Cardiff mathematicians tackle global donkey welfare challenge at industry study group

Three postgraduate researchers from the School of Computational and Mathematical Sciences recently took part in the 195th European Study Group with Industry (ESGI), hosted by the University of Exeter, where they worked alongside mathematicians, data scientists and industry partners to address real-world challenges.

Emma Shelley, Neha Bansal and Naomi Wray took part in the week-long workshop, which brings together researchers and partners from business, industry and government to develop innovative mathematical and computational solutions to complex problems.

During the event, around eight industry partners presented current challenges to participants. Researchers then formed focus groups, selecting a challenge and spending the week investigating potential solutions through collaborative research and analysis.

Neha and Naomi joined a project led by The Donkey Sanctuary, an international charity based in Sidmouth that works to improve the welfare of donkeys worldwide.

The charity's challenge centred on its Donkey Risk Index, a tool used to assess the level of welfare risk faced by donkeys in different countries around the world. The index helps inform where interventions and resources can have the greatest impact. The aim of the project was to refine and strengthen the model by incorporating more detailed data and improving how welfare risks are measured and compared.

"It was an amazing experience collaborating with different mathematicians in, admittedly, an area in which I had no familiarity," said Naomi.

"I really enjoyed working together as a team, assigning priorities and roles, coming together to join the dots of progress so far, and presenting our work to the rest of the study group at the end of the week. It was enlightening to see the many different ways that maths can manifest in the real world, with the applications being obviously and immediately beneficial. This experience has given me motivation and ideas for my future career, showing me that maths research is much more than an individual endeavour."

Working as part of a multidisciplinary team, Neha and Naomi explored ways to enhance the index and support more effective evidence-based decision making for the charity.

As part of the experience, the team also had the opportunity to visit The Donkey Sanctuary's nearby site, gaining first-hand insight into the organisation's work and meeting some of the animals whose welfare the research aims to support.