12 Sep 2025
On the afternoon of September 5th, the Master's 2025 cohort of the School of Mathematics and Physics held at the Mathematics Building.
The event covered school introduction, programme overviews, academic support services, and development planning, providing students from the MSc Applied Mathematics, MSc Data Science, and MSc Financial Mathematics programmes with an informative and interactive academic gathering.
The event commenced with a welcome speech by Dr. Ruonan Zhang, Acting Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching. Dr. Zhang briefly introduced the School's overview—including its scale of 120+ staff, 2500+ undergraduate students, and 200+ master's students, as well as the 12 mathematics-related modules offered in the first semester. She emphasised that the School focuses not only on academic quality but also provides comprehensive English language support and student activities, fully supporting students' learning experience and personal development.
Subsequently, the three Programme Directors took the stage to elaborate on the training objectives, curriculum structure, faculty expertise, and development pathways of their respective programmes:
?Applied Mathematics
Dr Xinyao. Yang highlighted that the Applied Mathematics programme emphasises the integration of theory and practical application, covering core areas such as partial differential equations, scientific computing, and optimisation algorithms. Students can choose academic research or industry collaboration projects based on their interests, and the School will provide diverse topic support and research training.
? Data Science
Dr Long Bai emphasised that Data Science is an interdisciplinary field combining "computing + statistics + domain knowledge." The curriculum balances programming practice and mathematical models, requiring students to choose a focus area such as healthcare, finance, or information technology. He also recommended that students contact potential supervisors early and actively participate in industry projects and academic seminars to broaden their research perspective.
?Financial Mathematics
Dr Yi Cao underscored the programme's alignment with the FRM (Financial Risk Manager) certification and its excellent employment record. The curriculum integrates traditional financial theory, mathematical modelling, and machine learning, and collaborates with the company ForthTech to offer industry internship opportunities, providing students with a practical platform in quantitative finance.
During the Development Adviser (DA) session, Ms. Tiantian Xu and Ms. Yun Xu detailed the "Four-in-One" mentor support system, which includes Academic Advisors, Development Advisers, External Mentors, and Peer Buddies, covering academic, psychological, career, and resource support. They encouraged students to actively utilise one-on-one consultations, career workshops, and the External Mentor programme to plan their personal development paths in advance.
Dr Glenn Howlett from the Academy of Global Culture and Languages presented the English language and academic support services offered by the Academic Literacies Centre, which include workshops and lecture assistance, among other formats. He encouraged students to actively utilise the university’s open-access resources to support the smooth progression of their studies.
The new semester has set sail, and the SMP will continue to support every student with its rich faculty resources, diverse curriculum, and comprehensive services as they explore the depths of academia and journey toward a broader future.
By Qinru Liu and Ruoling Li
12 Sep 2025