In Sweden, it is unusual with extra-curricular interventions for highly able students studying mathematics on university level. In this short communication we will present a project, that since 2019 has been conducted for students at the engineering program at Karlstad University.

The project is based upon the thoughts of Hiebert and Grouws (2007); that all students need fo be challenged, and struggle, to develop mathematical knowledge. We also foreground the notion by Reis et al. (2021) that participation in enrichment activities should be interest based, therefore, it was fully voluntarily for students to engage in the activities. The aim is to reach students who find mathematics joyful, but find university mathematics easy, and by the intervention nurture their motivation and interest in mathematics.

Students participating in the first calculus course in the engineering program (250<n<300), are offered an extra-curricular challenge. To join the challenge, students must complete all recommended course tasks, achieve high scores on the first pre-exam, and demonstrate ongoing engagement in lectures and interest in extra-curricular topics. So far, 63 students have participated in the project, and they could choose one of two paths:

• A theory path focusing deeper knowledge that involves understanding proof andto partly invent new proofs. In addition, students are asked to deeply exploreexistence and plausibility and to find counterexamples of solutions.

• The problem-solving path is for those who enjoy non-standard tasks. The problemsdemand creativity and capacity to find useful theories for explicit problems and toadapt and combine theories to handle the problem.

Either the students could choose to do 8–10 problems from the theoretical path, or s/hecould choose at least two problems from a list of 12 problems with very high complexity.Passing both parts can give up to three extra marks on student’s final exam, maximum 50marks, but these extra marks can only be given on top on the passing level.

Quality in the student’s achievement is assessed through both written solutions and oralpresentations at seminars. Students are expected to engage in the seminars through askingquestions, comment or show other possible solutions. The lecturer acts as support for theparticipating students, asking questions, giving suggestions, provoke discussions and so on.

The project is ongoing and has been assessed by course evaluations and semi-structuredinterviews, in accordance with the ethical guidelines of Karlstad University. The preliminaryresults show that the students grow mathematically and have higher motivation to continue their studies.

The Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Group for Mathematical Creativity and Giftedness (igMCG) Conference encapsulate the collaborative and scholarly efforts of researchers and practitioners in the field of mathematical giftedness. Held in Karlstad, Sweden, in partnership with the European Council for High Ability (ECHA), this joint conference allowed attendees to customize their experience by accessing sessions from both organizations. Four keynote speakers — Kirsi Tirri, Jan Kwietniewski, Jorryt van Bommel, and Tracy Reileym — shared diverse insights, with van Bommel’s full keynote included in the proceedings due to its specific focus on mathematicalgiftedness. 

The igMCG maintained its tradition of requiring full papers, distinguishing its contributions from ECHA’s abstract-based submissions. As a result, this volume includes only full texts from igMCG participants, in addition to keynote materials. 

The editorial team, led by Chair Elisabet Mellroth, expressed deep gratitude to contributors, reviewers, and organizing partners. Special thanks were given to Karlstad University, the City of Karlstad, Professor Valerie Margrain, and the Conference Department of Karlstad University for their crucial support. The editorial board’s dedicated work, along with the reviewers’ thoughtful assessments, ensured high academic standards and meaningful content. 

This conference introduced a new presentation type — short communications — widely used in Sweden, allowing presenters to share early-stage or design-focused research. In total, 41 submissions were received across various formats: 18 full papers, 13 short communications, 7 workshops, and 3 posters. All submissions underwent an open peer-review process, with feedback used to determine acceptance and guide revisions. Ultimately, 15 papers, 11 short communications, 7 workshops, and 4 posters were accepted, though some could not be included in the proceedings due to unforeseen global circumstances in 2025. The conference marked a milestone as the first igMCG conference hosted in Sweden and emphasized inclusivity, collaboration, and academic rigor in gifted education.

Mathematics education is evolving rapidly with the increasing integration of online environments and digital tools. These can complement regular in-person teaching sessions, offering potentially different opportunities for student learning. This shift calls for further understanding of how digital environments and tools can support students’ mathematical development, particularly in terms of how communication and interaction are shaped compared to traditional classroom settings.

In the ongoing project FallAha! for engineering students, we explore how a digital community offering a discussion platform, online study sessions and on-demand online tutoring for mathematics university courses can serve as an alternative to conventional in-person study sessions. The platform provides engineering students with continuous mathematics support on the courses given at their university, available 24/7 throughout the entire year, both beyond regular class hours and after the course has concluded, including preparation for re-examinations. It was developed in response to the challenges engineering students encounter when transitioning to university-level mathematics, such as increased workload, stress, lack of consistent support, and difficulties with self-directed learning. In the first phase of the project, we collect data from both classroom-based and online tutor-student interactions complemented with tutor interviews to identify key similarities, differences, and the constraints and affordances of the digital environment.

This presentation shares preliminary findings from our initial round of analysis, focusing on communication and interaction in digital tutoring environments, contrasted with in-person study sessions. We examine aspects such as responsiveness, use of tools, and the nature of mathematical discourse. These early results provide insights into how digital environments shape not only the structure of interaction but also the opportunities students have to engage with mathematical ideas.

