Competence in mathematics is a crucial factor for a country's technical and economic development. Currently, there are many places around the world where children and teenagers lack the opportunity to acquire basic mathematic skills. Akelius Math Learning Lab has the ambition to increase accessibility to educational materials in mathematics.
Photographer: Akelius Foundation
The Akelius Foundation has extensive experience in developing language courses that are currently used in many different locations worldwide in collaboration with aid organisations Unicef and UNHCR. The material is digital but does not require internet access; it is freely available and is used primarily in refugee camps and in schools with limited resources. The intention is to soon be able to offer educational materials in mathematics as well.
At the newly established Akelius Math Learning Lab, a collaboration between the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Chalmers and University of Gothenburg and Akelius Math AB, teachers and researchers will work together to develop learning materials in mathematics targeting 12-year-olds and above. The material will be usable even in schools with little to no resources, and will also be available in many languages.
Skilled mathematics teachers will be recruited
The recruitment process for the hire of ten persons who will work on the development of educational materials has already begun. The goal is to quickly find the right individuals to be fully staffed by the summer of 2024. The workplace will be at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, sharing space with the staff at Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg.
”We need to find and engage skilled mathematics teachers who will feel inspired to develop materials that work for our broad target group" says Samuel Bengmark, Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
The Department of Mathematical Sciences already has a research group working on Teaching and learning of mathematics, and members of that group will participate in the activities of the ”lab”. The group will be reinforced by a doctoral student and a postdoc who will work on monitoring how the material functions in practice.
The ambition is to start development and testing of the learning material in the spring of 2024, and then to have the first versions ready for distribution during the autumn.
Facts about the investment
Akelius Foundation donates SEK 20 million to Chalmers University of Technology.
Akelius Math Learning Lab is initiated as a collaboration between Chalmers, the University of Gothenburg, and Akelius Math AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Akelius Foundation.
Akelius Math Learning Lab will be located at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, which is shared by Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg. The donation is intended to cover the department's part of the operation for five years, that is, until 2028. A possible extension of the operation will be decided no later than 2027.
Samuel Bengmark, Professor at the Department of Mathematical Sciences, will serve as the director of the lab and as the CEO of Akelius Math AB.
