Outreach Programs to Promote Mathematics

Aimed at grade 11 students in Ontario and Secondary V students in Quebec, Math. Horizons Day is an activity to promote the study of mathematics and extoll the benefits of a career requiring a solid knowledge of mathematics.

Each school is invited to send a team of four students together with their math. teacher. The Math. Horizons Day is very popular and the number of participating schools is limited. Register early.

The day starts with a talk by one of the professors of the department or the presentation of a short movie on a mathematical subject. It is followed by a presentation of different careers where a solid knowledge of mathematics is required. This presentation is usually done by some professors and graduate students.

In the afternoon, the teams sent by the schools compete in a mathematical contest. The winning teams and players leave with prizes and certificates in recognition of their achievement. The mathematical contest is composed of team questions, individual questions and a relay race.

All the activities during Math. Horizons Day take place on the campus of the University of Ottawa.

This initiative is possible thanks to our valuable collaborators.

• 3M Canada
• Bank of Canada
• Desjardins
• uOttawa
• Crabtree foundation

Questions?

Please feel free to reach Joseph Khoury if you have any questions about Math Horizons Day.

Joseph Khoury
Phone: 613-562-5800 ext. 3487
E-mail: [email protected]

Each year, at the end of June or beginning of July, the Department of Mathematics and Statistics of the University of Ottawa organizes a summer camp on a mathematical theme in collaboration with the Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS).

Students from the region surrounding Ottawa who have obtained exceptional results in the Cayley or Opti-Math contest are invited by the department to participate in the summer camp. The summer camp is principally aimed at grade 10 students in Ontario and Secondary IV students in Québec.

The summer camp lasts one week and takes place on the campus of the University of Ottawa. The participants live in the residence of the University of Ottawa where they are continually under the supervision of the camp supervisors.

During the week, participants can play mathematical games individually or in team. The atmosphere is friendly and non-competitive. The goal of the summer camp is to provide a learning environment where the participants may learn mathematics. Participants will also attend lectures given by some professors of the department of mathematics. The lectures will present some of the impacts of mathematics in our daily activities. Finally, there are also some social and cultural activities in the region of the National Capital.

The summer camp is offered in both official languages: French and English.

Only the invited students can apply to participate in the summer camp. Since the number of invitations is larger than the number of available places in the summer camp, we will fill in the places on the principle of "first come first served". Students should therefore send us their application immediately after receiving their invitation if they want to have a chance to be accepted.

The application for the summer camp can not be considered until all the forms have been completed and received by us. This includes a short text (a few paragraphs) by the student justifying the student participation to the summer camp. The student must explain what he or she expects to gain from the participation to the summer camp. The students must convince us of his or her interest for mathematics. The text must demonstrate the enthusiasm of the students to participate in the summer camp.

The choice of participants represents a fair distribution of the available places between French and English speaking students, women and men, and the diverse regions of Ontario and Québec.

The summer camp is partially supported by The Canadian Mathematical Society and the University of Ottawa. Nevertheless, there is a $300.00 inscription fee to partly cover the cost of housing, meals, social and cultural activities.

The Math Poster competition is an activity to celebrate the UNSECO-declared Math International Day. It is an occasion for students to reflect on all that Mathematics has offered humankind throughout history. It is also an occasion to appreciate how Math is integrated into many branches of science, engineering and technology to help improve our lives.

You can learn a bit more about the competition here.