In January 2026, we had the opportunity to attend a rather unusual maths conference: the UK’s Retreat for Women in Applied Mathematics, now in its 5th year. As female maths PhD students, we’re quite used to being in a gender minority, so we weren’t sure what to expect from an event with such a different attendance profile to the average conference! However, as we’re both at early stages of our PhDs, we saw it as a valuable opportunity to engage with other women researchers in applied mathematics and to feel more integrated into the community.
When we arrived on the first day, Edinburgh welcomed us with strong winds and grey skies. Yet, as the week unfolded, the weather softened, and the week turned out to be a very enjoyable one! On the first morning, we walked together from the hotel to the conference venue. It was a very pleasant walk through the city and a lovely way to start the day. The Retreat was held at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences, based at the University of Edinburgh, with glorious views over the rooftops of the city towards Arthur’s Seat and the sea beyond. We enjoyed introducing ourselves to other attendees we hadn’t met before over some refreshments, then after that the workshop began.
Over the course of four and a half packed days, we attended a range of sessions covering many different areas of academic life. As it was a relatively small conference, all delegates attended every session, maximising the opportunities to get to know one another and make connections between the ideas discussed in different sessions. Each day included a series of 20-minute contributed research talks on different topics within applied mathematics, from attendees at all career stages. A particular highlight of these for us was SAMBa alumna Dr. Jenny Power’s talk, all about her recently completed PhD research! These presentations were interspersed with roundtable sessions centred on open discussions around different themes, alongside plenary talks delivered by women with long and established careers in mathematics, who shared both their research and their professional and personal journeys. We also heard about the various initiatives around the world to improve the participation, visibility and recognition of women in maths.
A novel and meaningful feature of the retreat were the four ‘round table’ sessions, on the themes of finding a permanent job in academia, knowledge exchange, funding and fellowship applications and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). These created a genuinely supportive environment in which we could engage in open discussions that went beyond research alone, with researchers at different stages of their careers. This gave us the chance to express our own ideas on the various topics, but also broaden our perspectives through hearing a range of experiences and opinions, including advice from more experienced researchers. We found these sessions particularly engaging and useful in cementing our understanding of various aspects of academic life, such as why exactly certain activities are beneficial to job and fellowship applications, and the many forms knowledge exchange can take. There was also a fairly impromptu discussion on research ethics, pulled together by the organisers at short notice after a speaker dropped out, which turned into a really thought-provoking session with links to all the other round tables.
The talks, presentations and round tables were punctuated by generous lunch and coffee breaks, which provided the perfect opportunity to connect with young researchers from other universities, reflecting on what we’d just heard and discussing similarities and differences between our various institutions. Learning from PhD students at other universities about the initiatives they’re running to support and encourage underrepresented groups in maths was also very inspiring, and we’re now thinking about how we can try to implement some of these ideas at Bath too. It was also great to catch up with Jenny and hear how she’s getting on in her new role at M-Dice (Heriot-Watt’s answer to the IMI), and her advice on presenting research engagingly. Despite the packed schedule and the dark January nights, we and the other students we had met during the retreat tried to explore the city as much as we could in the evenings, giving us further opportunity to share our experiences of our PhD journeys.
Overall, it was a truly enriching experience. It allowed us to expand our network to include many more women working in applied mathematics and return home with new perspectives and valuable insights. We both came away feeling hugely enthusiastic and motivated - always a bonus in January!
Veronica's reflections:
From my perspective, one of the aspects I enjoyed most was listening to talks by women with extensive experience in mathematics and in academic careers. Their talks did not focus only on their research, but also on their personal experiences and challenges. I found their insights and suggestions particularly valuable.
I also enjoyed the opportunity to present my research on the first day through a three-minute lightning talk (thanks to the SAMBa conference I was prepared for this!). This gave me the chance to connect with researchers who shared similar interests, and it was great to exchange ideas and discuss our work.
In addition, I found it very interesting to be part of a workshop that brought together researchers working in very different areas. This is something I had not experienced in previous conferences, and I really enjoyed learning about research topics beyond my field.
Caroline's reflections:
My supervisor had recommended the Retreat as an inspiring and friendly experience, ideal for my first time presenting my research to an external audience. Whilst I was concerned he might be biased (his former PhD student was one of the organisers!), I took him at his word and consequently spent the week preceding the event frantically planning, designing and arranging the printing of my first ever research poster. I also needed to prepare a ‘pitch’ for my poster, which wasn’t something I’d come across before, but I threw together a slide and decided I could rely on my trusty SAMBa presentation training to think of some words to accompany it on the day!
The pitching session turned out to be a fairly freeform event, where those of us presenting posters were able to take five minutes to introduce ourselves and our posters however we felt best. It worked well to help other delegates identify which posters were of most interest to them, and allowed presenters with animations to accompany their posters to properly show these off. Despite my lack of preparation, I managed to pitch my poster coherently enough that two more senior attendees I was very keen to chat to about their work in similar areas started conversations with me about it, which was encouraging. The main poster session took place on Tuesday afternoon, and I found it very rewarding but surprisingly exhausting! I had some fantastic conversations with the others in my field, which sparked lots of exciting new ideas for directions to take my project in. This more direct engagement with the audience was hugely beneficial, but I quickly realised that my pre-conception that presenting a poster would be more relaxed than giving a talk was entirely incorrect. Spending an hour responding to spontaneous questions on my work at all different levels proved much more tiring than delivering a 15 minute pre-rehearsed presentation would have been!
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of sharing my work outside SAMBa, in such a comfortable and supportive environment, and now feel much more prepared and excited to present my poster elsewhere!
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