Our Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses are super-curricular classes designed to stimulate and encourage young people in the art and practice of mathematics. Jointly organised with Edinburgh Napier University and Heriot-Watt University, our Royal Institution Masterclasses are designed to inspire keen and talented S2 pupils from all over Scotland. Classes are led by top experts from academia and industry, and cover a broad range of topics. The Edinburgh Mathematics Masterclasses series runs in the spring term, typically starting in January. Each session features a different speaker. Classes are highly interactive and a great opportunity for pupils to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Royal Institution webpage How to take part Schools from across Scotland are directly invited to nominate S2 pupils to take part in the series. Parents cannot nominate their child directly, but are encouraged to speak to their child's teacher if they are interested. Pupils are selected based on their enthusiasm for mathematics and their work ethic rather than purely on their mathematical ability. 2025 Masterclasses Please find the tentative schedule for speakers and topics that will be covered in the 2025 series listed below. 2025 Programme 25 January 10:00 - 11:30 Online via Zoom Francesca Iezzi Tessellations: between Maths and Art Maths and Art are often seen as completely different subjects but there is more that connects them than you might think! In fact, Mathematics has influenced many artists both in ancient and modern times, from Celtic Art to Islamic Art, from Leonardo to Esher. In this class we will focus on tessellations, their importance in Maths, and how this topic has inspired artists of all times. Time permitting, you will have a chance to get creative and make your own mathematical masterpiece. 1 February 10:00 - 11:30 Online via Zoom Joe Pratt-Jones How do machines learn? In recent years, artificial intelligence has become a topic that we hear about a lot. Tools like ChatGPT can do very impressive things, and most of us are still coming to terms with how useful and powerful they can be. But with all the attention that AI gets in our daily lives, one thing does not get any less mysterious: how does it actually work? 22 February 10:00 - 11:30 Online via Zoom Minhyong Kim The Future of Shape How many holes are there in a straw? This question caught the imagination of the public and ‘the internet’ a few years ago, leading many to propose answers featuring in publications as diverse as Forbes and the Independent. Inevitably, there were also quite a few YouTube videos claiming to give the right answer. The purpose of this lecture is indeed to give the right answer. More importantly, we will use this funny question as a starting point to think together about shape and its measurement. This will lead us into the current status of theories of shape with applications to topics as diverse as the shape of data, the shape of the universe, and surprising new states of matter determined by the shape of electron clouds. 1 March 10:00 - 12:20 Heriot-Watt University Lotte Holland From ancient numbers to RSA encryption: How math secures the internet! Did you know that math plays a huge role in modern encryption? In this talk, we’ll dive into the story of RSA encryption—a brilliant method that secures your online passwords and private messages. We’ll uncover how it works by going back to ancient numeral systems and using concepts like prime numbers and modular arithmetic. Through simple examples and fun explanations, we’ll see how these concepts combine to create unbreakable codes. 8 March 10:00 - 12:20 Edinburgh Napier University Chris Guiver An introduction to game theory This session will introduce the area of game theory, which is roughly the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent, rational decision-makers. As we shall see, game theory crops up in a range of unexpected places, with some surprising consequences. The session will contain some presented components from me, and some time for practical activities for the participants, including playing lots of mathematical games. No prior knowledge of game theory is required, and I hope to see many of you there. 15 March 10:00 - 13:00 University of Edinburgh Erik Hormann Cards, marriages, and graphs: an interesting problem using Hall’s theorem Graph theory can crop up even where you don't expect it to! We will play a simple card game and see how we can codify it into a mathematical problem using graph. This is the same creative process professional mathematicians use to push the boundaries of our knowledge: finding a smart way to represent a problem, then using the previously accumulated mountain of theorems, observations, and results. In this case, this process will bring us to one of the central results of graph theory from the XX century, Hall's Marriage theorem. What does marriage have to do with card games and graph theory, you ask? Well, let’s find out! Image The Edinburgh Maths Circle is kindly sponsored by the Glasgow Mathematical Journal Trust. This article was published on 2025-04-22
