Details for Education Secretary election

I'm standing for election as the Education Secretary of the London Mathematical Society. The details supplied for the election communications are below. There is an emphasis on education due to the nature of the Education Secretary role. If you are a member of the LMS, then you will be eligible to vote.

a. Full Name, Post and Institution: Dr Kevin Houston, Senior Lecturer, University of Leeds.

b. Email address: k.houston (at) leeds.ac.uk

c. Home page address: https://www1.maths.leeds.ac.uk/~khouston/

d. PhD institution and year of award: PhD University of Warwick, 1995.

e. Previous appointments:

f. Research interests: Singularity Theory, Discrete Differential Geometry and the applications of geometry.

g. LMS service:

h. Any additional relevant information: My Education Committee work has involved organising the LMS Popular Lectures, LMS and Gresham Lecture and working with other bodies such as IMA, Gresham College, RSS, and the British Science Association.

I have been heavily involved in outreach activities for many years. I have visited many schools talking to many teachers and thousands of students. Also, I have presented at high profile events such as the British Science Festival. I am organiser of conference for maths communicators MATRIX2016 and Talking Maths in Public.

My best-selling textbook for undergraduates How to Think Like a Mathematician has been translated into four other languages and I have just published a second book, Complex Analysis: An Introduction. I shall be a presenter at the Induction Course for New Lecturers in the Mathematical Sciences in September 2018.

From 2014–2018 I was on the Steering Committee and Management Committee of MAGIC, one of the Taught Course Centres for postgraduate teaching via video conferencing. This project, initially funded by EPSRC, broadens the education of PhD students in the UK.

In the past year as Education Secretary amongst many other activities, I have joined the ACME A Level contact group, written responses (with the support of the Education Committee and Council) to government consultations in particular criticising the shortcomings of the TEF – and helped secure support for Simon Singh's Top-Top Set Mathematics project.

i. Personal statement I have a strong interest in teaching with 28 years experience of teaching in HE institutions and an award for teaching excellence. My education interests are broad, from face-to-face teaching, publications, digital and innovative exhibitions.

We face a diverse set of problems in mathematics education in the coming years. The effects of Brexit regarding the Erasmus scheme, student recruitment, and lecturer employment are all still unclear. To name just a few other important issues: TEF; changes to GCSE and A Level Mathematics; the crisis mathematics teacher recruitment, retention and training, the Bond report (in particular the call for an Academy for Mathematical Sciences). The LMS is a vital body in addressing these problems. It represents the mathematics community and can therefore ensure that the deficit in mathematical skills in the UK is closed in a robust and practical manner.

The key to success in approaching these issues is liaising with like minded organisations which I am well placed to do due to my relations with bodies such as IMA, ORS, and RSS. The current times present us with real opportunities for change. An exciting positive example is the founding of a maths museum, something I am involved in. I am keen to continue serving the LMS and its members as the Education Secretary.