In a vibrant effort to dismantle the fear and boredom often associated with mathematics, postgraduate students at a Mumbai university are turning equations into entertainment. The annual Sigmatics festival, organized by the mathematics department of Homi Bhabha State University (HBSU), is successfully changing perceptions, one fun-filled activity at a time.
Experiential Learning Replaces Classroom Dread
Held every December, Sigmatics is a one-day event designed specifically for school students. This year, it took place in the second week of December. The festival directly addresses the intimidation many young learners feel towards math, which organizers attribute largely to traditional teaching methods in schools. The goal is to generate genuine interest by moving learning from textbooks to interactive experiences.
The event invites participation from 20 schools across the city, with each school sending a team of five students. A unique aspect of the festival's organization is that it is entirely managed by first-year MSc Mathematics students from HBSU. These postgraduate volunteers are encouraged to reach out to their own former schools to invite participants, ensuring a layer of familiarity and comfort for the attending children.
Skit, Race, and Games: The Formula for Fun
The day is packed with creative competitions and activities that cleverly embed mathematical concepts. Instead of passive listening, students engage in a relay race where they pass solved sums instead of a baton. They play math-themed versions of games like musical chairs and use playing cards to grasp abstract ideas like infinity and binary numbers.
One of the highlights is a theatrical skit performed by the MSc students. This year's performance was based on mathematical logic and featured a robbery scenario. School students were tasked with questioning suspect characters and applying logical reasoning to identify the culprit, turning a complex topic into an engaging detective story.
Other competitions include quizzes, Sudoku puzzles, creating geometrical shapes in soap water, and decoding words written in mathematical symbols. An essay-writing competition also invites students to reflect on their personal relationship with mathematics—discussing their fears or what they enjoy. These responses are carefully reviewed by the university to plan more effective events in the future.
Inspiring Future Mathematicians and Highlighting Core Relevance
The impact of Sigmatics is tangible and long-lasting. Akshat Chaube, now a second-year MSc Mathematics student at HBSU, was a participant in the 2018 festival when he was in Class 9 at a school in Bandra. While he always liked math, he credits the immersive experience at Sigmatics as the key inspiration for pursuing higher education in the subject.
Professor Selby Jose of the HBSU mathematics department, who started Sigmatics a few years ago, emphasizes the importance of the small age gap between organizers and participants. "School students find them to be more relevant and can freely participate in the activities," he noted.
Professor Jose also connected the outreach to contemporary trends, highlighting the surging interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI). "But its basis is mathematics. We are learning AI, which is already developed by someone. To study it beyond that point, one will require knowledge of mathematics," he stated, underlining the fundamental importance of the subject for cutting-edge fields.
The department's commitment extends beyond Sigmatics. They have played a key role in creating a mathematical garden at a school in Palghar and are planning to develop a short course in mathematics and data science. This course is intended to be offered as a Co-Curricular (CC) Course to BSc Mathematics students in affiliated colleges, further strengthening the academic ecosystem.
Through initiatives like Sigmatics, Homi Bhabha State University is demonstrating that with creativity and direct engagement, mathematics can be transformed from a daunting subject into a source of joy and inspiration for the next generation.
