Undergraduate Directed Group Reading Program

About UDGRP #

The Undergraduate Directed Group Reading Program (UDGRP) is an initiative by the students of Math Club, ISI Bangalore. The target is to learn a bit about accessible, elementary yet elegant topics which are generally excluded from an undergraduate curriculum here. The target students are first and second year undergraduates, though third years are also encouraged to participate if they are interested.

Groups of 5-7 students are formed along with a mentor, who is a third year undergraduate or first year graduate student having some experience or interest in that field. Every group is primarily interested to study a bit about a specific topic, its applications and subsidiary topics. The whole objective is to be introduced to different avenues of mathematics in a simple and accessible way, as is the target of the club.

The Process #

The whole program is for about 5 weeks tentatively. Groups are formed based on broad topics. After that, people are introduced to what the topic has to offer, the rough plan of the project, the primary resources and also forums for communication. Beyond the regular WhatsApp group/Discord server, weekly live meetings are also arranged for doubt clearing and presentation by members.

The first week is intended for revision and recapitulation of elementary topics necessary for an intelligent reading. This is followed by at least four weeks of focused consideration of the target topic. The primary texts are generally undergraduate level (chosen after careful consideration and possible consultation with seniors, instructors or professors). Moreover, secondary resources like a second reference text book, lecture notes, articles, other forms of expositions, etc. are also used as and when needed.

How to participate #

This Summer, the project is only open to B. Math students of ISI Bangalore. We hope to expand it in the next edition.

If you are an ISIBC student presently pursuing B. Math and want to participate, mail us at mathclub.isibang@gmail.com with your phone number (preferably whatsapp), topic interested in and full name. We shall get back to you soon. Note that as the groups advance with their reading, it might be harder for you to cope up, so please contact as soon as possible.