Are you interested in how AI actually works and how it can have a positive impact on our environment?
Join Mathematicians at Queen Mary University of London to find out. In an interactive session you can use real data from wildlife conservation projects and explore the mathematics behind one of today's most exciting technologies.
Designed for students in Years 10–13, the session takes you through a genuine research pipeline used by scientists in the field. You'll use AI to identify individual animals from images, then apply statistical models to estimate how many animals are living in the wild, exactly the kind of work being done right now to protect endangered species like sea turtles.
In this session you’ll:
- Explore an interactive platform, where you survey sea turtles in their natural habitat by performing two dives and use this data to estimate the turtle population size.
- Hear the first-hand experience of students at Queen Mary University what studying Mathematics at university is really like, and how they learn the techniques from this session throughout their degree.
You’ll also learn
- how AI can identify individual animals from photos taken by tourists or citizen scientists
- how statistics helps to estimate the animal population size just from a small sample of animal observations
No prior knowledge of AI is needed, just curiosity. This session connects directly to GCSE and A-level topics in statistics and mathematics, while showing how classroom maths translates into meaningful real-world impact.
The session is based on the research of Dr Matechou and Dr Papafitsoros at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London and supported by student ambassadors. Funding for this event has been provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).