Martingale Foundation

What an incredible year it has been for Martingale Foundation! Reflecting on 2024, we’re filled with gratitude and pride for the achievements made over the last year. Firstly, a huge congratulations to the Martingale Scholars who have worked hard to achieve incredible results and continue to go from strength to strength. Of course, this would not be possible without the collective efforts of our partner universities, ambassadors, and supporters. Together, we’ve taken big strides toward ensuring that postgraduate education is open to all with the talent and drive. Some highlights from the year include: ⭐ Recruited the third cohort of Mathematics Scholars, this year welcoming 32 Masters Scholars-in-principle and 47 PhD Navigator participants, thanks to the generosity of our founding donor, XTX Markets. Best of luck to all our successful candidates with their upcoming university applications! ⭐ Launched a new partnership with Google DeepMind to fund 12 Google DeepMind AI Masters Scholarships, expanding our support to more talented people. This also enabled the growth of our university partnerships, welcoming Queen Mary University of London and University of Birmingham on board. This growth meant a busy recruitment period with over 134 Scholarship interviews across Bristol, Edinburgh, and London, in just three weeks! ⭐ The first two cohorts of Martingale Scholars continue to inspire us. The inaugural cohort has now progressed to PhD as they explore topics from number theory to quantum computing, while the second cohort launches into their Masters across eight of our partner universities. ⭐ Our support goes beyond Scholarships, with over ten events in the last year, including our annual Welcome Dinner and a Scholar networking event on AI research at Faculty. In the spring, we hosted a lecture on data with statistician Prof. Emma McCoy of The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), in partnership with The Royal Institution. Before wrapping up the academic year with our inaugural Solve for X retreat with Newton Gateway and Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, generously hosted at St John's College, Cambridge. ⭐ Held our first policy roundtable to discuss access and success in research-intensive universities, launching a report with Public First and coverage in *Research Professional. Want to see more? Check out our first Impact Report too. ⭐ We also welcomed five advocates onto our Student Advisory Board, who help advise on our future direction. In the autumn, we moved into a wonderful new office at EdCity, working alongside our incubator charity and colleagues at Purposeful Ventures. As we look ahead, we’re more inspired than ever to continue this work. This includes our campaign to raise funding for expansion into Computer Science, Engineering, and Healthcare to enable us to support more talented Scholars. Thank you to our funders and to our community for being part of this journey. We look forward to 2025! 🎉

Mathematics holds the key to many of the breakthroughs that will shape our lives – from tackling climate change to advancing AI, and much more. Yet too often, talent goes unnoticed owing to barriers like income or access to great teaching and maths enrichment opportunities. Alongside the philanthropists we partner with, Purposeful Ventures is committed to removing these barriers; we are on a mission to change the landscape of maths excellence in the UK and to find and nurture the talented mathematicians who will drive the discoveries we will all depend on. We are looking to uncover talent at every stage of the education pipeline – at school, with initiatives like Axiom Maths and the Maths Excellence Fund, and beyond to postgraduate opportunities with Martingale Foundation Scholars. Three 2025 updates on work happening at Purposeful Ventures: 📊 The publication of the Maths Horizons Interim Report, co-led by David Monis-Weston and Helen Drury. This independent rapid review of teachers and experts in the field seeks to design a pathway to a truly world-class maths education system for England. See our other research on ‘Edtech and AI in maths teaching’ and ‘Scoping the Maths Corps’ on the news section of our website. New publications coming soon. 🤝 The Maths Excellence Fund's second all-partner meeting took place this week connecting experts, sparking innovation and driving coordinated action. Working with 48 schools and colleges across the country and supporting 2,000 students – 96% of whom are eligible for pupil premium – this fund is supporting schools to improve student attainment and progression in maths. Co-op Academies Trust, Inspiration Trust, MEI, United Learning. 🏫 The launch of The 1729 Maths School, the UK’s first-ever 11-18 specialist maths school, delivered in partnership with Mill Hill School. The school will offer full bursaries so that any pupil, regardless of family income, can participate and thrive, and is now out to hire its founding headteacher. At Purposeful Ventures, we believe that by driving change in maths education we can uncover the problem-solvers and innovators of the future, helping all young people to thrive, whatever their start in life. #MathsExcellence #RealiseYourPower #MathsIsPower #STEM 

