The London Mathematical Society (LMS) invites UK-based institutions or consortia to submit proposals to host the LMS Mathematical Symposia from 2026-2030.
The LMS Mathematical Symposia (currently the LMS-Bath Symposia) began in 1974 and were historically held at the University of Durham, from 1974 -2019, and then at the University of Bath from 2020-2025. The LMS Mathematical Symposia are a well-established and recognised series of international research meetings, which provide an excellent opportunity to explore an area of research in depth, to learn of new developments, and to instigate links between different branches of mathematics.
The Symposia offer opportunities to increase and celebrate equality, diversity, inclusivity, accessibility and sustainability within the mathematical sciences community. To ensure that all UK institutions have the opportunity to benefit from hosting the LMS Mathematical Symposia, the Society encourages applications from universities or consortia of universities that have not traditionally hosted such events.
Responsibilities of Host Institutions
Host institutions will be responsible for:
- Hosting the LMS Mathematical Symposia for a period of five years, with the first event to be held in July/August 2026. Traditionally, two to three meetings are held each July/August.
- Providing the infrastructure to host the Symposia i.e. lecture theatres, provision for online attendance, accommodation, catering and support for those with caring responsibilities.
- Producing the format of the Symposia so that each last two weeks to allow substantial time for interaction and research. Previous models are listed below but prospective hosts are welcome to suggest new models (e.g. a partnership between a place with experience of hosting mathematical events and a place with the infrastructure could help to expand mathematics in a particular area):
- Meetings by invitation only and held in July/August each year, lasting 1-2 weeks, with 50-70 participants, roughly half of whom will come from the UK.
- Meetings by invitation only and held in July/August, usually lasting for one week, with up to 50 participants, roughly half of whom will come from the UK and complemented
- Either by a summer school, to prepare young researchers such as PhD students,
- or a “research incubator”, where problems related to the topic of the conference are studied in groups.
- These events can take up to an additional week.
- Budgeting and securing funding to host the Symposia; the events typically cost c £40,000 each and a small amount of funding (c £3,000 - £5,000) can be applied for from the LMS via the Scheme 6 (Workshops) Grant Scheme by the organisers of each individual Symposium held at the Host Institution. Both the INI and the ICMS provided significant financial support to the University of Bath to cover the cost of the Mathematical Symposia, which are being held there during 2020-2025. There is potential for support from them for future events as well. Institutions that are interested in hosting the Mathematical Symposia in 2026-2030 are encouraged to contact the ICMS Director (minhyong.kim@icms.org.uk) and/or INI Deputy Director (deputy-director@newton.ac.uk) to discuss possible funding arrangements.
- Working with the LMS Research Grants Committee and any external funders to solicit and assess proposals to organise LMS Mathematical Symposia at the Host Institution; this process usually begins up to 18-24 months prior to the first event being held. Typically, this would involve a member of staff from the Host Institution joining the LMS Research Grants Committee as the Symposia Rep from 2024 – 2030 and attending their meetings up to four times per year.
Proposals
Proposals should include:
- A demonstration of the following:
- A strong mathematical case for the Symposia to be held at the applicants’ department, which highlights current expertise and/or how the department would use it to build human capital, that is, how the Symposia would be transformative for the department.
- A commitment to host at least two LMS Mathematical Symposia per year from 2026-2030 and to work with the Research Grants Committee from 2024 to solicit and assess proposals from prospective organisers.
- A commitment to equality, diversity, inclusivity and accessibility across the community; i.e. amongst speakers, participants, and organisers.
- A commitment to sustainability goals, e.g. provision for hybrid meetings including how an online component would be supported.
- An outline of the proposed formats for the Symposia events.
- An outline of a typical budget per Symposium and plans for securing funding to run at least two Symposia per year over a five-year period, including likely sources and timescales required for applications.
- The names and short CVs (max three pages each) of the team at the Host Institution who will be supporting Organisers in running the LMS Mathematical Symposia at the Host Institution. The CVs should include examples of other events they have run. One team member should be nominated to join the LMS Research Grants Committee as the Symposia Rep in 2024. (Ideally, the same Symposia Rep would remain with the Committee from 2024-2030 but the Society understands that teams can change and a change of Symposia Rep in this period would be fine).
- A description of the proposed location and infrastructure i.e. lecture theatres, provision for online attendance, accommodation, catering and support for those with caring responsibilities.
- The details of the administrative arrangements, including arrangements for dealing with any relevant visa or work-permit issues;
For further details about the LMS Mathematical Symposia in its current iteration can be found on the Society’s website here
Proposals should be submitted by 14 December 2023 to grants@lms.ac.uk
Before submitting: Organisers are welcome to discuss informally their ideas with the Chair of the Research Grants Committee, or the LMS Grants and Membership Administrator (grants@lms.ac.uk).