Dr Rehan Shah (SEMS Academic Lead), Prof Claudia Garetto (School of Mathematical Sciences Academic Lead) and Dr Iran Roman (School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science Academic Lead) delivered invited talks to showcase the outputs and impact from all three implementations of QMUL's Levelling Up Maths programmes at the Institute of Mathematics' (IMA) Academic Representatives Forum held on Friday 27 June 2025 at the University of Greenwich.

The one-day in-person event brought together IMA members who act as Academic Representatives across various UK universities to build their community, share knowledge, network and learn about mathematics initiatives and policies across the sectors of higher education, business and industry.

The Levelling Up Maths programme aims at raising awareness of mathematics/engineering/computer science as a viable STEM-based career, by improving the mathematics capabilities of those interested in STEM disciplines by helping them appreciate the relevance and applicability of mathematics. It particularly focuses on raising the aspirations of A-level mathematics pupils in years 12 and 13 from underrepresented backgrounds, such as female students (SEMS EDI focus) and Black heritage students (School of Mathematical Sciences EDI focus) to study STEM subjects at university.

This is achieved through an integrated programme of dedicated tutoring support provided by QMUL undergraduate/PhD students over a 15-month period with up to 22 tutorial sessions. The tutors provide direct support and encouragement to a small group of pupils, and with their university departments, show that mathematics, engineering and computer science can be studied in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

The talk was led by Dr Shah who presented an overview of this year's pilot implementation of QMUL's Levelling Up Maths for Engineering programme within SEMS featuring 32 students from 19 different London-based schools, while also drawing on verbatim feedback and testimonial comments received from the 6 SEMS undergraduate student tutors reflecting on what they had gained so far from their involvement in the programme.

It was truly heartening to hear from our SEMS undergraduates who highlighted how "this experience was a great opportunity for me to improve my tutoring skills. I learned how to run online sessions with confidence and received excellent feedback from students, who were engaged, responsive, and interactive. It felt meaningful to be part of a programme that supports other young women in STEM".

This was followed by similar segments delivered by Prof Garetto and Dr Roman, who emphasised the implementation and impact of their respective programmes within the Schools of Mathematical Sciences as well as Electronic Engineering and Computer Science.

The talks were extremely well received with an IMA staff member commenting "Thank you for your excellent presentations — I found them incredibly insightful, particularly in illustrating the before-and-after progression of the programmes. It was both inspiring and helpful". The success inspired by QMUL's implementation of this programme also led to great interest from the academic representatives of other universities keenly enquiring about involving their universities in this scheme.