When a new baby is born there are usually a number of people who have assisted along the way in making the birth a happy event. Apart from grandparents and other family and friends, there are the doctors, nurses, midwives, obstetricians and others, who have all played a crucial part. One thing is certain though; when the baby is safely born all share in the happiness of the parents. It is very gratifying to know that the same has been true with regard to the period of gestation and the birth of the new journal, the International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education (IJRUME).

Why is such a journal needed? In the last 10 years or more the field of research in undergraduate level mathematics education has become a very active research domain, but the publications have been dispersed among a number of journals rather than collected together in one place. The vision for IJRUME is that it will become the central, premier international journal dedicated to university mathematics education research. Unlike other journals, there will be no restriction on the upper level of mathematical content. This new journal will immediately provide a common outlet for at least three leading research groups. The first is Special Interest Group of the Mathematical Association of America on Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, which holds an annual conference with over 200 attendees. Second is the growing group of around 150 undergraduate mathematics education researchers associated with the biennial DELTA conference, which is committed to improving undergraduate mathematics and statistics education. The third research community is that comprising a working group specifically devoted to University Mathematics Education at the biennial Congress of European Research in Mathematics Education.

IJRUME is dedicated to the interests of post-secondary mathematics education. One of its aims is to help in the further development of a strong community of mathematicians and mathematics educators interested in undergraduate mathematics education. The journal welcomes original research, including empirical, theoretical, and methodological reports of learning and teaching of undergraduate and graduate students. It presents research at the undergraduate level that reflects on theoretical perspectives and results of empirical studies in mathematics education, including those studies that seek to describe best practice. It aims to be inclusive, covering university mathematics education for students in the mathematical sciences and related STEM and other disciplines, such as engineering and economics, as well as the training of future mathematics teachers.

Once a baby is born the extended family, medical professionals and others don’t immediately lose interest in it. On the contrary they continue to take an interest and monitor its progress. As Editors-in-Chief, we have been very gratified that not only have so many leading international researchers in university mathematics education expressed their happiness at the birth of the journal but have also promised their continued support by agreeing to be a member of the Editorial Board. It is important to the editors that the journal be truly international in its scope and not be closely linked to any particular country, region or group, so having board members who represent many different geographical areas is an important issue. We thank the members of the Editorial Board for providing such strong support.

This first issue represents the aims and scope of the journal, including a paper focused on student reinvention of counting formulas in combinatorics (Lockwood) and a paper focused on the preparation of mathematics teachers (Cofer). We want to acknowledge that Pat Thompson edited the papers in this issue authored by Cofer (this issue) and Stylianou, Blanton, and Rotou (this issue) and the paper by Alcock, Brown, and Dunning (in press) was edited by Derek Holton and Pat Thompson. We particularly want to thank Pat Thompson for showing great perseverance with the process of maintaining the series Research in Collegiate Mathematics Education until the birthing of IJRUME. We also want to thank the authors of the papers that Pat and Derek edited for their patience while their work was in editorial limbo as IJRUME came into being.