January 2025

We are pleased to announce that:

• The Centre for Applications of Mathematical and Computing Sciences (CAMaCS) at Warwick,
• The Institute for Mathematical Innovation Link opens in a new window(IMI) at Bath,
• School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University Belfast Link opens in a new windowand
• The UK Knowledge Exchange Hub for Mathematical Sciences Link opens in a new window(KE Hub)

have secured £2M NetworkPlus funding from UKRI’s Digital Research Technical Professionals call to support a four-year initiative to develop the “Innovation Research Associate” (InRA) professional career space for impact-driven mathematical sciences. The funding will start on 1 April 2025.

What is an Innovation Research Associate (InRA)?

Building on a career model developed at the IMI and CAMaCS, the InRA role is designed to harness the potential of Mathematical Sciences PhD graduates for dynamically translating mathematical research into tangible societal and industrial impacts. InRAs collaborate on solving complex challenges from outside the Mathematical Sciences, enhancing research outcomes through cross-disciplinary work. Their contributions not only support academic advancement but also foster innovation within industry and government, directly contributing to economic growth.

InRAs provide Mathematical Sciences departments with the ability to respond agilely to emerging external opportunities, broadening access to funding and facilitating rapid project initiation. InRAs enrich Mathematical Sciences departments, enabling them to contribute in a strategic and responsive way to national innovation goals, fuelling much deeper relationships with industry and contributing to impact success stories.

What will the 'Mathematical Innovators in the Digital Space' (MInDS) initiative do?

MInDS is a major national initiative whose purpose is to:

• build a national platform to support and rapidly grow a UK-wide community of InRAs;
• expand this career path to meet the urgent demand for skilled professionals in a data-driven era, facilitating the success of UK Mathematical Sciences departments;
• ensure InRAs become a central part of the UK’s strategy to drive innovation and address complex challenges of our data-intensive future.

There are currently more than 20 staff around the UK who have InRA-style roles, and we aim to significantly increase this number by 2029.

How will MInDS do it?

The major component of the MInDs budget is £860K of co-funding which will be made available to Mathematical Sciences departments to help develop InRA positions. MInDs will further support a variety of activities around the UK to help support the growing InRA community; these include sandpits, networking events and InRA congresses.

From mid 2025, regular calls will go out through the KE Hub for Mathematical Sciences departments to apply for co-funding from MInDS to create InRA positions (specifically the first 6-12 months can be supported by MInDS, subject to meeting certain criteria), as well as to host any of the suite of events mentioned in the previous paragraph.

In addition, MInDS will support career development of the growing InRA community through training events. It will also work in collaboration with the Academy for Mathematical Sciences to develop a template for career progression that aligns with existing promotion criteria at UK institutions, enabling InRAs to advance into permanent positions, all the way to professorial-equivalent roles.

Who will deliver MInDS?

The project will be led by an experienced team comprising:

Project Lead: Andreas Kyprianou (Warwick/CAMaCS)

Co-Leads: Caroline Ang (Bath/IMI), Chris Breward (KE Hub), Karen Cairns (Queen's University Belfast), Beate Ehrhardt (Bath/IMI), Hajnal Farkas (Warwick/CAMaCS), Clare Merritt (KE Hub), Tristan Pryer (Bath)

Administrative support will be provided by the IMI, CAMaCS, and the KE Hub, and InRA support will be given by existing InRAs Kat Phillips (Warwick/CAMaCS) and Iain Souttar (Warwick/CAMaCS). In addition, the activities in the grant will be run in partnership with the Isaac Newton Institute/Newton Gateway to Mathematics, the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, the Academy for Mathematical Sciences, Innovate UK Business Connect, and the Daphne Jackson Trust.

MInDS will shortly invite members of the wider UK Mathematical Sciences community to join its Executive Committee (the decision-making body which will distribute funding).

We look forward to working with the community to deliver this exciting initiative.