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| Workshop at AIMS South Africa Supports School Turnaround in Mathematics |
| | | | On 10 May 2024, AIMS South Africa hosted a transformative workshop led by esteemed educator Prof. Jonathan Jansen aimed at bolstering Crestway Secondary School's mathematics performance. The event showcased the power of collaborative learning and highlighted the profound impact of engaging with prestigious academic figures. |
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| Beyond Equations Nurturing Belonging and Human Recognition in Mathematical Spaces |
| | | | On 17 May 2024, learners in Grades 11 and 12 at Crestway Secondary School commenced their final mathematics revision session at AIMS South Africa. Fueled by nourishment and enthusiasm, they approached their studies with fervor. Yet, amidst the theorems, formulas and equations, they discovered something profound – recognition! Collaboration between historically marginalised learners and AIMS South Africa has illuminated a vital revelation: genuine acknowledgment of learners in mathematical science spaces surpasses mere academic excellence or even interest; it rests on the recognition of learners’ inherent worth by holders of knowledge. Ultimately, it falls upon the custodians of knowledge to embody an ethics of care – to demonstrate an essence of humanity. The response of learners was to revel in joy and laughter forging fond memories with and of mathematics. |
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| Exciting Collaboration Unveils the Practical Side of Spherical Trigonometry: Integrating Code and Craft into Learning |
| | | | A workshop held on 6 May 2024 at AIMS South Africa brought to light the practical side of spherical trigonometry. Marine Engineering students from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) participated in an interactive session where they applied their understanding of Napier's rule to calculate the distance between two coordinates on a sphere, gaining valuable insights into navigation. |
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The Structured Master's streams completed the following courses in May: Problem-solving in Physics (Aniekan Ukpong, UKZN); Quantum Information (Joan Simon Soler, University of Edinburgh); Statistical Inference (Julia Mortera, Università Roma Tre). |
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In the same period the AI Stream completed: Computer Vision (Willie Brink, SU); Google Cloud Computing (William Dekou (Google); Causality
(St John Grimbly, UCT). |
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SAMS Women in Mathematics (WiM) Division May 12 celebration |
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For the sixth edition May 12, Celebrating Women in Mathematics event, the SAMS Women in Mathematics (WiM) Division hosted a talk by Prof. Kerstin Jordaan. She shared her lessons around advancing one’s career, applying for a research rating and identifying opportunities to widen one’s network. |
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The talk was live streamed from the CoE-MaSS (with participants from WITS University, University of Johannesburg and University of Pretoria attending) to gatherings at AIMS, Stellenbosch University, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal and Rhodes University. |
| | AIMS South Africa hosted students and staff from UWC, SU and UCT. It was a lovely opportunity to share experiences and connect. |
| | The WiM Division is grateful to the CoE-MaSS for making this event possible. |
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For award-winning professor, enthusiasm matters most |
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Rafael I. Nepomechie, a regular lecturer at AIMS South Africa, recently received the University of Miami 2023–2024 Outstanding Teaching Award. |
| | EXTRACT: 'Nearly 15 years ago, Nepomechie was approached by a friend to join him for a teaching stint in South Africa at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS). Students from all over Africa receive scholarships to attend AIMS. Since his first visit to AIMS, Nepomechie has returned once a year or every other year for a three-week teaching block—and the experience never ceases to recharge his enthusiasm. |
| | “What’s unique is that you’re living with the students, sharing meals and interacting on a first-name basis. The students there are so motivated and that makes it exciting. Working with them in such an intense way is a tremendous opportunity,” he explained.’ |
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Dr Sandra Annie Tsiorintsoa, an AIMS South Africa 2018 Alumna from Madagascar, recently received her PhD from Clemson University. Her thesis was titled: ‘Models of Functional Redundancy in Ecological Communities’. |
| | She is pictured here in the centre surrounded by AIMS alumni from 2020, 2021 and 2023 who are all at Clemson University. |
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Teaching tip for lecturers! |
| | | Have you ever thought about how students engage with new ideas and information? |
| | - Students integrate new knowledge that aligns with their existing ideas. |
| - Students develop new concepts based on their current understanding. |
| - Students adapt new ideas by incorporating new information. |
| - Students discard previous knowledge when confronted with compelling new ideas. |
| - Students build upon their prior knowledge to understand increasingly complex concepts. |
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| | | We have an open positions for: |
| | | A Machine Learning Researcher: Earth Observation & Ecology (open until filled.) |
| | | Please see our applications page for more details! |
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