By Students, for Students: From Showing Up to Speaking Up

By Sonia Balan and Sam Furr, undergraduate MMath Mathematics students, The University of Manchester

This past year I took on the challenge of organising the Mathematics Undergraduate Conference at our university. My friends also expressed interest, and we have formed a dream-team: someone cold-emailing science communicators, someone ordering forty pizzas, someone making finance spreadsheets. It was a joy to organise! We spent hours planning the schedule to optimise the number of people in each session. It was only during the conference itself that I realised that attendance was the least interesting part.

MIMUC stands for Manchester Interdisciplinary Mathematics Undergraduate Conference. Its ethos has always been ‘by students, for students’. As a student-led event, we wanted to create a space where students could take ownership of their academic interests and feel part of the wider academic community. As an undergraduate, research can feel like something being done elsewhere, in different spaces, by different people. MIMUC tries to change that from the bottom up: students organise it, present mathematics, ask questions and learn from one another.

When Students Become Experts

As an organiser, it was a joy to see students engage - not only by showing up but through what they brought with them. Our 28 speakers presented individual research projects, summer internships and topics they explored independently. For each talk, the usual lecture setting was almost reversed. A student stood at the front as the person who knew the subject best, while others – and academics – sat in the audience, listening and asking questions. Personally, I was in awe at how much student learning happens outside of lecture theaters and seminar rooms, and how important it is to give students a space to learn and pursue their own curiosity.

The Time Between the Sessions

A student might never stand up in a lecture and ask an academic about postgraduate study, but they might ask the same question over a slice of pizza at MIMUC. We spent so long optimising the formal schedule, only for me to realise that some of the most valuable conversations happened between the sessions. With lunch taking place near the staff and postgraduate offices, even more academics would gravitate towards the pizza and the networking. The informal setting helped narrow the gap between students and staff that can make speaking up feel intimidating; there was no need to ask a question the ‘right’ way or even to know exactly what you wanted to ask. The lunch made the wider academic community feel literally more accessible. 

Taking the First Step

Sam, my co-author and fellow student organiser, reflected on what taking ownership meant for him:

“The first thing we had to overcome when organising MIMUC was doubt. As an undergraduate, it can sometimes feel like you are a very small fish in a very big pond. The task of cold-emailing maths communicators was daunting, but once I sent the first email, it got much easier. I didn’t always get a reply and most of the replies I did get were ‘no’s but eventually someone said ‘yes’. The result was an excellent public lecture that capped off MIMUC perfectly. Fear of rejection could have prevented that. If you have an idea you're afraid to try, just take the first step.”

What I’m Taking Forward

Organising MIMUC made me appreciate how much can happen when students are trusted with this kind of ownership and responsibility. We were students deciding what kind of academic community we wanted to be part of, and then building it. Watching students present, stay behind to ask questions and make connections made me realise the different shapes that student engagement can take.

I also want to carry this into my work in the University Library Student Team, where students and staff co-create study-skills resources for other students. MIMUC made me more mindful of how much the design of a space matters: when students recognise their own voice in it, they feel more comfortable contributing to shape what is offered.

By the end of MIMUC, I stopped worrying about the numbers and the feedback forms, and started wondering whether the attendees felt like they belonged there. That is one of the parts of MIMUC I am proudest of, and something I hope we keep developing.