Dear Executive Board,

We are writing to you as students of the School of Mathematics and Actuarial Science to urge you to reconsider the proposed changes to the school. We have seen the overwhelming international opposition against the planned redundancies in a recent staff petition: this makes clear the detrimental effect they will surely have on the school's reputation and long term success from a research perspective. But as students we'd like to place emphasis on the damaging effect such changes will have on the student experience within the school and the value of our degree - particularly with regards to learning and teaching and employability prospects.

Whilst we are aware that three teaching-focused lecturers are to be rehired after the redundancies, the changes will undoubtedly result in fewer pure mathematics modules. Such modules are absolutely pivotal for a thorough understanding of topics within AI, computational modelling, etc., in which the university wishes to specialise. History has made it clear that pure and applied mathematics are inextricably intertwined. The importance of a solid foundation in topics in pure mathematics before studying AI and computational modelling will only increase as new research insights in those areas are developed.

Teaching excellence is a direct consequence of research excellence, particularly when it comes to pure mathematics. A deep understanding of the concepts and true familiarity is absolutely essential when it comes to pedagogy. Such understanding and familiarity is only truly captured by those at the forefront of mathematical research, actively advancing the fields in which they are teaching the fundamentals.

These planned redundancies will not only affect those currently studying at the University, but also those who have already graduated. The research excellence of Leicester maths will be reduced, resulting in a reduced reputation. This will mean that graduates trying to get jobs will find it harder, as their degrees will mean less. The current mathematics students at the university will have fewer specialised modules to choose from. This will result in students not being able to stand out in the future against students from other universities.

This also links in with fewer and fewer potential students wanting to study at the University of Leicester and preferring to study elsewhere. Why would you want to study here with so much uncertainty? A huge attraction of coming to Leicester was the quality of the lecturers currently at the University. Looking into their research and what they have achieved motivates us, as students, to work as hard as we can.

Let's also not forget the huge emotional impact these planned changes will have on students in the school at present. Now more than ever, during this pandemic, building up a relationship with lecturers is an emotional lifeline and makes students feel part of a community, which is a huge positive of the university experience. Wiping out all of the pure mathematics staff will rip these connections apart, causing students to feel alienated and like their feelings do not matter.

Purely from a student standpoint, we feel that there are catastrophic negative impacts of these planned redundancies, which will cause a downward spiral not just of pure mathematics, but the whole school. The undersigned urge you to reconsider.

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1. Hannah Amliwala (course rep for 2nd years), Mathematics BSc started in 2019
2. Charlotte Griffiths, Computer science started in 2020
3. Joe Wood, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
4. Freddie Mansfield (course rep for 3rd years), Mathematics BSc started in 2018
5. Anton Genchev, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
6. Cameryn Joseph, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
7. madison betts, MMath started in 2020
8. Alexander Murray, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
9. Jada Hamilton, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
10. Lily Westaway, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
11. franklin maxted, MMath started in 2020
12. Luke Evans, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
13. Francisca Gomes, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
14. Atiya Furqan, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
15. Dominic Whitehouse, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
16. Aminah Hameed, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
17. Bryn Dyer, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
18. Zahra Ismail, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
19. Haajer K M Suge, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
20. Shiv Raval (former 3rd year course rep), Mathematics BSc started in 2017
21. Mamoke Akaunu, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
22. Anthony Scully, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
23. Mamadou Tall, MMath started in 2020
24. Henok Mesay, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
25. Lucie Clayton, Mathematics BSc started in 2020
26. Fema Er, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
27. Esther Cheriyan, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
28. Ben Smith (PGR Rep & GTA), Mathematics PhD started in 2019
29. Aine Nunez, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2020
30. Rahma Said, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
31. Fatima Patel, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
32. Shamia Sanjania, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
33. Mahfuza Anisa, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
34. Nicholas Williams, Mathematics PhD started in 2018
35. Omar Alqubori, PHD Second year started in 2020
36. Amra Al Kenany ,  Mathematical fluid mechanics PhD started in 2019
37. Matthew Pearce, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
38. Peter Elkes, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
39. Alice Ward, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
40. Jamie Garcha, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
41. Sevdalina Angelova, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
42. Alice Simmons , Mathematics BSc started in 2019
43. Marria Rahman , Mathematics BSc started in 2018
44. Sevdalina Angelova, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
45. Jamie Garcha, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
46. Mary Nguyen, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
47. Aran Tattar, PhD mathematics started in 2018
48. Ioanna Kourti, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
49. Liza Niedermaier-Reed, MMath started in 2019
50. Jakob Jonathan Ward, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
51. John Jennings, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
52. Tobias Meeks, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
53. Joseph Freeman, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
54. Kirsty Campbell, MMath started in 2016
55. Ebrahim Lambat, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
56. Sayed Ahmed , Mathematics BSc started in 2019
57. Ibrahim Aziz, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
58. Jamaal Simms, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
59. Laaggulan Kesavarajan, MMath started in 2019
60. Hannah Chander, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
61. Matthew Parry, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
62. Georgina Lee, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
63. Viraj Patel , Mathematics BSc started in 2019
64. Mortimer Smith, MMath started in 2018
65. Jay Patel, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
66. Ashleigh Wilcox, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
67. Rieme Anetor, Mathematics BSc started in 2018
68. Wiktoria Kruk, MMath started in 2020
69. Mitchell Hopper, MMath started in 2018
71. David Mays, Mathematics BSc started in 2019
72. Peter Guthmann, PhD Mathematics started in 2019
73. Nehal Samani, MMath started in 2019
74. Eliyas Woldegeorgis, PhD Mathematics started in 2019
75. Qian Zhang, PhD Mathematics started in 2020
76. Dakhilallah Algethami , PhD Mathematics started in 2020
77. Itidal Almutairi, PhD Mathematics started in 2021
78. Amal Alnufaie, PhD Mathematics started in 2019
79. Ally Nguyen, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
80. Amy Magona, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
81. Ashley Pancholi, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
82. Dawei Hao, PhD Mathematics started in 2018
83. Ting Wei, PhD Mathematics started in 2018
84. YATHARTH GARG, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
85. Amy Magona, Mathematics and Actuarial Science BSc started in 2019
86. Christopher James McGarry, PhD Mathematics started in 2020
87. Simran Sandhu, PhD Mathematics started in 2017
88. Emily Bryden, MMath started in 2019