Inaugural Achievement Ceremony for the AIMS ESMT Industry Immersion Program

Inside this issue:

Achievement Ceremony AIMS ESMT IIP

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Gender Gap in 1 Science Workshop Cosmology Group 2 updates Workshop on Topology and Topological Groups

2

Machine Learning Talks

2

Journal Club

2

Visiting Researchers

2

Postdoc farewell

3

Science Forum South Africa 2017

3

Visit to Japan

3

DAAD Network

3

Student updates

3

AIMSWIS members at SAWISE AGM

3

AIMS Women in STEM mentoring

4

Alumni news

4

Announcements

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Twenty-five AIMS students from eight African countries received their certificates for completing the AIMS ESMT Industry Immersion Program (IIP). The students who participated in this 20-week residential and fullyfunded business and employability skills program were suitably qualified and industry-inclined AIMS Master’s in Mathematical Sciences graduates from across Africa. The backbone of the program was a 12-week internship module with participating industry partners from across Africa, during which participants experienced a business environment first hand and were able to apply their academic learnings.

At the ceremony Mr Nick Barniville, Associate Dean of Programs, ESMT Berlin congratulated the students and noted, “Through your internships you have proven the value you can add to African industry.” He also said that visiting ESMT faculty

who had taught the various courses on the program had shared with him that they had found it to be an absolutely fantastic experience, and a wonderfully enriching opportunity for them. Continued on page 3.

African Regional Workshop of the Gender Gap in Science Project The objective of the workshop was to inform about the project, present its three tasks, make contacts with people that are instrumental for the project, and get input from Africa to adjust to local realities.

Workshop attendees

From 1-2 December 2017 the regional workshop in Africa for the project 'A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?' was hosted at AIMS South Africa. Gender equality and inclusion is

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AIMS ESMT IIP Graduates

of vital importance to the work of AIMS, where 30% of all graduates are women. AIMS believes that women can and will play a key role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals if they are given equal access to a quality education in the STEM fields; women constitute half of Africa’s brain capacity.

The workshop was organised by Igle Gledhill and Marie Francoise Ouedraogo. The 42 participants were people working in the various parts of Africa that were nominated by the unions and organisation members of the project, as well as a few people from the coordination team. For a report on the workshop please click here.

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Research Centre updates Cosmology Group Updates Prof. Bruce Bassett was on the scientific organising committee of Astroinformatics 2017 (http://www.astroinformatics 2017.ska.ac.za/) held from 7-10 November 2017 and the 29th Texas International Symposium of Relatavistic Astrophysics (http://www.texas2017.org/) held in Cape Town from 3-8 December. He was also an invited speaker at the .Astronomy 9 conference from 14-17 November and gave a talk titled “Machine learning for transient astronomy” at the IAU Symposium on Southern Horizons in TimeDomain Astronomy held from 13-17 November 2017.

Dr Michelle Lochner also attended the IAU Symposium on Southern Horizons in TimeDomain Astronomy and gave a talk at the Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics. She was also invited to give a lecture at the European Space Agency Data Analysis and Statistics workshop at ESAC in Madrid. She lectured to an enthusiastic class of postgraduate students and postdocs from all around the world, teaching them practical machine learning skills.

Dr Lochner at the Texas Symposium

Research students graduate

Mr Mootoovaloo

At the UCT graduation ceremony on 20 December three of Prof. Bassett’s students graduated, Dr Eli Kasai, received his PhD,

Workshop participants

This 2-day workshop was held from 6-7 December 2017. The workshop focused on recent developments in the area of topological groups, due to the

On 5 December, AIMS South Africa and the Machine Intelligence Institute of Africa (MIIA) hosted an evening of talks:  “DIANA - Data, Insight, Analytics, Newness, Aspirations” Prof Pete Grindrod, Oxford University  "Reproducible Research" Dr Sebnem, Statistical Sciences Department, University of Cape Town  "AI in Africa - Shaping a better future in the Smart Technology Era" - Dr Jacques Ludik, Machine Intelligence Insititute

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of Africa, Cortex Logic  “Customer Lifetime Value based on Machine Learning methods” - Dr Thuso Simon, Data Science, Zoona  "Computational Neuroscience - Thinking About Thinking” Mr Chris Currin, PhD Computational Neuroscience candidate, University of Cape Town The audience totalled 62 and included a mix of members of MIIA, AIMS Research Master’s students, and AIMS Master’s students.

