The art of (making) mathematical modeling (popular)
E. Vladislavleva (Tilburg University)
Nowadays, more than ever, we observe a phenomenon of information explosion and understanding implosion. Mathematical modeling in industry is an important bridge to generating new levels of understanding, interpretation, and exploitation of this new information. This makes mathematical modeling an essential link in creating a better future, and, from an industrial perspective, in making progress and profit.
Based on my personal experience in mathematical modeling for chemical industry, I am going to discuss another phenomenon that I have observed in the last couple of years. On one hand, training in mathematics clearly develops and amplifies personal competences and skills required to have a successful career. To succeed in industry one has to have a strong inclination to critical reasoning, a broad knowledge of modeling, an ability to think at arbitrary levels of abstraction, an ability to quickly grasp the essence of a problem in question, and to quickly identify the disciplines or to develop new methods to solve this problem. On the other hand, the industry does not seem to be vigorously hiring people trained in mathematics, unless their training is focused on scientific programming. I will try to identify the reasons for this phenomenon, emphasize the need for post-Master programs offering an extensive training in Industrial Mathematics, and propose some ways to strengthen the communication and cooperation between industry and academia for the sustainable benefit of both.