April 2021
CDPs Opening May
As usual, CDPs will become availiable on the 1st May for PhD students. All PhD students will receive an email from the Faculty of Graduate Research with instructions on how to access your CDP - this email will go to your university email address. If you are stuck on a stage of your CDP for one week or longer, expect an email from Caitlin checking on how you are going and if you need some help. CDPs are our formal record of how you are going with your work and how well your support team is working for you. Please include any compliments or complaints you have about any aspect of your work and we will do what we can to get it sorted. They are also used to support any suspension or extension requests you might make in the future - so a completed set of CDP reports is a useful wealth of information for us! Please get in touch with Caitlin or the team at the Faculty of Graduate Research if you have any questions about your CDP. All CDPs need to be completed by the 31st March.Office Renovation
Some of you may have noticed that School Office has now moved to CO335. Our original office is being renovated and having the sprinkler system replaced. It is expected we will be in CO335 for a couple of months while this project is ongoing. In addition to the School Office mover, the graduate mailroom has also been closed. Graduate mail is now being held at the School Office. If you are expecting mail, you will need to check in during office hours or email sms-office@vuw.ac.nz to arrange collection outside of office hours.NZMOSA Volunteers Wanted
The New Zealand Mathematics Olympiad Students Association is starting a seminar series on campus and are looking for speakers. NZMOSA is a group of secondary school students from the Wellington region who are interested in exploring more advanced mathematics and research. They would like to hear from some of our graduate researchers on what you have been working on and where your interests lie. The series runs fortnightly on Thursday's in EA120, 5pm to 6:30pm. If you are interested in talking to these students, please email Caitlin.Recent Publications
Jordan Barrett recently published a paper in the The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics. The paper is titled "Ramsey Theory for Layered Semigroups" and is about a general framework for proving Ramsey-theoretic results on semigroups. Jordan gave a talk on this subject during the Discrete Mathemathematics seminars in December.Congratulations Jordan Barrett!
Jordan has been with the School of Maths and Stats since he began his undergraduate studies. He will soon be finishing up with us when he completes his MSc and moving on to work on his PhD. Recently, Jordan was offered (and accepted) a PhD position at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. He will be working with the Logic and Types group, studying mathematical aspects of type theory under Thierry Coquand.Upcoming Events
Science and Health Careers Expo: Tuesday 4th May 12-2pm, TTR Foyer
Find your Future. Start planning your career after you finish your studies. The organisations participating often bring along recent grads who are now working for them and understand what making career decisions, job search and application processes can be like as well as being able to give good insights to their current workplace. Careers and Employment staff will also be available to chat to students about career options and there is a VUW Postgraduate study stand. Featuring over 25 organisations:Analytics and Research In Government; Conservation Volunteers New Zealand ; Eagle Technology Group Ltd - GIS; JET; ENGEO; Environmental Protection Authority ; Ferrier Research Institute; Healthcare NZ;IHC; Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand; KPMG; L'Arche Kapiti; Land Information New Zealand; Malaghan Institute of Medical Research; Ministry for Primary Industries; Ministry for the Environment; Ministry of Health; MSD Animal Health; New Zealand College of Chiropractic; New Zealand Customs Service; NZDF (psychology and science careers); NIWA; PwC New Zealand; Robinson Research Institute; Samaritans; Volpara Health Technology; Workbridge; Xero; Youthline.
