The winning project focuses on integrating numerical computing content into math courses

Dubai, March 8, 2020: A group of three UAE researchers, including Dr. Firuz Kamalov of Canadian University Dubai (CUD), have been awarded the Collaborative Research Program Grant 2019 by the UAE Ministry of Education, Higher Education Affairs, for their proposal on updating the current mathematics curriculum at university and high school level. The grant amount is AED 7.5 million spread over 3 years. 

The Ministry launched the Collaborative Research Program Grant in 2019 with the goal of ‘building research teams of scale, focusing on an integrated research program capable of applying scientific excellence to the advancement of knowledge for the benefit of the UAE,’ according to its website. 

Only 4 out of 238 applications were accepted for the funding, making it an extremely competitive and prestigious grant.  

The winning math project team consisted of Dr.  Firuz Kamalov, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at CUD, Dr. Mohamed Salim Al Hammadi (UAE University) and Dr Ho Hon Leung (UAE University).

Dr. Firuz explained: “Our proposal outlines steps to transform the current mathematics curriculum at university and high school level by introducing numerical computing content into mathematics courses. We have focused on cutting-edge applications of numerical computing in Machine Learning, Big Data, and Mechatronics. The open source nature of the project will benefit educators and students both in the UAE and internationally. We envision that our research project has potential to drastically improve the learning outcomes in mathematics courses”.

“Today's job market requires a different skillset than 20 years ago. The digital revolution has affected the workplace in a very significant way. As a result, computing skills have become vital for a range of professions from engineering to biomedical sciences to finance,” Dr. Firuz commented.

According to Dr. Firuz, the project implementation consists of three main stages: pilot program in Calculus 1; extension of the program to other core mathematics courses; and creation of public repository for curriculum content and teacher training. The numerical computing contents will be delivered in the form of labs that supplement the regular class lectures. In addition, students will develop fundamental programming skills that will help them in the future.