Students at the University of Oxford’s Mathematical Institute are expected to demonstrate the capacity to absorb and apply new ideas, as well as the ability to think and work independently. The first-year course Exploring Mathematics with MuPAD provides students with an early introduction to self-directed learning while building foundational knowledge they will need in their other math and science courses.
Taught using MATLAB®and Symbolic Math Toolbox™with its MuPAD®notebook interface, the two-term course introduces students to the use of symbolic computation in modern math. “We feel it’s important for all maths undergraduates to have experience using a computer algebra system, regardless of what branch of maths they might specialize in,” notes Dr. Catherine Wilkins, course director at Oxford. “An immediate benefit of taking this course in the first year is that students can use the MuPAD notebook to solve problems and check their answers in other courses. In the longer term, exposure to MATLAB and MuPAD is beneficial for students in their third- and fourth-year projects, in their postgraduate research, and as a skill to highlight on their CVs.”