African Institute for Mathematical Sciences - Imminent Establishment in Cameroon

MINDELCOM held talks with the African institute's CEO Tuesday January 29, 2013.

The Minister Delegate at the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Commonwealth (MINDELCOM), Joseph Dion Ngute held discussions January 29, 2013 with the Executive Director/ head of the Secretariat of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Thierry Zomahoun. Talks centred on the establishment of AIMS in Cameroon.

Over the past 10 years, AIMS has been training hundreds of young talented Mathematicians in 35 countries on the continent, Zomahoun revealed. He explained that the institute has been very successful in its mission of practising and teaching Maths in a very innovative and cost effective way. "We have come to a point where the proven model we have got might be useful to replicate that model across Africa. The continent is wealthy but we have got to get skilled workforce to transform the resources," AIMS CEO stressed. Mathematical Sciences are therefore the backbone of science, he stated.

From 2008, AIMS launched an initiative called "the next ancient initiative" which is a plan to establish 15 centres of excellence in Mathematical Sciences in 15 countries across the continent. The second AIMS centre of Excellence after South Africa was set up in Senegal followed by Ghana. The purpose of the visit of AIMS delegation to Cameroon is to set up the fourth AIMS Centre of Excellence. "If all goes well, I guess by September or October this year, we should be celebrating the opening of AIMS Cameroon," Thierry Zomahoun said. He was accompanied by the Director of AIMS South Africa, Barry Green who is also Professor of Mathematics.