Opportunities

The British Combinatorial Committee supports events of a combinatorial flavour across the UK. Informal enquiries may be made to the BCC Secretary or the BCC Chair at any time.

Please see our (recently updated) guidelines for conference grants prior to applying.

Recipients of BCC funding are encouraged to consider the London Mathematical Society Advice on Diversity of Speakers at Conferences and Seminars, and to use our Code of Conduct.

The British Combinatorial Conference is held every two years at an academic institution in the UK, and the Postgraduate Combinatorial Conference takes place at least as frequently. If you might be interested in hosting a future conference, please get in touch. Informal enquiries prior to application are strongly encouraged and may be made to the BCC Secretary or the BCC Chair at any time.

Guidelines for BCConference Organisers (coming soon)

The next BCC PhD Thesis Prize in Combinatorics for an outstanding UK PhD thesis in the field of Combinatorics, broadly interpreted, will be awarded at the British Combinatorial Conference in 2026. As of 2025, the prize is known as the Bailey-Cameron Combinatorics PhD Thesis prize, after Professors Rosemary A. Bailey and Peter J. Cameron; see here for more information.

Eligibility. A PhD thesis is eligible for the prize if the PhD was awarded by a UK university in the two years prior to the cut-off date (inclusive) specified below, and if the topic of the PhD thesis is in the area of Combinatorics.

Nominations. Nominations should normally be made by the PhD supervisor or one of the PhD examiners, with the following documents attached in electronic form:

• the thesis,

• a letter of support by the PhD supervisor,

• a letter of support by one of the PhD examiners,

• a formal confirmation by the university of award of or eligibility for the award of the PhD, dated between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2025.

Self-nominations are not permitted and only one nomination can be made per candidate. 

Nominations are made via the form below. A Google account is required to open and fill in the form so that supporting documents can be uploaded. If you do not have and do not wish to make a Google account, please email katherine.staden@open.ac.uk with the required information and documents above. Nominations via the form are preferred. 

Key Dates. The cut-off date determining eligibility is 31 December 2025. The submission deadline for nominations is 19 January 2026.

Award. The prize will be awarded at the 31st British Combinatorial Conference at Cardiff University (6 July – 10 July 2026). The prize winner will normally be expected to attend this meeting, and will be invited to give a prize lecture.

Funding. The prize (£1000) is funded by the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research and the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications, and supported by Cambridge University Press.

For further information, including past winners, please see Highlights: BCC Thesis Prize.