Fridays@n (where n = 2 or 11) is a series of interactive weekly sessions run during term time. The programme is designed specifically for undergraduate and masters students. The sessions are intended to help students to develop useful skills, to explore career possibilities, and to put their mathematics courses into a broader context. All sessions are held on Fridays in L1: those sessions that are targeted specifically at first-years take place at 11:00-12:00 (Fridays@11), while those of more general interest are held at 14:00-15:00 (Fridays@2). All sessions are followed by tea and biscuits in the South Mezz.
Upcoming sessions for Fridays@2:
Tue, 17 Nov 2026
12:00 -
13:00
Fri, 20 Nov 2026
14:00 -
15:00
Fri, 27 Nov 2026
14:00 -
15:00
Abstract
No prior experience of LaTeX is assumed.
This one-hour session introduces LaTeX, a highly-recommended document preparation system widely used for technical writing, particularly for documents containing mathematical equations, figures and references.
We will very briefly mention local LaTeX installations (e.g. MiKTeX and TeXmaker), but the focus will be the cloud-based option, Overleaf. Please note that Oxford students have free access to an Overleaf subscription, and Overleaf is recommended.
We will extensively follow Parts 1 and 2 of Overleaf's online introduction to LaTeX, creating and structuring documents, formatting text, writing mathematical expressions, inserting figures and tables, and managing references. We also briefly discuss the history functionality of Overleaf, backing up your work and the Mathematical Institute thesis template (for those in Parts B or C writing a project, essay or dissertation).
You are encouraged to bring a laptop with an Overleaf account set up in advance, by signing up at
Please use your SSO email in the sign-up to access the institutional subscription, but the basic, free Overleaf account will work for the session.
Resources:
Upcoming sessions for Fridays@11:
Fri, 27 Nov 2026
11:00 -
12:00
Abstract
In this session, we will discuss how best to use the Christmas vacation to consolidate your learning, to prepare for collections, and of course to have a rest!
This session is likely to be most relevant for first-year undergraduates, but all are welcome.
