African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
The quest for the next Einstein in Africa
IDRC is implementing Canada’s $20 million contribution to expand the network of Institutes for Mathematical Sciences in Africa, which provides rigorous mathematics training to post-graduate African students.
Mathematical sciences are the backbone of a modern economy. Solutions to complex challenges in health, agriculture, and finance, for example, all require advanced mathematical modelling skills.
In 2003, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) opened its doors in Cape Town, South Africa. Its purpose is to help Africa produce and use science and technology for its development, by each year putting the 50 top African students through a rigorous 10-month course in applied mathematics.
At heart, AIMS is very simple: it is a space in which Africa's brightest graduates can be taught by the world’s best lecturers. All AIMS students benefit from full scholarships. The teaching staffs are all volunteers, drawn from some of the world’s best universities. Among the professors are four Nobel Prize winners, as well as several recipients of the Fields Medal, often considered the highest award in mathematics.
The first AIMS centre, in Cape Town, has already graduated more than 360 students —one-third of them women — from 31 countries. Over 95% enter advanced master’s and doctoral programs in fields such as computer science, environmental science, and nuclear physics.
The Next Einstein Initiative
AIMS has since become globally recognized as a centre of excellence for postgraduate education and research. Building on this success, the AIMS–Next Einstein Initiative (NEI) was launched in 2008 to build a critical mass of scientific and technical talent across Africa, capable of driving progress across the continent. The goal: a pan-African network of 15 AIMS centres by 2020. AIMS–NEI envisions that people of rare ability—Africa’s own Einsteins—will emerge, capable of innovative breakthroughs that will transform African prospects.
AIMS-NEI is supported through public and private funding, including a $20 million investment from the Government of Canada, announced in July 2010, provided through IDRC. Canada’s lead investment will help fund the establishment of a network of five AIMS centres across Africa by 2015. These centres will graduate African scientists with the skills needed to tackle development challenges and seize opportunities for innovation and growth.
The second AIMS centre was launched in September 2011 in Mbour, 80 km south of Dakar, Senegal. Work is also advancing on additional centres in Ghana and Ethiopia.