AUW Math and Science Summer School launched

Staff Correspondent, Chattogram: The Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong has launched Math and Science Summer School, first of its kind, powered by a grant from Chevron Corporation.

The Math and Science Summer School, a five-week intensive programme,  will bring together 60 of the most accomplished female math and science students from across Bangladesh who have recently completed O-Levels or Secondary School Certificate Exams with distinction. The Summer School is intended to help deepen the interest, commitment, and capabilities of these exceptional female students in continuing to pursue further education in math and sciences. The top performing students will be offered admission to AUW. All students will also get training in improving their performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) required for admission to US universities.

The curriculum of the Math and Science Summer School will focus on Physics, Mathematics, and Statistics. Courses include: Electricity & Magnetism, Classical Mechanics, Probability, and Algebra & Calculus. These courses will be taught by a cohort of international and local faculty with academic backgrounds from Stanford, MIT, and Notre Dame.

In addition, a series of prominent international scientists and mathematicians have volunteered to remotely deliver weekly lectures on specific themes. Among these individuals participating in the lectures are: famed biochemist and the 20th President of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Bruce Alberts; MIT physicist and author Alan Lightman;  Harvard mathematician Deborah Hughes Hallett; Cornell University Professor and neuroscientist Tim DeVoogd; and Silicon Valley-based Health Sciences venture capitalist Shomit Ghose.

A group of visiting undergraduate students from Bryn Mawr College, the University of Chicago and Haverford College serving as summer interns at AUW will help with peer tutoring and other support for the Math and Science Summer School students.

The AUW Math and Science Summer School will conclude on August 8, 2019 with Honourable Minister of Information of the Government of Bangladesh Dr. Hasan Mahmud, who is also a member of the Parliament from Chittagong, awarding the certificates to all the participants. It is planned that next summer AUW will offer an intensive writing and reflection Summer School programme focused on Ethics and the Humanities, also aimed at higher level secondary school students, in addition to continuing to offer the Math and Science Summer School.

In addition to Chevron Corporation, Professor Bruce Alberts has made a personal financial contribution toward underwriting the costs of the AUW Math and Science Summer School.

risingbd/Chattogram/July 11, 2019/Rezaul/AI