At the beginning of April, a series of educational interactive lectures was held in Voronezh by Nikolay Andreev, a famous educator in the field of mathematics, creator of the “Mathematical etudes” project, head of the laboratory for the popularisation and promotion of mathematics at the Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Lilavati Prize of the International Mathematical Union, the RAS Gold Medal for outstanding achievements in the field of promotion of scientific knowledge, and the Presidential Prize in the field of science and innovation for young scientists.
The visit was organised by the Faculty of Mathematics of Voronezh State University with the financial support of the Rosmolodezh Agency as part of the “Mathematician as a profession” forum. Nikolay Andreev’s visit included speeches not only at the forum, but also in schools, such as Sodruzhestvo, Lyceum No. 1, Lyceum No. 7, Otradnoye Secondary School No. 2. Together with the Department of Pre-university Education of VSU and Sodruzhestvo educational centre, two lectures were also organised for school teachers and university lecturers.
At numerous meetings, they discussed both the mathematical component of the greatest achievements of civilisation and the mathematical “basis” of familiar everyday things. The talented lecturer fascinated schoolchildren with the secrets of the objects and phenomena around us with mathematics hidden inside them. They were able to “touch” some such secrets with their own hands.
At meetings with educators, Nikolay Andreev told teachers, especially young ones, how to navigate the huge amount of Internet resources and literature, and also presented sample research and design projects for schoolchildren.
The “Mathematical etudes” project is available here: http://www.etudes.ru/.
