Mathematics culture with boundary value

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Although the Danish and the German parts of the program region are historically closely linked, there is a lack of knowledge of the educational culture in the respective other part, and apart from the immediate border area there is only little bilateral contact. This hinders the development of cooperation in the area of education and beyond. In the intended project, mathematics is to be used as the central subject of communication, exchange, and collaboration to improve mutual cultural understanding. This novel approach is derived from the fact that mathematics is not only a major driving force in science and technology, but also a cornerstone of world culture which, because of its abstractness and uniformity, is accepted and understood as a universal language beyond national, ideological, or religious barriers. The projects targets diverse population groups by focusing on the establishment of cross-border mathematical student competitions, the creation of opportunities for students to meet through the joint work in the area of mathematical modelling, the promotion of the general public's mathematical interest in the program region along with the propagation of a realistic picture of mathematics, and the production of the necessary language materials. To do the practical work associated with this, people from both parts of the program region meet, learn about the other culture, and use their different experiences to jointly search for methods and solutions. In this process mathematics is used as a bridge between the German and the Danish languages. A better knowledge of the respective other region with its characteristics and opportunities, the existence of customized sources of information, a multitude of personal connections, and established structures as a result of the project shall, in the long term, improve the attractiveness of the program region for the people, for joint projects in the area of education, to study abroad at the partner university, and to take up employment on the other side of the border. The partners also benefit in their internationalization efforts.

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