Director's Note

The Mathematical Sciences Foundation (MSF) was founded by a group of India's leading mathematicians, educationists, scientists, and public-minded citizens who believed that education in India needed to be fundamentally rethought.

Formally registered in 2002, the Foundation emerged from a larger conviction: that knowledge must remain connected to the real world, that mathematics is deeply linked to all areas of human endeavour, and that young people learn best when they are encouraged to think independently, experiment freely, and engage directly with ideas.

Over the years, the MSF has undertaken pioneering work across education, mathematics, science, and technology through a range of innovative programmes and initiatives. These have included one of India's earliest interactive undergraduate programmes in Mathematical Finance, jointly certified with ICICI Bank, as well as a pioneering programme in Simulations developed with Tata Interactive Systems. The Foundation has also encouraged creative experimentation in areas ranging from solar energy to water rockets, while undertaking innovative work in the teaching, understanding, and application of mathematics at the school, college, and postgraduate levels.

At the heart of the Foundation's work is a belief in hands-on education, where research, invention, and exploration are integral to learning. The MSF has sought to help create a model for higher education rooted in innovation, interdisciplinary thinking, and a liberal engagement with knowledge.

Over the years, the Foundation's activities have drawn the participation and attention of distinguished scientists, mathematicians, educators, and thinkers from around the world. Its faculty, collaborators, and researchers have included individuals associated with institutions such as Oxford, Imperial College, Berkeley, Purdue, TIFR, the IITs, the Indian Statistical Institute, Warwick, the University of Delhi, and others.

The MSF is also presently engaged in the creation of an allied institution — The Internet College — envisioned as an institution that rethinks learning for the digital age and the future through interdisciplinary inquiry, innovative uses of technology, and engagement with the real world.

Underlying all these efforts is a larger purpose: to help young people discover their “inner drumbeat” — a sense of meaning, direction, and purpose in life — and to contribute towards the creation of a true knowledge society driven not only by technology and skill, but by imagination, inquiry, and human values.