Pure math is an essential part of the research eco-system, and provides fundamental insights necessary for progress in AI, Computer Science, and a wide range of other disciplines.
I
Ivan Smith
5 years ago
Dismantling fundamental research to promote a recent trend, however exciting, is short-sighted and never works out well in the end. This is disingenuous, disappointing and disgraceful. I hope the university will re-think.
E
Evgeny Ferapontov
5 years ago
This is a strange decision, taking into account £300 million in additional funding for mathematical sciences announced by the Government on 27 January 2020.
D
Daniel Cohen
5 years ago
This will only serve to drive qualified " AI, computational modelling, digitalisation and data science" faculty candidates away, let alone the fundamental damage of ignoring mathematics.
T
Tom Montenegro-Johnson
5 years ago
Short-sighted move that we alienate the entire UK mathematics community
J
Jon Woolf
5 years ago
This is short-sighted, ill-timed, ignorant and crass. Maths is one single discipline, it doesn't cleave neatly into pure and applied. At a time when (even) our government is recognising the role of pure mathematics by substantially increasing funding it is a very odd choice. And that's before we even come to the contemptibility of making staff redundant in the middle of a pandemic.
C
Colin Wilburn
5 years ago
Mathematics underpinning the most important tools and principles of many other fields, and being a beautiful human pursuit in its own right, I feel sorry for the dullard so lacking in imagination that they would do this.
J
Jeroen Roberts
5 years ago
big stupid
D
Dhruv Ranganathan
5 years ago
Unbelievably short sighted; shows a complete lack of understanding of how research works. Infuriating.
A
Ana Loureiro
5 years ago
This is an outrageous move by the VC at University of Leicester. On the long run it's ultimately AI and computational sciences and many others that will suffer. It reveals a huge lack of vision.
A
Adam Swanson
5 years ago
What the hell? Pure math is vital, and this school's just gonna ax it out of nowhere? Not even to mention how it'll affect the careers of their mathematicians... This is a horrible move that I hope to see corrected.
H
Hamed Bastan-Hagh
5 years ago
The idea that you could improve your “research identity in … data science” by reducing your maths department is nonsense.
D
Dr Theo Riches
5 years ago
Solidarity from Medieval Studies.
A
Anonymous
5 years ago
Buzzword academia might look good in the media, but it won't get results. If you want to be a world leader then you have to act like one.
J
Jeremiah Johnson
5 years ago
Speaking as someone whose research centers on data science and artificial intelligence, the idea that a university would cease research in pure mathematics to focus on these application areas is remarkably wrong-headed. AI and data science rely on advances in pure mathematics to continue to move forward.
M
Martin Bright
5 years ago
Excellence in AI, modelling and data science without having your undergrads learn pure mathematics from experts? Seriously?
M
Matthew Thompson
5 years ago
It is essential that students should have the opportunity to study each branch of mathematics. Removing that option for students only limits their potential.
K
Kathryn Hess
5 years ago
Every self-respecting university that is of international class has a program in pure mathematics. Moreover, the importance of pure mathematics for AI research is becoming increasingly clear.
H
Hp Ruddat
5 years ago
No talent will come to a place that demonstrates an attitude of destructiveness and neglect towards fundamental science. The reputational damage will be enormous and mostly irreparable. Is there any precedent of a successful university that destroyed its pure math research? Rising places do the opposite: they expand on or found new math departments because they understand that it interconnects with big data and AI.
J
Jonathan Clayton
5 years ago
Speaking as a student of machine learning, this seems short sighted in the extreme
Pure math is an essential part of the research eco-system, and provides fundamental insights necessary for progress in AI, Computer Science, and a wide range of other disciplines.
Dismantling fundamental research to promote a recent trend, however exciting, is short-sighted and never works out well in the end. This is disingenuous, disappointing and disgraceful. I hope the university will re-think.
This is a strange decision, taking into account £300 million in additional funding for mathematical sciences announced by the Government on 27 January 2020.
This will only serve to drive qualified " AI, computational modelling, digitalisation and data science" faculty candidates away, let alone the fundamental damage of ignoring mathematics.
Short-sighted move that we alienate the entire UK mathematics community
This is short-sighted, ill-timed, ignorant and crass. Maths is one single discipline, it doesn't cleave neatly into pure and applied. At a time when (even) our government is recognising the role of pure mathematics by substantially increasing funding it is a very odd choice. And that's before we even come to the contemptibility of making staff redundant in the middle of a pandemic.
Mathematics underpinning the most important tools and principles of many other fields, and being a beautiful human pursuit in its own right, I feel sorry for the dullard so lacking in imagination that they would do this.
big stupid
Unbelievably short sighted; shows a complete lack of understanding of how research works. Infuriating.
This is an outrageous move by the VC at University of Leicester. On the long run it's ultimately AI and computational sciences and many others that will suffer. It reveals a huge lack of vision.
What the hell? Pure math is vital, and this school's just gonna ax it out of nowhere? Not even to mention how it'll affect the careers of their mathematicians... This is a horrible move that I hope to see corrected.
The idea that you could improve your “research identity in … data science” by reducing your maths department is nonsense.
Solidarity from Medieval Studies.
Buzzword academia might look good in the media, but it won't get results. If you want to be a world leader then you have to act like one.
Speaking as someone whose research centers on data science and artificial intelligence, the idea that a university would cease research in pure mathematics to focus on these application areas is remarkably wrong-headed. AI and data science rely on advances in pure mathematics to continue to move forward.
Excellence in AI, modelling and data science without having your undergrads learn pure mathematics from experts? Seriously?
It is essential that students should have the opportunity to study each branch of mathematics. Removing that option for students only limits their potential.
Every self-respecting university that is of international class has a program in pure mathematics. Moreover, the importance of pure mathematics for AI research is becoming increasingly clear.
No talent will come to a place that demonstrates an attitude of destructiveness and neglect towards fundamental science. The reputational damage will be enormous and mostly irreparable. Is there any precedent of a successful university that destroyed its pure math research? Rising places do the opposite: they expand on or found new math departments because they understand that it interconnects with big data and AI.
Speaking as a student of machine learning, this seems short sighted in the extreme