AIMS South Africa Newsletter December 2024/January 2025

[Linda Camara]

Welcome to our January Intake!       This January, we welcomed 19 new students to our community. The group includes 15 students from South Africa, one from Egypt, and one from Sudan. Additionally, the AI program has gained two new male students from Cameroon and Nigeria. We are excited to welcome this group and look forward to their contributions!    Unlocking Potential: Transforming Mathematics Teaching for All Learners       From 2 to 10 January 2025, Stellenbosch High School became a hub of professional growth as approximately 80 Senior and FET phase mathematics teachers from rural areas in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape gathered to strengthen their teaching strategies. These dedicated teachers participated in an intensive professional development course designed to expand differentiation practices and promote the inclusion of all learners in mathematics classrooms.       Read more       New German Research Chair    AIMS South Africa welcomes Dr Ryan Sweke as a German Research Chair. He joined AIMS South Africa as the Alexander von Humboldt German Research Chair of Mathematics and its Applications. In addition to his role at AIMS, he is also a Senior Lecturer at Stellenbosch University.      Dr Sweke will lead the Quantum at AIMS group, focusing on quantum computing and quantum information research. With a distinguished career spanning IBM Quantum, the Freie Universität Berlin, and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, he brings a wealth of expertise in quantum algorithms and machine learning.         His appointment strengthens AIMS’ commitment to cutting-edge research and innovation in Africa. We look forward to the exciting advancements his leadership will bring!    New Appointment    In January, AIMS South Africa welcomed Jacques Rabie as our new Mathematics Innovation Manager. His role includes research, lecturing and supervision of students, and helping students prepare for life after AIMS. He will also support the delivery of entrepreneurial development programmes and facilitating industry partnerships for students at AIMS.     Jacques completed his PhD in Mathematical Sciences at Stellenbosch University in 2022; thereafter, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at        the University of Cape Town in 2024. His research is primarily focused on Algebra and Incidence Geometry. Research Updates          Dr Lorène Jeantet, had the opportunity to visit France in January, where she taught at the Bioacoustics Winter School, organised by the Bioacoustics research lab at the University of St. Étienne (https://www.eneslab.com/bioacoustic-winter-school). During the event, she conducted a workshop on Deep Learning in Bioacoustics.    As part of a collaborative project led by Benjamin Hoffman and Maddie Cusimano from the Earth Species Project (Berkeley, CA, USA),     Dr Lorene Jeantet has published a new paper in Movement Ecology titled "A Benchmark for Computational Analysis of Animal Behavior Using Animal-Borne Tags." The paper aims to present a new benchmark that compiles a collection of animal-borne sensor ('bio-logger') datasets with behavioral annotations, designed to advance the development of machine learning algorithms and methods. Additionally, the authors tested and demonstrated that deep learning outperforms classical machine learning methods.    Student Updates    Students on the Mathematical Master's stream completed the following courses in December: Introductory Category Theory (Zurab Janelidze, Stellembosch) and Quantum Computing (Rafael Nepomechie, Miami). In January they completed: Fluid Dynamics (Richard Katz, Oxford); Algebraic Structures (Karin-Therese Howell, AIMS South Africa).    Richard Katz    The January intake completed the skills courses: Python (Georg Anegg, ETH Zurich) and Mathematical Problem-Solving (Jacques Rabie, AIMS South Africa).       Georg Anegg    In December the AI for Science stream finished Active Learning, Information Theory, and Uncertainty (Andreas Kirsch,Google DeepMind); Bayesian Modelling and Deep Generative Surrogates for Epidemiology (Elizaveta Semenova, Imperial College London); Deep Learning for Ecology (Emmanuel Dufourq, AIMS South Africa with Rupa Kurinchi-Vendhan and Timm Haucke, both from MIT).     Andreas Kirsch    In January this group finished: AI for Public Health (Joacim Rocklöv & Marina Treskova, Heidelberg University) and AI for Climate Change (Neil Hart & Shruti Nath, University of Oxford. Some also attended Fluid Dynamics.    Joacim Rocklöv       MISG 2025    The Mathematics in Industry Study Group (MISG) was held from 20 to 24 January 2025 at the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, University of the Witwatersrand. The school was preceded by a Graduate Modelling Camp from 15 to 18 January 2025. Five AIMS Mathematical Master’s students attended the event.       Read more       Research Centre Visitor    On 30 January researchers from our AIMS South Africa Research Centre hosted Alex Goldin, a Research Program Manager for Google DeepMind. He led and facilitated an insightful session on the organisation and execution of impactful research projects. It was a wonderful opportunity for the researchers to connect and plan for the year ahead.          Seminars    On 8 January Dr Simon Harden (University College, London,  UK (retired)) delivered an engaging and enriching day of activities for students, starting with an introductory R tutorial in the computer lab. In the afternoon, he captivated the audience with a thought-provoking seminar titled “Rumours about My Teeth,” held in the main lecture room.          On 24 January Prof. Wanda Markotter from the University of Pretoria, Centre for Viral Zoonoses, Future Africa Platform, gave a talk titled: ‘A One Health Approach to Prevent Pandemics at the Source. Role of modelling.’          Using Digital Art to teach Mathematics: a practical, fun, innovative way of teaching Mathematics    A novel initiative to empower township learners with algorithmic thinking and digital art – even traditional African fabric shweshwe is being used as a teaching tool – was presented amid delegates’ wide applause at the final meeting for 2024, of the Community of Practice for the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (TLM CoP).     The TLM CoP is one of numerous communities of practice operating actively under the auspices of Universities South Africa (USAf).    This innovative teaching method was presented by Dr Sinobia Kenny (right), Academic Manager at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Schools Enrichment Centre, (AIMSSEC) who works collaboratively with Ms Jadga Huegle, a representative of SAP, a German software company, and Dr Ekaterina Rzyankina from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.       Read more       AIMS Women in STEM: Inspiring Insights from Asmaa Omer Tiraab Tbaeen       On 31 January 2025, the House of Science at AIMS South Africa hosted its monthly Women in STEM mentoring event featuring Ms. Asmaa Tbaeen,  2017 AIMS South Africa Alumni and a research scientist specialising in mathematical modeling and machine learning, as a guest mentor. x Moderated by Dr. Rejoyce Gavhi-Molefe, the session provided a safe and open space for female students, tutors, researchers, and professionals to connect and share experiences.    Read more    Re-imagining Inclusive Science Communication in Africa: Transformative Paradigm Shifts to Afrocentricity in Policy-Making and Capacity-Building for African Researchers. On December 13, 2024, Dr Rejoyce Gavhi-Molefe, House of Science Manager, contributed as lead author for a chapter to the ICOM International Committee for Museums and Collections of Science and Technology (ICOM-CIMUSET) Special Recognition Award Webinar. The webinar was organised by CIMUSET and co-hosted with Ingenium - Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation.       Read more    Teaching tip for lecturers!       Give an Example Of… (another and another)       The instruction ‘Give an example of …’ starts with a generalisation and asks students to provide particular examples. Students are then asked to say what is common about all the responses. More examples can be generated and more thinking, by asking first for one example, (pause for construction) then another (pause for construction), then another.       ANNOUNCEMENTS    Applications are OPEN       APPLY       APPLY       We are hiring!       A Machine Learning Researcher: Earth Observation & Ecology (open until filled.)     Read more    Advancing Women in Mathematical Sciences    External places are still available for this workshop please apply ASAP.       NITheCS Colloquium       Register       Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.

[Linda Camara]

Apologies there was an incorrect link on our latest newsletter for the following article please see revision below: