programme is to go well beyond the training of excellent mathematicians. Indeed, we have the ambition to impact far beyond the academic sector by reaching out to society and the industrial sector and that is why we have put the emphasis on training in non-research oriented transferable skills and instituted a mandatory mobility period of at least two months.
We actually have the ambition that our model of training citizen mathematicians, in relation to society and non-academic, will profoundly change the way non-academics, economic and political decision-makers, and society view mathematicians and that in the medium term our approach will become the norm. After two years into the programme, the work was done in line with these expected impacts: the level of candidates recruited was very high, and they responded enthusiastically to our fist propositions of meetings and soft skills activities.
We think today, at the end of the programme, that the work done has been in line with expected results and impacts. As noted above, the program has achieved excellent scientific results, with all fellows having successfully defended their thesis (39 out of 40) and thriving in their roles as researchers (approximately 60 preprints authored by the fellows and 39 published papers).
Regarding our model for training citizen mathematicians, fellows were consistently encouraged and supported to participate in soft skills activities throughout their doctoral studies. While the direct impact of these activities on the fellows is challenging to measure, all participants actively engaged and fulfilled their COFUND commitments by contributing to science outreach initiatives.
It is important to highlight that the project’s objective was to cultivate a new generation of researchers who are attuned to non-academic concerns, committed to promoting equal opportunities in their broadest sense—including ethics, gender equality, and non-discrimination—and actively involved in public engagement. Although assessing the depth of researchers’ commitment based solely on interactions with them and their advisors is difficult, this new generation demonstrates a heightened awareness of environmental issues, gender inequalities, and socioeconomic challenges.
We actually have the ambition that our model of training citizen mathematicians, in relation to society and non-academic, will profoundly change the way non-academics, economic and political decision-makers, and society view mathematicians and that in the medium term our approach will become the norm. After two years into the programme, the work was done in line with these expected impacts: the level of candidates recruited was very high, and they responded enthusiastically to our fist propositions of meetings and soft skills activities.
We think today, at the end of the programme, that the work done has been in line with expected results and impacts. As noted above, the program has achieved excellent scientific results, with all fellows having successfully defended their thesis (39 out of 40) and thriving in their roles as researchers (approximately 60 preprints authored by the fellows and 39 published papers).
Regarding our model for training citizen mathematicians, fellows were consistently encouraged and supported to participate in soft skills activities throughout their doctoral studies. While the direct impact of these activities on the fellows is challenging to measure, all participants actively engaged and fulfilled their COFUND commitments by contributing to science outreach initiatives.
It is important to highlight that the project’s objective was to cultivate a new generation of researchers who are attuned to non-academic concerns, committed to promoting equal opportunities in their broadest sense—including ethics, gender equality, and non-discrimination—and actively involved in public engagement. Although assessing the depth of researchers’ commitment based solely on interactions with them and their advisors is difficult, this new generation demonstrates a heightened awareness of environmental issues, gender inequalities, and socioeconomic challenges.