Podcast: The IDEMS Podcast

In this episode, George and Kate discuss the challenge of transforming deep R&D into tangible products. They explore the balance between simplicity and complexity, the need for early market validation, and the difficulty of securing private investment for ambitious long-term goals. The conversation touches on the unique product and funding strategies for social enterprises and…

In this episode Johnny and Kate discuss the intricacies of marketing IDEMS, emphasizing the challenges of presenting its diverse and impactful work. They highlight the importance of a well-structured website, balancing in-depth technical information with user-friendly content, and the need to showcase successes without overshadowing their collaborative nature. They also touch on the evolution of…

Kate Fleming and Lucie Hazelgrove Planel discuss the complexities of collecting sensitive data from communities, emphasizing the importance of building trust and ensuring the data serves the community’s interests. The conversation touches on various examples, including work with West African farmers, stressing the need for sustainable, community-focused research models.

IDEMS Directors David Stern and Kate discuss the concept of “moral ambition”, prompted by the recent book by Rutger Bregman of the same name. David and Kate reflect on their own career paths, the societal expectations of younger generations, and the challenges they faced while carving out meaningful careers. They explore the interconnectedness of education,…

It feels like we’re surrounded by dystopian visions of the future. But what might a future look like where humanity, technology and nature harmoniously coexist? In this episode, Johnny McQuade and David Stern explore the concept of “Solarpunk”, a science fiction aesthetic that tries to envision exactly this. The conversation touches upon agroecology, renewable energy,…

In this episode, Lily Clements talks to David Stern about how IDEMS aims to bring about systemic change. Key examples include work with National Met Offices in Zambia and Malawi to make climate data accessible and impactful, and digital interventions in parenting programs to reduce violence against children in Tanzania.

Lucie and Kate discuss their experiences at a workshop for PhD and postdoctoral mathematicians at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh. They reflect on the challenges mathematicians experience to enter into socially impactful careers, the sense of community the workshop fostered, and the importance of transdisciplinary collaboration.

Lily Clements and David Stern explore the future of statistics education through the lens of George Cobb’s influential 2015 paper, “Mere Renovation is Too Little Too Late: We Need to Rethink Our Undergraduate Curriculum from the Ground Up”. They discuss key imperatives from Cobb’s work, such as flattening prerequisites, seeking depth, embracing computation, exploiting context,…

In this episode, Lucie discussed with Moustapha Moussa and Gabriela Bucini The Origins of the Food Innovation Centres in West Africa. Moustapha tells the story of how these were started, sharing the challenges faced, exposing the courage needed for this innovation, and the successes, focusing on the beautiful social development of farmer communities.

George Simmons and David Stern discuss the development of educational courses with a focus on tool agnosticism, particularly in their collaboration with the Open University of Kenya for their Msc in Mathematical Innovation course. They explore the challenges and benefits of assessing student work without being tied to specific tools, and highlight the importance of…