From 1 August 2008 Minitab Ltd became a signatory to the contract of affiliation between the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), Nottingham Trent University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that together provide core funding for the RSS Centre for Statistical Education (CSE). Update 1 August 2009: All contracts of affiliation are now linked with the University of Plymouth, the new home of the RSSCSE.
Minitab is providing sponsorship of nearly £30k per year, for five years until 2013, for promoting teaching and learning statistics in the Higher Education (HE) sector. This agreement represents the beginning of an exciting new era for the RSSCSE and will help to enhance its work in HE, and for and on behalf of the Maths, Stats and OR (MSOR) Network.
Over the next year planned activities include: running away-days for teachers of statistics to non specialist students in statistics; provision of facts, formulae and information leaflets in the series published by the MSOR Network; publications in MSOR Connections; running a Minitab-based workshop at the annual Universities Mathematics Teaching Conference event in December and research into teaching statistics to non-specialists.
Sharen Standbridge, Managing Director of Minitab Ltd said: 'We are delighted to be teaming up with the RSSCSE and look forward to helping to improve statistics teaching and learning in the UK through both our sponsorship and being a member of the RSSCSE Steering Committee. This is the first time Minitab has become directly involved with a national and international organisation dedicated to promoting the improvement of statistical literacy'.
Neville Davies, Director of the RSSCSE, said: 'Minitab will help provide a firm foundation for the future of the Centre over the next five years. RSS Council has also committed funding for the long term and the ONS will continue its own membership of the Steering Committee at least until 2012. Getting the support of a company with Minitab's pedigree of over 35 years experience with providing highly respected software that is extensively used in academia, business and industry worldwide is something we are proud of'.
