A Study Group is a forum where academic mathematicians work on problems directly related to industry. Among the Danish companies who have participated in previous Study Groups are LEGO, Novo Nordisk, Danfoss, Grundfos and Danisco. The Study Groups are conducted in the third week of August each year.
The format of a Study Group is a week long meeting (Monday - Friday) where a number of companies on the first day of the meeting each present a research problem they believe to be of a mathematical nature. Each such problem is taken up by a group of mathematicians who, together with the company representative, work towards the solution of the problem, through Thursday afternoon. Friday is used to present in a plenary session the results from each of the problem groups. At the latest two months after the meeting, a final report on the results of all the groups is sent out to all participants.
The week-long workshop attracts mathematicians from a wide range of backgrounds to work on the selected industrial problems. Danish companies such as LEGO, NOVO, Grundfos, Danfoss, Danisco, DSB and many others have participated in previous Study Groups.
Ph.d. students are invited to participate and may register for a DTU ph.d. course (5 ECTS) which requires active participation in a study group and a 3-day lecture course just prior to the study group week.
In Denmark the venue for study groups alternate between Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby (even-numbered years) and University of Southern Denmark (odd-numbered years). In 2008 the Study Group takes place at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby. More about ESGI 2008
For more information contact associate professor J. Gravesen or associate professor P.G. Hjorth
The history of Study Groups
Study Groups of this nature have taken place in Great Britain for a number of years, going back to 1963 when Prof. Alan Tayler started the Oxford Study Group with Industry. The coordination of Study Groups is now in the hands of European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry (ECMI), and the name is currently European Study Group with Industry (ESGI). At a meeting in 1997 of the ECMI Council it was decided that Study Groups should also be held outside Great Britain, and the first one of those was ESGI32 in Lyngby, Denmark.
The reasons for the continuing success of the Study Groups are simple: The industrial participants get, for a very modest sum, a highly qualified `think tank' of mathematicians to focus on their particular research problem. Besides a full or partial resolution of the problem, the companies establish useful contacts with international researchers. The academics benefit from new ideas and challenges from the real world, providing inspiration for both education and their own research.
The success criterion for a Study Group is that participating companies experience the meeting as useful and that it brings them a significant step closer to the resolution of their problem. For the Danish study groups we also have the goal that it will establish closer ties between Danish Industry and Danish mathematicians.
Study Groups provide a forum for:
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Exploiting the expertise of leading applied mathematicians to find solutions to industrial problems
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Clarifying and structuring a problem
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Bringing new perspectives and fresh ideas
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Brainstorming on mechanisms and methodologies
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Finding state-of-the-art solution procedures
Industrial participants have:
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Found solutions and insights into existing industrial problems
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Established lasting and productive working links with research applied mathematicians
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Raised and investigated research issues of long-term significance
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Expanded employment opportunities and company profiles with students
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Stimulated greater awareness in the wider community of the power of mathematics in providing solution paths to real-world problems
Links to European Study Groups with Industry:
The Oxford ESGI home page
Where it all started. The OCIAM study group page.
The European Consortium for Mathematics in Industry
MACSI-net: MAthematics, Computing and Simulation for Industry