Centres of excellence transform Africa

The official launch took place at the Kigali Convention Centre (KCC), with president Paul Kagame in attendance.

"We are collaborating with AIMS to develop an ecosystem of pan-African institutions with a transformative agenda. We all recognise that AIMS' education model is an important tool for development and progress on our continent," Kagame said at the gathering.

The first AIMS centre of excellence was opened in Cape Town, South Africa, founded by Professor Neil Turok in 2003. The network prioritises international class education for Africa's most valuable resource, its youth, for the development of Africa and to the benefit of society. The institute has since opened up six education centres of excellence across the continent, with the latest in Rwanda's capital, Kigali.

"We are thrilled to have partnered with the government of Rwanda to continue to nurture Africa's most talented scientific minds in mathematical sciences, creating opportunities to allow them to contribute to the continent by tangibly developing solutions to Africa's problems, and fostering collaboration that will reverse the brain drain of our thinkers, problem-solvers and innovators," said Thierry Zomahoun, president and CEO of AIMS.
The launch of AIMS Rwanda is a result of a partnership agreement between the government of Rwanda through the ministry of education and AIMS. The ecosystem of pan-African transformation has the following elements at its core:

1. Discovery and Technological Advances

The Ecosystem will support researchers who are tackling, through multidisciplinary approaches, research topics that challenge fundamental concepts and high-end research (fundamental research and quantum science).

2. Industry and Economic Advancement

AIMS will maximise the opportunities and potential for mathematical sciences to contribute to African economies through human capital, knowledge transfer and applied research for scientific and technological excellence.

3. Lifelong Learning and Inspiration

The AIMS's Teacher Training Program will strengthen the mathematics teacher capacity and provide as many students in Africa as possible with a quality education in maths and science.

4. Scientific and Technological Excellence

As part of the ecosystem of transformation, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF), the first global science forum on African soil, will continue to showcase the remarkable progress that Africa is making in science.