The IDEMS Podcast

In this episode, data scientist Lily Clements and co-founding director David Stern discuss the AI Summit held in France in February 2025. The newly released declaration, signed by over 60 nations, promotes inclusive, sustainable, and responsible AI practices. They consider how, despite the notable absence of the UK and US, the declaration signals a potential shift towards societal benefit over commercial interest in AI development.

Following up on the discussion in Episode 129, Santiago Borio questions David Stern further on the implications of Donald Trump's executive order terminating USAID funding. They analyse the immediate and future consequences of this decision, and compare the situation with the UK's DFID closure, noting differences in impact and response.

Is it right to treat people differently? In this episode, Lily questions David around the idea of the IDEMS principle “options by context”, and how it applies to making concessions for different students in an educational setting. What is the difference between equality and equity, and which should we aim for?

In this episode of the IDEMS podcast, co-directors David Stern and Kate Fleming discuss the breaking news of the proposed shutdown of USAID. Highlighting the immediate and long-term implications, they consider the historical context of similar actions, notably the disbandment of DFID in the UK. They examine the wide-reaching effects on international development, local economies, and human lives, while recognising the potential for future innovation and systemic change.

In this episode, Lily and Santiago discuss their work with STACK for developing data skills. They share their experiences using STACK to create interactive and personalized questions for teaching statistical concepts. They reflect on different experiences using STACK questions on data with students, highlight the platform's ability to foster understanding through feedback and mastery learning, delve into the challenges of question design, and discuss student reception and performance improvements.

With Santiago returning to teaching this year, he and David discuss the contrasting dynamics between personalised teaching and scalable educational solutions. They explore the benefits and challenges of working directly with students, especially in an inclusive school environment, versus the impact of implementing large-scale academic solutions like STACK.

In this IDEMS podcast episode, Lily and David discuss the journey and challenges of Angela, the first African to win the Internet Math Off competition. David shares insights from his time teaching Angela at AIMS Ghana and highlights the barriers African female mathematicians face joining the international maths community. They talk about initiatives like the Schoenberg Foundation's support for female academics and the importance of role models. They also reflect on postgraduate courses in Africa and discuss the Maths Innovations Masters programme.

As a large language model, I can’t summarise this episode… Lily and David delve into the topic of AI summaries, considering issues of misinformation, the impact on organisational reputations, and the complexities of determining responsibility.

What is the importance of communities in international development? In this episode, Lucie Hazelgrove Planel and David Stern explore how communities function as a critical support structure, with established roles and leaders, and compare the ways that communities work in low-resource environments vs high-resource environments. The conversation considers the compromise that communities demand, and the shift towards digital communities, assessing their impact and the need for a balance between individual needs and collective well-being.

In this follow-up to Episode 112, Lucie Hazelgrove Planel and David Stern explore the complexities behind the question posed in that episode: “Why don't we just give money?” Through interrogating the assumptions of the question, they explore the nuances of direct monetary aid versus structured development activities, discussing personal experiences, the impact on local economies, and the importance of context-specific solutions.