Contents and Welcome

Welcome to this special issue of MSOR Connections, themed around work undertaken as part of the National HE STEM Programme. This includes work organised by the Network under the Mathematical Sciences HE Curriculum Innovation Project and work organised by other HE STEM partners. In a break with tradition for Connections, work is reported in sections. The first contains an account of our HE Mathematics Curriculum Summit and work which addresses the recommendations for curriculum development made by that Summit. The remainder of the articles are arranged according to several areas of activity: graduate skills; employer engagement; mathematical thinking; technology; inclusive curricula; engineering maths; outreach and widening participation through schools and colleges. As well as full articles and short reports, throughout this issue ‘Projects in brief’ give a hint of the wide range of work in mathematics supported by the National HE STEM Programme. For a full list of supported activity in mathematics and the rest of STEM see www.hestem.ac.uk. I hope that you will find the articles informative and thought provoking. Two key aims of the National HE STEM Programme are long term, sustainable change and community-building. With these in mind, I encourage you to consider adopting the ideas reported in these articles and to contact me or the authors if you would like to discuss or ask for further information on anything you read.