Modern Mathematics - International Summer School for Students

Application Information

Participation Details

• Participation is only possible for students who stay during the entire duration of the school.
• The language of the school and the entire program will be English; participants must be able to communicate freely in English.
• The school is generously supported by VolkswagenStiftung and Clay Mathematics Institute. The nominal contribution for participants is €400; this this covers all activities for the entire duration of the school, including accommodation, meals, scientific program, and excursion. Nobody will be excluded for financial reasons! We have fellowships available to support deserving participants. These fellowships usually cover partly the participation fee; limited support for travel expenses may be available in exceptional cases.

Participation Requirements

• High school students should be no more than two years before their high school graduation and must have a solid knowledge of calculus. If you feel we should make an exception for you, you should convince us why.
• University students should not have completed more than two years of university study.
• You must be able to communicate freely in English.

Important Dates

• May 9 -- Notification of selected participants begins;
• May 24 -- Deposits due (instructions for bank transfer see "Participant Information");
• May 26 -- Notification of wait-list participants begins.

Application Process

• personal data;
• proof of sufficiency of your English skills, prepared as a single PDF document;
• answers to the questions listed below about your motivation and your mathematical background; the answers should be typed down in a free form and submitted as a single PDF document; please keep the numbering of questions;
• information about one or two people who can provide a recommendation letter for you; be sure to inform your referees in advance, and have their valid email addresses.

Personal Data

• Last name, first name, gender, date of birth
  Participants who are less than 18 years old on the arrival date will need the consent of their parents to participate and supply their parents' contact data.
• Address and email-address
• High school: name, city, and country, year of graduation
• University: name, city, and country, year of enrollment
• Citizenship
• Visa information: Do you need a visa for Germany / the Schengen states?
• Financial support: do you request financial support to partially cover the participation fee/travel (yes/no)? If yes, please be ready to explain in several sentences your reasoning.
• Recommendation letters: Your referees will receive an email with the link following which they will be asked to submit their recommendation letter as a single PDF document. The reference letter will not be visible to an applicant, only to members of the selection committee. Instead you will be notified once a letter for you is uploaded. Letters of recommendation must be in English.

English Language Skills

Participants need to have a working knowledge of English. Please convince us of your English language skills: either by proof that the language of instruction (in your mathematics courses) at your school/university is English, or by scores in the TOEFL test (or similar), or by a letter from your English teacher. If your native language is English or if you are at an English-speaking high school or university, please document that to us.

Information about Yourself and Your Mathematical Interests

Selection of participants will be based to a large extend on their mathematical interests and background. Please take your time and think carefully about answering the following questions.

1. Personal Statement: Explain us in a few words who you are and what are your motivations to attend our summer school.
2. Three Problems: Describe two or three mathematical problems that you find the most interesting. Please explain clearly what these problem are, and why they do interest you. (We expect to read here about problems that you can fully or almost fully understand, and not about famous conjectures.)
3. A proof: Is there a mathematical proof that you fully understand which impressed you because it is beautiful or unexpected? Which one, and why?
4. Courses: Describe one or two courses you have taken recently. What were the main theorems (at most three)?
5. Books, videos, and websites: Which mathematical books you have read/studied recently in some depth? Do you follow any mathematical website or blog? Have you been watching mathematical videos recently? By your own estimate: how well have you understood the material?
6. Topics: Describe a few mathematical topics that you understand well. Which of them would you like to investigate further?
7. Topics to learn: Specify a few mathematical topics about which you do not know much, but which you would like to learn. Do you have any plans to do so?
8. Scientific activities: During the last two years, did you participate in any scientific activities, summer schools, math camps, etc.? If yes, please describe the experience you had: what were the courses you attended? How well did you understand the subject?
   Do you organize running seminars to learn new subjects? Have you ever given a “public” talk to other students like you? If the answer is yes, what was it about?
9. Mathematical events: Did you participate in any mathematical events (national or international)? If yes: which were your favorites? What are the results you obtained during the last two years (in case of competitions)? This is not required, just in order to know more about you.
10. Publications: We are aware that at your age, very few of you have already published. Just in case, if you have any mathematics-related publications, please, give exact internet references or attach electronic copies. (Not required.)
11. You and the world of research: Is there a recent theorem or open conjecture that you have heard of and that you find particularly exciting? Please explain. (Not required.)

Technical Information about the Application System

Participants need to have a working knowledge of English. Please convince us of your English language skills: either by proof that the language of instruction (in your mathematics courses) at your school/university is English, or by scores in the TOEFL test (or similar), or by a letter from your English teacher. If your native language is English or if you are at an English-speaking high school or university, please document that to us.

After preparting all the required information and documents above, please register at MathHire.org by creating your personal account. The system will guide you through the registration process.

Once you have your account activated, in the left side bar menu you will see Materials. By clicking on Materials, in a drop-down menu you:

• fill-in a Cover Sheet by inserting your personal data. Note that information about visa and financial support will be asked later on.
• upload the proof of English skills and answers to the questions, as two separate PDF documents, in PDF Documents.
• fill-in the information about your referees (one or two people) in Reference Letters. To do this you just need to click "Request a reference letter" and insert all requested information. You can leave "Usecase keywords" field blank, or write "For Modern Mathematics Summer School". Note that requests will be sent once you click "Send request" button.

After finishing adding documents and information to your profile, you can submit your application for the school at the link https://mathhire.org/events/253, or by following the sequence of clicks Events --> Events in Academia --> Modern Mathematics - International Summer School for Students --> Apply. There you will be ask to choose requested documents from the drop-down menus, select your referees, and to provide us with your answers to the questions about visa and financial support. Note that this information is requested as a plain text, no PDF uploads. Be aware that the application system doesn't save an unfinished application. To avoid double-typing please do finish adding documents and information to your personal profile.

You finish your application to the summer school by clicking a "submit" button on the bottom of the page. The system will provide you with a notice of a successful application.