Africa’s
first and biggest network of centres of excellence, the African Institute for
Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, has announced the launch of AIMS in Rwanda, an ecosystem of pan-African
transformation that will leverage scientific innovation, learning and research
to apply solutions to the continent’s challenges. The official launch took
place at the Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), with H.E. President Paul Kagame as
the guest of honour.
“We are
collaborating with AIMS to develop an ecosystem of pan-African institutions
with a transformative agenda. We all recognise that AIMS’ education model is an
important tool for development & progress on our continent.” President Paul
Kagame said at the gathering.
The first
AIMS centre of excellence was opened in Cape Town, South Africa, founded by
Professor Neil Turok in 2003. The network prioritises international class
education for Africa’s most valuable resource, its youth, for the development
of Africa and to the benefit of society. The institute has since opened up six
education centers of excellence across the continent with the latest in
Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
“We are
thrilled to have partnered with the government of Rwanda to continue to nurture
Africa’s most talented scientific minds in mathematical sciences, creating
opportunities to allow them to contribute to the continent by tangibly
developing solutions to Africa’s problems, and fostering collaboration that
will reverse the brain drain of our thinkers, problem-solvers and innovators,”
said Thierry Zomahoun, President and CEO of AIMS.
The launch of
AIMS Rwanda is a result of a partnership agreement between the government of
Rwanda through the ministry of education and AIMS. The ecosystem of pan-African
transformation has the following elements at its core.
1. Discovery and
Technological Advances
The Ecosystem
will support researchers who are tackling, through multidisciplinary
approaches, research topics that challenge fundamental concepts and high-end research
(fundamental research and quantum science).
2. Industry and Economic
Advancement
AIMS will
maximise the opportunities and potential for mathematical sciences to
contribute to African economies through human capital, knowledge transfer and
applied research for scientific and technological excellence.
3. Lifelong Learning and
Inspiration
The AIMS’s
Teacher Training Program will strengthen the mathematics teacher capacity and
provide as many students in Africa as possible with a quality education in
maths and science.
4. Scientific
and Technological Excellence
As part of
the ecosystem of transformation, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF), the first
global science forum on African soil, will continue to showcase the remarkable
progress that Africa is making in science.
Over the past
few weeks, several workshops and meetings have taken place in Kigali about
initiatives that form part of the ecosystem AIMS launched at KCC, including:
The NEF
International Steering Committee (ISC) meeting:
The ISC provides oversight,
guidance, operational and strategic direction to the NEF, thereby supporting
the NEF in the development of its mission, long-term goals, philosophies and
strategy.
The NEF Scientific
Programme Committee (SPC) meeting:
As part of the NEF Institution, the SPC set
the scientific strategic direction for the NEF, and establishes the programme
and themes of the NEF Global Gatherings.
Quantum Leap
Africa (QLA):
A part of the AIMS in Rwanda ecosystem, QLA is Africa’s first
research centre in quantum science and will be based in Kigali. A number of
workshops, which brought more than 30 data scientists to the city, were held
between 13-15 March to define a clear road map for the programmatic and
operational outlook of the centre.
President
Paul Kagame announced that after the resounding success of the NEF Global
Gathering 2016 which took place in Dakar, Senegal, the second edition of the
forum will be hosted in Kigali in 2018.
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