sigma prizes for outstanding contributions

in the field of mathematics and statistics support - 2011

The sigma prize winners for 2011 have just been announced as:

Outstanding Contributor: Liz Meenan (University of Leeds)

Rising Star: Dr Inna Namestnikova (Brunel University)

In relation to these prizes, mathematics and statistics support refers to activities that support and enhance students’ learning of these subjects (as they occur in many disciplines) in higher education. Support takes place in addition to traditional lectures, tutorials, etc.

There has been a huge growth in mathematics support activity over the last few years as universities have responded to the challenges presented by very diverse student cohorts. sigmais a HEFCE designated Centre for Excellence in Mathematics & Statistics Support, based at Loughborough and Coventry Universities.

The Outstanding Contributor prize recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to maths support for at least 5 years and influenced others through their promotion of maths support to a wide audience.

The Rising Star award is made to someone who has been working in maths support for up to three years and has been an effective champion of this work both within and outside their own institution.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony to be held at the CETL-MSOR conference in Coventry on 5/6 September 2011 (

Selection Process

Nominations were scrutinised against the criteria by a Panel consisting of Professors Tony Croft and Duncan Lawson (sigma Directors), Jan Tennant, Director of the Teaching Centre at Loughborough University, Professor John O’Donoghue (University of Limerick). The Panel individually assessed and ranked each application. The individual rankings were aggregated to provide a short list of overall winners in each category. Professor Madeleine Atkins, Vice Chancellor, Coventry University, chaired a final Award Panel to consider the shortlisted entries.

Further informationcan be obtained from sigma Assistant Director, Moira Petrie ().

sigmaOutstanding Contributor 2011:Liz Meenan

/ For over thirty years Liz has contributed extensively to the field of Mathematics Education in her roles as a mathematics teacher, head of department, advisory teacher, education officer for 4Learning (the education arm of Channel 4) and a PGCE tutor. Then six years ago she became a maths support tutor at the University of Leeds. Initially her work was targeted at students making the transition from school to university mathematics. More recently she has been supporting staff and students across a wide variety of subjects and all levels.

In September 2005 Liz was instrumental in setting up the Maths Support Service at the University of Leeds that was initiated with fixed-term sigma-CETL funding. At its inception she was the sole tutor and co-ordinator of the service. In 2007 a successful bid to the Academic Development Fund enabled expansion and the Service is now fully embedded and established on permanent basis in the University. Liz’s drive and commitment have been behind this achievement and have ensured that Maths Support is a key strand in the long-term strategy of the Library itself. The Service now includes additional Maths Tutors and PhD student advisors. Liz has initiated the successful use of student ambassadors to promote the service, extended the frequency of drop-ins to a daily basis and developed innovative online resources including Maths Solutions and Maths Quizzes [1]. In 2009, Liz achieved funding from the LearnHigher Development Fund to create e-learning resources targeted at level 1 mathematics students and so further develop Maths Solutions and Maths Quizzes. In 2010 these resources were awarded a commendation at the ALDinHE (Association for Learning Development in Higher Education) conference.

Beyond the University of Leeds, Liz has taken a keen interest in raising the national profile of mathematics support. She, along with Chetna Patel (University of Sheffield and a previous sigma prize outstanding contributor), set up the Maths Support Hub for the North East and Yorkshire region [2]. Furthermore Liz has presented her innovative maths support work at conferences such as BCME (British Congress of Mathematics Education), Higher Education Academy MSOR (Maths, Statistics and Operational Research) Network and also internationally.

[1] The resources, along with many others, are accessible through the comprehensive “Improve your maths” website which Liz has helped create for the Service:

[2] See

sigma Rising Star 2011: Dr Inna Namestnikova

/ Inna graduated from Moscow State University where she was also awarded a PhD in Applied Mathematics. She has many years experience of teaching mathematics at Russian and British universities and joined Brunel Academic Skills support team in 2009. As a member of the Academic Skills Service, Inna provides support in different areas of mathematics and numeracy to Brunel students and staff. Her solid academic background and previous research and teaching experience allow Inna to be highly effective in providing support at all levels, from foundation students to postgraduates.

Her main face-to-face activities include regular one-to-one and “topic of the week” sessions that she runs for all students around Brunel University. This is complemented by bespoke workshop sessions in collaboration with staff from a variety of departments who perceive the need of their students for additional support.
Inna runs the very popular Maths Café at Brunel, which is a two-week activity starting shortly before the examination period and providing whole-day mathematics and statistics support for students during the period when they need it most. This requires a good deal of planning, advertising and coordination of staff and postgraduate tutors mainly constituted by maths PhD students. Inna has also contributed to the development an effective portal to electronic resources (U-link) at Brunel.

All these activities help students from a wide range of programmes of studies, who struggle with mathematics and numeracy, to build their confidence and be able to access their mainstream studies again.