🎉 Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 🎉 A day to celebrate the achievements of women in STEM and to recognise the importance of making science and research accessible to all. At Martingale Foundation, we are proud to support talented students facing financial barriers to pursue postgraduate study in maths and AI at leading UK universities. By removing financial obstacles, we’re helping to ensure that talented students, regardless of background, can contribute to the future of science and research. The incredible female Scholars in the Martingale cohort are pushing the boundaries of maths and AI research and inspiring the next generation through their achievements. 🔬🚀 Here’s to the next generation of researchers! #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience #STEM #Scholarships #AccessToEducation 

Excellent piece from Cassandra Hugill at Martingale Foundation on the need to consider the impact of PhD admissions on access and the barriers that exist: https://lnkd.in/d2WEc_8F

💡 A vital discussion on barriers to postgraduate research and admissions We are thrilled to see our Chief Executive, Cassandra Hugill's insightful piece in Wonkhe, exploring critical issues in postgraduate research admissions. Following our recent report with Public First on access to postgraduate study, this important topic highlights the barriers that talented students face in accessing opportunities, from unspoken networks to opaque criteria and subjective selection processes. At Martingale Foundation, we’re committed to breaking down these barriers and ensuring postgraduate research is accessible to everyone, irrespective of their background. 💡 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/enkKuZfx

🎉 Celebrating 5 years of Piscopia! Read (and share!) our newsletter to hear about the highlights of the last half decade 🎉 Big thanks to G-Research, the Edinburgh Mathematical Society & the London Mathematical Society for their financial support for the running of PiFORUM24 this year. Also a special mention to Milette Gillow at The Tech Bros, Chloe Slevin at Martingale Foundation, Dawn Geatches at Innovate UK and Kat Phillips for their contributions to the event. We can't wait for another 5 years! Get in touch if you'd like to get involved with what we do. 💚

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak about Martingale’s mission and share advice for aspiring Scholars in the latest episode of Maths on the Move—thank you to the fantastic team at Plus Magazine for this feature of Martingale Foundation! This episode shines a spotlight on two incredible Scholars, who recently began their PhDs at King's College London. They share their experiences at Solve for X, our mathematical modelling retreat delivered in partnership with the Newton Gateway to Mathematics and Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences. If you’re interested in how Martingale is supporting the next generation of STEM leaders, check out the episode here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eppdndTS

Looking for a new challenge in the New Year? 🔎 Join the team at Martingale Foundation! We are recruiting for a Team Administrator to join us as we scale to support more postgraduate leaders. If that sounds like you, be sure to apply by the deadline on the 2nd January ✔️ More details on the role and how to apply below ⬇️

Kicking off the PhD Navigator Programme! 🎄 🎉 Last week, we welcomed over 40 aspiring PhD students to the launch of our PhD Navigator Programme. The day was filled with insights from academics, representatives from our partner universities, and current Martingale Scholars, who shared their experiences of life as part of the Martingale community. This event marks the start of an exciting programme, where participants will receive tailored support to build strong, well-rounded doctoral applications. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to foster connections and start shaping a supportive cohort that will grow together. Thank you to everyone who joined us, shared insights and took part in making it a superb day! Find out more about the day and our unique approach to postgraduate scholarships here: https://lnkd.in/eDAj-zEh

Wrapping up 2024 on a high note! Today, we welcomed over 40 talented PhD Navigator participants and representatives from our eight partner universities in Mathematics for an exciting start to their PhD journey with the Martingale Foundation. Unlike traditional Scholarships, we take a unique approach and recruit candidates before they apply to universities. Why? Because the hidden curriculum can be a major barrier, particularly for individuals from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Over the coming months, we’ll work intensively with our participants to help them: ✅ Identify the right universities and supervisors ✅ Develop strong, well-rounded PhD applications ✅ Gain invaluable interview and application training Today marks the first of many support events, offering opportunities to: 🌟 Network with our university partners 🌟 Hear from current PhD students 🌟 Start shaping their next steps In the new year, participants will receive tailored support, ensuring they are prepared for their PhD applications and interviews. At Martingale Foundation, we know that financial support is crucial, but we also recognize that the barriers to academia extend far beyond finances—and we’re here to tackle them head-on. Wishing the best of luck to all our PhD Navigator participants in their applications!