Sustainability Week - Week of May 10th
Sustainability week is taking place in the second week of May. There will be a variety of events taking place on VUW campus's throughout the week:- Sustainability Market Day: Te Aro Campus, The Atrium, 10th May 11am-1pm
- Workshop:Tell better stories through the lens of your mobile: OK524, 11th May 3:30pm (Must register via LibCal)
- Sustainability Market Day: Rutherford House, Mezzanine, 11th May 11am-1pm
- Worm farm tour and morning tea: Rankine Brown, Level 2, Kelburn Library, 12th May 10am
- Make your own meat: Hunter Common Room, Hunter Building, 12th May 4:30pm
- _Presentation:_ Living without a rubbish bin: The World of Zero Waste: AM105, 13th May 12:30pm-2pm
"Picture a Scientist" Film Screening - 11am, Wednesday May 12th, CO350
As part of Celebrating Women in Mathematics in 2021, there is a free screening of "Picture a Scientist". This movie chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all. SMS and ECS will be hosting a lunchtime screening of this film in CO350 from 11am on Wednesday 12th May. This is a BYOLunch event, but you are more than welcome to bring some baking to share. We will be providing tea and coffee. If you would prefer to watch the movie in your own time, you can register for a free link before May 6th at this page.NZIP & PHYSIKOS 2021 Conference: 12-14 July, Queen Margaret College, Wellington
The conference will offer presentations on the latest research, workshops looking at effective teaching methods, invited speakers highlighting special areas of interest and public lectures that reach a broader section of the physics community. There are also several social events to ensure plenty of time for networking. We look forward to meeting together so we can learn from each other and strengthen our community. Head to the event website for more information including details on submitting an abstract or workshop and on how to register: nzip2021.org Share the event! Be sure to invite your colleagues and for Facebook users here is a link to the event: https://fb.me/e/brmvPoj63Scholarships
PPSEAWA NZ Empowering Women Scholarship
Pan Pacific and South-East Asia Women’s Association (PPSEAWA) is an International Organisation that was established in 1928. The purpose of this organisation has been to strengthen the bonds of peace by fostering a better understanding and friendship among women of all Pacific and Southeast Asia areas. The organisation also promotes co-operation among women of these regions for the study and improvement of social, economic and cultural conditions. The scholarship itself is to assist women in carrying out tertiary level study in the Wellington area. Applicants must:- Be women over the age of 20
- Be an NZ citizen or holder of a resident visa
- Be residing in NZ continuously for 2 years and not left for more than 3 months per year
- Be residing in in Wellington are and Wellington suburbs (as far as but not including Kapiti)
- Be enrolled in a full time tertiary level qualification
- Have not received a PPSEAWA scholarship on the past
Wellington Doctoral Scholarship
These scholarships are intended to encourage and support doctoral study (PhD) at Victoria University of Wellington. These scholarships are open to graduates of any university within or outside of New Zealand who intend to enrol full time for a Doctorate (PhD) or who have commenced their doctoral study at Victoria University of Wellington. Please note: It is very important to refer to the website for regulations and further process requirements regarding an application for this scholarship. For more information on this scholarship in particular, please visit the scholarships page.Wellington Doctoral Submission Scholarship
The purpose of this scholarship is to enable doctoral candidates to fully concentrate on completing their thesis. Applicants and their supervisors must carefully consider the amount of time required to completion as the scholarship is only available for the final three months before submission of the thesis for examination. Full-time or half-time candidates may apply, but candidates who are currently registered half-time will be required to change their registration to full-time. As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this scholarship has been extended to allow up to an extra two months’ funding for students whose research has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. This temporary extension applies to applications for scholarships to start between November 2020 and December 2021. For more information on this scholarship, visit the scholarships page.Wellington Doctoral Hardship Scholarship
This scholarship is designed to assist doctoral candidates who are experiencing unexpected financial hardship. The budget for this fund is limited and priority will be given to candidates who are nearing completion, who are under examination or who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. All applications are considered on an individual basis. For more information, visit the scholarships page.Job Opportunities
Tutor Wanted - NCEA Level 2
Nailya is looking for a tutor for her daughter out in Upper Hutt. Tutoring is to focus on NCEA level 2 mathematics and chemistry. Tutor and student are to meet twice a week for 1 hour. This position will be paid. Please contact Nailya for more information at neonelat@gmail.com.Ministry of Social Development - Graduate Analyst
We have roles available in two of our specialist teams at the Ministry of Social Development.- The Forecasting and Costing Team provide expert analysis on the demand for and cost of the benefit system, helping to inform government decision makers on their key policy decisions.
- The Monitoring and Analysis Team analyze complex data sets and provide commentary on trends in public facing reports, and advice and insights to Ministers.
- Tertiary qualification in Economics, Mathematics, Operations Research, or Data Science/Data Analytics (complete before Semester 2, 2021)
- Understanding of coding languages (SASS preferred but not essential)
- Understanding of economic and mathematical modelling
- Ability to communicate complex ideas in clear and simple terms
- Proven experience producing high quality work under pressure
Graduate Trader Program 2022 - Sydney
SIGSydney is on the lookout for bright, friendly students who are interested in the world around them, to join our Graduate Quantitative Trader program starting in January 2022.SIG is one of the world’s largest market makers, with a unique approach to trading, technology, and research. While this background puts us at the top of our game, what really makes us successful is our quantitative approach to decision making and the collaboration between our employees. You will learn:
- Option theory and option modeling in the classroom
- Decision making using game theory, decision science, poker and other strategy games. It’s true what you’ve heard!
- Mock Trading where you have the opportunity to practice what you have learnt.
- Practical application of your classroom lessons on the trading desk.
- Our Sydney Grads spend up to 6 months on one of our Options or ETF desks, before going on secondment to our US headquarters in Philadelphia*. Here you will continue your education, and start trading on the US options markets.