By Diana Bueno
The Colombia Section of SIAM (CoSIAM) held the inaugural CoSIAM 2020 School of Applied and Industrial Mathematics (EMAI CoSIAM 2020) in late July. This week-long program allowed both national and international institutions to share courses and interdisciplinary experiences related to applied and industrial mathematics. EMAI CoSIAM 2020 served students and professionals who are interested in learning the techniques of applied and industrial mathematics, and provided a platform that highlighted the successful experiences of experts in the math community.
Figure 1. The CoSIAM 2020 School of Applied and Industrial Mathematics (EMAI CoSIAM 2020) within the ecosystem of the Colombia Section of SIAM. Figure courtesy of Diana Bueno.
The school featured separate courses for three different topics: machine learning, complex networks, and system dynamics. The courses occurred remotely, in accordance with meeting guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic. 57 participants—in academic, industrial, and governmental sectors—took part in the event from various regions of Colombia and abroad. During the opening ceremony, organizers explained the CoSIAM ecosystem to clarify the sectors, audiences, and areas of action that the section strives to address in its efforts to develop and promote applied mathematics in Colombia.
The CoSIAM ecosystem uses three axes to frame its actions (see Figure 1). The first axis corresponds to the section’s intended audience: undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals. The second axis covers the areas of action: motivation, training, research, and networking. And the third axis includes the sectors that CoSIAM hopes to impact: academia and the real world. Using this framework, EMAI CoSIAM 2020 academically impacted all audiences in the training area.
Further information about EMAI CoSIAM 2020 and the Colombia Section of SIAM is available online.
Diana Bueno is the vice president of the Colombia Section of SIAM and director of the Applied Mathematics Program at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali in Colombia.