AIMS South Africa Newsletter June 2023

[Linda Camara]

AIMS South Africa hosts its 20th Graduation and Recognition of Achievement ceremony   The African Institute for Mathematical Science hosted its 20th Graduation and Recognition of Achievement ceremony at the AIMS South Africa Centre in Muizenberg on 29 June 2023.  Thirty-two students (including 14 women) from 12 African countries completed the programme. Of these 17 students were conferred their degrees by the Stellenbosch University, and nine from the University of Cape Town (UCT).  The six graduates from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) will receive their official degrees at a ceremony to be held later in the year. In addition, UWC also conferred four degrees in absentia to students who completed the programme in December last year.     This brings the total number of AIMS South Africa graduates since 2003 to 1005, of which 35% are women.   Read more     Ladies indoor picnic   On 23 June 2023, under the banner of House of Science, Ms Tshenolo Thato Daumas,  an AIMS alumnus and currently an AIMS Tutor, assisted by Ms Maria Ramaoka from the January intake Structured Master’s intake, hosted a ladies indoor picnic to check in with the students for both the August and January intakes. This was a follow-up to one she hosted on 5 February 2023.     These "Check-in" sessions mainly serve to offer social support to the students and also give them a break from the pressures and hustle of AIMS life.     In February the central theme was to welcome the January intake and talk about how to navigate relationships in their time at AIMS and also, relationships apart from friendships and the emotional and psychological effect they can have on you and your studies and your stay at AIMS and of course what implications certain relationships can have on your health.   In June, the central theme was to bid farewell to the outgoing August intake, to hear of their plans for their futures and exchange advice.   They played games, ate cake and snacks, and sat in a circle, creating a safe space to share their hopes, dreams, fears and words of wisdom. “It was amazing. The point was to forge and reinforce stronger bonds of friendship and sisterhood and to remind the students that AIMS is not just a place to get an education, a degree and leave, but to remind them that the connections we make here can be those of a lifetime and wherever we find ourselves in the world, we always know we belong to a family, the AIMS family. The message of the night was "You have a sister for life"- which was the solution to a riddle game we played that night,” noted Ms Daumas.   YAM Internship Programme     Two AIMS Master’s students, Ms Blen Shebeshe from Ethiopia and Ms Marjory Mwanza, from Zambia, have been selected for the Young African Mathematician research internship to be hosted at the University of Bonn.    YAM enables young, talented and highly motivated AIMS graduates to get to know the HCM in Bonn and immerse themselves in a field of academic and research excellence. This insight into a highly skilled international research environment is intended to have a lasting influence on their continuing personal and professional development.   Student updates   The January intake students are currently completing the following review courses: Biostatistics (Sophie Dabo-Niang, University of Lille) and Optimisation (Montaz Ali, University of the Witwatersrand). Research Centre Updates     Rockefeller, a PhD student, attended Gender Summit in Accra from 8 to the 9 June 2023. The theme this year was:  Africa’s energy transition pathways and vision of Green New Deal through a gender lens.   “The event was an eye-opening event for me, both on the topics that were discussed (gender assessment and consideration in workplaces, pattern inequalities in gender, and different pathways to explore toward greener energy transition) and the interaction with many participants coming from different fields (including sociology, mathematics, climate science, public policy, etc).   My contribution included engaging in critical dialogues and discussions on gender-related topics, in order to gain a better understanding of the benefits of gender inclusivity in the A.I. field.”     He also took part in the AIMS-University of Liverpool Postgraduate Conference from the 12 to the 16 June in Liverpool. He delivered a talk titled: ‘An Approach to Modelling Dynamical Systems with Temporally Consistent State Spaces.’ Journal Club   On 20 June, Prof. Antoine Tambue from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen Campus, gave a talk titled: ‘Mathematics for industry’.   Upgrading of AIMS facilities   The renovations of 14 and 16 Watson Street have been completed. A nice surprise was the discovery of the original master-crafted masonry staircase under the carpets. Work will now commence on the main AIMS Building. ANNOUNCEMENTS We are hiring!   Resident Researcher in Machine Learning   AIMS South Africa is looking to hire a resident researcher to join its vibrant research centre. As a Resident Researcher, you will develop innovative machine learning techniques and advance scientific research. You will have the chance to collaborate with peers within AIMS and foster your own national and international network. We’re looking for an enthusiastic and ambitious researcher with a passion to advance interdisciplinary machine learning research, be it theoretical or applied.   Apply Click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list.