African Institute for Mathematical Sciences

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African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
motto Building Science in Africa
founding 2003
place Muizenberg , City of Cape Town
country South Africa
management Barry Green
Website www.aims.ac.za
Neil Turok, the founder of the AIMS

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences ( AIMS for short ) is a “network of centers of excellence that promote mathematics and natural sciences in general and the training of talented students and teachers in particular”.

It is located in Muizenberg , South Africa , a suburb of Cape Town . It was founded in 2003 by Neil Turok to “raise mathematics education in Africa to world level”. The AIMS is a cooperation project between three universities in the region ( University of Cape Town , University of Stellenbosch and University of the Western Cape ) and the Université Paris-Sud , Oxford University and Cambridge University .

history

Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town

The facility was founded in 2003 by Neil Turok to "bring mathematics education in Africa to world standards". He bought a somewhat shabby hotel for $ 100,000 and had it converted into a kind of “mathematics boarding school”. Since its inception, the project has received advice and funding from three universities in the region ( University of Cape Town , University of Stellenbosch and University of the Western Cape ) and Université Paris-Sud , Oxford University and Cambridge University .

structure

management

AIMS is run by an international board of directors, supported by an auditing and financial advisory board and a scientific advisory board. The chairman of the governing body is the mathematician Barry Green (as of spring 2017).

students

In 2006, 49 students from 20 different African countries were enrolled. In the meantime, around 3,000 applicants apply for the almost 300 places each year (as of spring 2017). For the students, study, accommodation, meals and travel expenses are free, in addition they receive some pocket money. Almost a third of the students are women.

Faculties

deals

Masters program

The master's program is the flagship of the AIMS. Scientists with a wide range of knowledge and excellent skills in problem solving and innovation are to be trained here.

Admission requirements are four years of study and a bachelor's degree in mathematics or a combination of subjects with a high proportion of mathematical courses. The students learn and live together with the teachers in the campus building.

This course is structured as follows: After an introductory week, the students take part in courses with a precisely defined program in the first semester, in which they expand their skills ( skills courses ). In the second semester, they attend review courses , which the lecturers are free to design and can set their own priorities. The third semester is a project phase during which the students work on a topic with a supervisor. At the end of the academic year, a master’s degree is obtained, with which they can continue their studies at other universities.

One focus is the development of computer-based models with free software , especially SAGE , SciPy or R .

Bachelor of Science with Honors in Mathematics with a focus on Biomathematics

The aim of this course is to enable mathematicians to analyze and develop models on the basis of research data from biology or medicine. Examples of application are models for predicting the impact of AIDS , malaria , tuberculosis or climate change on South Africa.

This one-year course, which is only offered to South Africans, is a collaborative project: in the first six months you study at AIMS, in the second half at the University of Stellenbosch . The title Bachelor of Honors is awarded in South Africa if you have completed postgraduate studies with a duration of one to two years after completing your bachelor’s degree.

additional offers

The AIMS has already held numerous lectures, workshops and conferences.

It also offers research grants, scholarships for doctoral , master's , postdoctoral and alumni students .

AIMS is also involved in primary and secondary schools : AIMSSEC offers free advanced training courses for teachers and learning materials for ages 5 to 18+ to deepen mathematics lessons.

Graduates

Of the around 1200 graduates from 43 countries to date, most of them stayed in Africa after completing their studies or returned there later (as of spring 2017). Many of them head the statistics department at a university in their home country or are university lecturers in mathematics.

45% of the graduates from Nigeria , where most of the alumni come from, are women; Among graduates from the Muslim Sudan , the proportion of women is even 54% (as of spring 2017).

support

The governments of Cameroon , Ghana , South Africa , Tanzania , Rwanda and Senegal are partners of AIMS.

The AIMS receives high international recognition for its approach of "presenting access to scientific excellence as development aid". AIMS patrons include Stephen W. Hawking and Nobel Prize winners Joseph H. Taylor and John Sulston .

The AIMS enjoys broad support from Europe and North America: Financial aid and teaching staff come from Canada , Germany and Great Britain : Without support from abroad, teaching could not be maintained because there are only a few salaried professors. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has established five chairs at AIMS centers, the Robert Bosch Foundation finances a junior professorship and guest lecturers from many countries hold three-week block courses. The DAAD offers scholarships.

A number of well-known guest lecturers have already held more than one course at AIMS and have also rendered outstanding services to the institution, including David MacKay from the University of Cambridge and Vincent Rivasseau from the University of Paris-South .

Google donated $ 1 million to AIMS in 2010 and two more to the Next Einstein Initiative (NEI) .

Extension of the model

With the prize money for a TED prize that Turok received in 2008, he founded the Next Einstein Initiative (NEI) , which is intended to bring further AIMS universities to life. In Ghana , Cameroon , Rwanda , Tanzania and Senegal already AIMS facilities exist (as of spring 2017).

Others

Because of the heavy workload call students the AIMS (English: goals ) jokingly referred to as the African Institute for minimum Sleep (English: African Institute for very little sleep ).

Web links

swell

  1. ^ Mediation Committee - Text Archive - Exchange on Cooperation with South Africa. In: vermittlungsausschuss.de. March 14, 2015, accessed April 22, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Christopher Schrader: The next Einstein comes from Africa. South of Cape Town, talented people from all over the continent study in a special mathematics boarding school. The idea behind it: Only those who master numbers and formulas can advance their country economically. A visit to three unusual women. In: sueddeutsche.de , No. 89, April 17, 2017, p. April 14, 17, 2017, accessed on April 22, 2017 .
  3. ^ A b Founding Institute Partners - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017 ; accessed on April 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  4. ^ AIMS South Africa Executive Team - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on January 1, 2017 ; accessed on April 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  5. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Einstein's African heirs - culture - October 7, 2006. In: dw.com. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  6. ↑ AIMS Structured Master's in Mathematical Sciences - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  7. ↑ a b Structured Master's Course Proposals - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. September 15, 2017, archived from the original on April 23, 2017 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  8. ↑ a b c The Curriculum - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b c BSc (Honors) in Mathematics with a focus in Biomathematics - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  10. ^ Public Lectures - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. February 15, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  11. ^ Past - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. February 24, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  12. ↑ Visiting Research Fellowships - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  13. ↑ PhD and Master's Bursaries - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  14. ^ Postdoctoral Fellowships - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  15. ^ AIMS Alumni Small Research Grant (AASRG) - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  16. ^ Schools Enrichment Center - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Our Partners - AIMS. In: nexteinstein.org. Retrieved April 21, 2017 .
  18. ^ Patrons - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; accessed on April 21, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  19. ^ Supporters - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  20. ↑ Chapters - AIMS. In: nexteinstein.org. March 1, 2010, accessed April 21, 2017 .
  21. ^ DAAD Scholarships - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. Archived from the original on December 31, 2016 ; Retrieved April 22, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  22. ^ Associate Faculty of AIMS South Africa - AIMS South Africa. In: aims.ac.za. Retrieved April 22, 2017 .
  23. ↑ Emily Mc Manus: Google donates $ 1 million to AIMS: A TED Prize wish. In: blog.ted.com. February 10, 2010, accessed April 21, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Project 10 ^ 100 - AIMS South Africa. (No longer available online.) In: aims.ac.za. September 24, 2010, archived from the original on April 23, 2017 ; accessed on April 21, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aims.ac.za
  25. ↑ AIMS | Building Science in Africa. Retrieved April 21, 2017 (American English).

Coordinates: 34 ° 6 ′ 25.9 ″  S , 18 ° 28 ′ 14.2 ″  E