Our findings contribute to the ongoing discussion about effective online mathematics education and offer input for the design of future digital learning environments.

In this paper, the authors aim to share insights gained from a pilot project on self-studies in mathematics courses for engineering students. We propose an innovative approach to tackle the challenges faced by engineering students, including managing academic workload, stress, and time constraints, namely we re-design a Discord platform as a dynamic resource where students can partake in discussions, request guidance on course material, join study groups, and obtain personalized assistance from experienced assistants. This independent resource is not integrated into any specific curriculum and it is available to all engineering students belonging to our university that are in need of help for their mathematics courses, This approach has demonstrated a significant positive impact on engineering education by enhancing student engagement, reducing isolation, and improving academic performance. The findings highlight the potential for teaching assistants to facilitate effective learning experiences through interactions on the user-friendly and freely accessible Discord platform. © 2024 SEFI 2024 - 52nd Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering, Proceedings: Educating Responsible Engineers. All rights reserved.

In this paper, the authors aim to share insights gained from a pilot project on self-studies in mathematics courses for engineering students. We propose an innovative approach to tackle the challenges faced by engineering students, including managing academic workload, stress, and time constraints, namely we re-design a Discord platform as a dynamic resource where students can partake in discussions, request guidance on course material, join study groups, and obtain personalized assistance from experienced assistants. This independent resource is not integrated into any specific curriculum and it is available to all engineering students belonging to our university that are in need of help for their mathematics courses, This approach has demonstrated a significant positive impact on engineering education by enhancing student engagement, reducing isolation, and improving academic performance. The findings highlight the potential for teaching assistants to facilitate effective learning experiences through interactions on the user-friendly and freely accessible Discord platform.

In recent decades, there has been rapid development in digital technologies for automated assessment. Through enhanced possibilities in terms of algorithms, grading codes, adaptivity, and feedback, they are suitable for formative assessment. There is a need to develop computer-aided assessment (CAA) tasks that target higher-order mathematical skills to ensure a balanced assessment approach beyond basic procedural skills. To address this issue, research suggests the approach of asking students to generate examples. This study focuses on an example-generation task on polynomial function understanding, proposed to 205 first-year engineering students in Sweden and 111 first-year biotechnology students in Italy. Students were encouraged to collaborate in small groups, but individual elements within the tasks required each group member to provide individual answers. Students’ responses kept in the CAA system were qualitatively analyzed to understand the effectiveness of the task in extending the students’ example space in diverse educational contexts. The findings indicate a difference in students’ example spaces when performing the task between the two educational contexts. The results suggest key strengths and possible improvements to the task design. 

First-year engineering students show difficulties in connecting basic vector algebra with manipulations using the graphical representation. Experiencing vectors in real applications can improve the process of learning vectors. Thus, we introduce a unique approach for using digital technologies, namely augmented reality. We utilized a video see-through head-mounted display to develop a vector manipulation tool enabling users to select and place virtual vectors in the real environment. The aim was to see how students react when experiencing vectors in augmented reality. After using the prototype, students answered a questionnaire about this experience. Results show that students experiences are positive and they are motivated to use the prototype in the course. Further, we investigated opinions about vector concepts from students in the trial group and other students attending the same course in vector algebra. The results indicate some differences in what students spontaneously associate with the concept vectors. Moreover, this study provides insights into how such investigations can be elaborated in the future.

Kapitlet är baserat på erfarenheter från ett pågående samarbete mellan ämnena informatik och matematik vid Karlstads universitet, vilket har sitt ursprung i en UPE-konferens år 2022. I detta samarbete försöker vi utveckla tekniska hjälpmedel för matematikundervisning bland grundkursstudenter. Här finns två nyckelfaktorer. Dels involverandet av mastersstudenter i interdisciplinära projekt, dels utnyttjande av virtualiseringstekniker – virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, extended reality – för interaktiva visualiseringar där även abstrakta begrepp blir påtagliga genom att de blir manipulerbara. Två försöksomgångar med ingenjörsstudenter under ett moment i linjär algebra visar hur virtualiseringstekniker på olika sätt kan bidra till motivation vid inlärning av abstrakta begrepp. Det exemplifierar också hur IT-studenter kan få nya infallsvinklar på sitt eget ämne genom att delta i interdisciplinära pedagogiska experiment.

We present results from the design-based research and development process of a digital didactical tool connecting secondary and tertiary mathematics education among others by historical aspects and elements from Mathematics, Didactics, History, Literature and Technology especially for prospective mathematics teachers: Digital Interactive Mathematical Maps (DIMM), developed at the University of Passau, Germany. The DIMM for Geometry was integrated into a second semester course on Euclidean and non-Euclidean geometry in mathematics education at Karlstad University, Sweden, designed collaboratively by university mathematics lecturers and researchers in mathematics education from the cooperating universities. While, according to the results of evaluation, the (perceived) usefulness of individual functionalities of the digital tool was confirmed, the use of the DIMM in the courses seems to promote favorable beliefs about mathematics, too.