Hosted by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW, this flagship outreach event aims to inspire young women passionate and talented in maths to pursue tertiary studies and careers in mathematical areas.
On Tuesday 16 June, the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW Sydney held the highlight event of our calendar year – Do The Maths (DTM). Celebrating its 21st year of operation, we were delighted to host a new generation of bright minds, curious about the possibilities of mathematics. 330 high school students and their teachers from 27 schools attended our 2026 on-campus DTM event in the UNSW Roundhouse.
Like every year, the 2026 event pulled students from the Advanced and Extension NSW mathematics curriculum classes. The unique quality of this year’s cohort, however, was the effort the head mathematics teachers had to make to get their students to the event. They faced barriers of distance (schools ranged from two hours to nine hours away from the UNSW campus in Kensington), disability (one school required use of a special-provision disability bus), and lack of resources to support travel, accommodation, and the engagement of qualified relief teachers.
The UNSW School of Mathematics and Statistics decided to assist in as many ways as possible. We offered a hot breakfast for all attending, knowing that many students would have left home before 5am. We provided stipends to schools travelling the furthest distances. We organised a special bus to ensure that disability would not prohibit a talented student and her classmates from attending. And we worked with the NSW Department of Education to make sure that support reached the schools.
As a result, the Roundhouse buzzed with energy from beginning to end.
Students were welcomed by MC Professor Catherine Greenhill and the Head of School, Professor Andrew Francis, before launching into a hands-on maths workshop, Counting Conundrums. The workshop, presented by Lecturer Dr Hannah Keese and developed by fellow UNSW Mathematics and Statistics staff, Drs Sean Gardiner, Jason Atnip, and Yudhi Bunjamin, engaged and surprised the students, providing insight into research in the mathematical area of Combinatorics.
The 2026 UNSW Women in Mathematics and Statistics Ambassador, Olivia Smith, spoke about her journey from a keen mathematics teenager to a commercial sector data whiz. Currently a Senior Analytics Translator at nbn Australia, her roles have spanned prominent companies including IBM Research Australia and Telstra. She gave her audience an informed and humorous presentation about Optimising a career (and some other things along the way), drawing on her experiences in life, the workforce, and the world of maths.
Olivia then joined a lively Q & A panel with our lecturers, Michelle Dunbar and Hannah Keese, and PhD students, Amuchechukwu Ibenegbu and Khue Tran, hosted by Professor Catherine Greenhill. After introductions, the panel took more than an hour of honest, informed, and some unexpected questions from the audience.
Perhaps the most festive part of the day took place after lunch during the Chalkboard Challenges. This mathematics activity requires nothing more (and nothing less) than chalk, chalkboards, maths problems, and brave and curious minds. Led by Dr Michelle Dunbar, with help from our School staff and PhD students, maths challenges were presented to the attending students. Some worked individually and others in small groups. Those who solved the problems and shared their steps on the chalkboards were rewarded with soft toy echidnas and kookaburras. (A great hit 🙂)
Feedback from participants was overwhelming. One teacher said her students described the event as “the best camp they have ever been on”. Other students said UNSW is where they now want to come. A teacher indicated his own love of mathematics was reactivated by the day. Parents from a school almost seven hours away from Sydney wrote to say their daughter had been looking forward to this “brilliant opportunity” for months, and that she returned home with “a massive boost in inspiration, motivation and confidence”.
Head of the School of Mathematics and Statistics, Professor Andrew Francis, set aside some special praise for main event organiser, Jo Bosben.
“Along with all the people who worked so hard to deliver [the event], I want to just repeat how grateful we are to Jo Bosben for her work,” said Professor Francis. “She held it all together in so many ways. I couldn’t list all the things she did; everything was done, brilliantly. To quote another staff member who was there: ‘I was blown away by Jo's initiative and attention to detail on every front’.”
Info booth: Bill Ellis, Hilda Cahya, Thomas Britz
Chalkboard Challenges activity
Counting Conundrums activity
Dr Michelle Dunbar
It’s not possible to achieve such great success without months of preparation and the work of many people, all of whom deserve thanks, including:
Organising committee:
Jo Bosben (Event Lead)
Thomas Britz (also an Activity helper and at the Info Booth)
Sean Gardiner (also a Workshop organiser)
Jan Lin
Suzie Scandurra
Susannah Waters
Jing Xie
Presenters/panellists:
Michelle Dunbar (also an Activity helper)
Catherine Greenhill
Amuchechukwu Ibenegbu (Q&A panel and Activity helper)
Hannah Keese (also a Workshop organiser)|
Olivia Smith (nbn Australia; our 2026 UNSW Women in Maths & Stats Ambassador) (also an Activity helper and Q&A panellist)
Khue Tran (Q&A panel and Activity helper)
Workshop organisers:
Jason Atnip (also Activity helper)
Yudhi Bunjamin (also Activity helper)
Activity helpers (for the Counting Conundrums workshop and Chalkboard Challenges):
Kabir Agrawal
Peter Braunsteins
Roy Leon Cruz
Balazs Elek
Dean Garden
Jonathan Kress
Dominic Matan
Steven McCaw
Scott Preskett
John Roberts
Anna Romanov
Felix Scott (undergrad Outreach Assistant; also helped w/ workshop material preparation)
Eva Stadler (Kirby Institute)
Alan Stoneham
Morgan Stoodley (undergrad Outreach Assistant; also helped w/ workshop material preparation)
Nye Taylor
Nathan Todd
Dinh Tran
Madi Wiltshire
Info booth:
Hilda Cahya
Bill Ellis (also an Activity helper)
Workplace Health & Safety:
Russel Morison
The School of Mathematics and Statistics would like to acknowledge the generous donor support received for Do The Maths from The Paradice Family Foundation, Wilson Asset Management, and Simon Poidevin.
Photography: Cassandra Hannagan