Mr Amar

Journal Club

Mr Arrykrishna Mootoovaloo and Mr Gilad Amar both received their Master’s Degrees.

Visiting Researchers

Dr Zingg

presence of new connections between measure theory, combinatorics and homology in the theory of topological groups. There were 23 participants.

Machine Learning Talks

He also attended the MeerKat Large Survey Project meeting in November and the Royal Society’s Global Challenges Research Fund meeting in Johannesburg in December.

Dr Kasai

Workshop on Topology and Topological Groups

AIMS South Africa welcomed the following visitors:  Dr Tobias Zingg who is affiliated to NORDITA as a postdoctoral researcher. He has a PhD in Theoretical Physics and was at AIMS from 4 to 14 December to work on a mutual project with Dr Matthias Ihl.  Dr Abdul Kara, affiliated to the University of the Witwatersrand, who visited AIMS South Africa from 11 to 22 December.

Dr Adabor

On 5 December, Dr Emmanuel Adabor, AIMS, gave a talk titled: ‘Machine learning approaches to decipher hormone and HER2 receptor status phenotypes in breast cancer.’ On 12 December, Prof. Abdul Kara, University of the Witwatersrand, gave a talk titled: ‘Dealing with symmetries and conservation laws of nonlinear Schrodinger equations.’

Prof. Kara

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Postdoc farewell Dr Andre Mialebama Bouesso, a postdoc in the AIMS Research Centre since 2015 left on 19 December. He thanked AIMS for giving him good working condition and lots of opportunities, especially the opportunity to collaborate with faculty from the University of Kaiserslautern. He studied intersection theory under Prof. Wolfram Decker and Singularity theory under Prof. Gerhard Pfister. There are also two ongoing projects that will be completed in the near future. He has published one paper written in colaboration with Dr Sylvain Attan, a researcher from the University of Benin and other papers are in progress. “During the last three years, I have travelled a lot and participated in very important events.

The travel grant that AIMS gave me each year was very helpful and has contributed to my success. I have met famous people among others Bernd Stumfels (who even gave me the book he wrote on tropical geometry) and Bruno Buchberger, the founder of the theory of Groebner bases. I took advantage of each single moment that I spent at AIMS to learn a lot thanks to the facilities provided to me.” He went on to say that having done all his studies in Africa where conditions were not always good and he had to face a lot of difficulties, “AIMS is the best thing that has happened to me in my career, I have been exposed to the world and am now in contact with a lot of great mathematicians. Besides my postdoc projects, I believe I have strongly strengthened my skills and can look forward to a rewarding career in academia.”

Visit to Japan From 12-18 November, Prof. Barry Green visited Tohoku University, Sendai and Tokyo University in Japan. The visit was facilitated by Prof. Motoko Kotani, the Director of the Advanced Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku Univerisity, and President of the Mathematical Society of Japan. At Tokyo University Prof. Green was hosted by Prof. Tomohide

Terasoma, and discussions were held with the Vice President of Tokyo University.

The purpose of these visits was to explore possible interactions of Japanese mathematicians with AIMS through teaching and possible opportunities in Japan for students post AIMS and AIMS researchers.

DAAD Network Meeting Prof. Green attended the DAAD Network Meeting with Higher Education Institutions from Sub Saharan Africa in Bonn, Germany from 25 to 26 November. AIMS South Africa was recently selected as one of the institutions DAAD supports by offering PhD scholarships and the meeting was for members of all the selected institutions. The aim of the meeting was to

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review the planned framework of the In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Programme whilst engaging the partner institutions actively in cooperation with DAAD in order to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the programme. The meeting also helped facilitate the creation of links between partner institutions and provided a platform for exchange and discussions.

Science Forum South Africa 2017 This forum took place at the CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria. The event provides Africa with its first “open science” event, similar to forums convened with great success elsewhere in the world. The two-day programme brought together more than 1 500 participants for discussion and debate in plenary sessions, short seminars and individual lectures. There was also an exhibition and public outreach activities.

AIMS was one of the winners of the Science Diplomacy Award in 2016, which is designed to recognise outstanding achievements in South Africa’s international STI cooperation as well as global contributions to harnessing STI for international peace, solidarity and sustainable development. Prof. Barry Green was an invited plenary speaker on the panel “Science Diplomacy Helping Africa Develop.” He was joined by the other 2016 winners.

Achievement Ceremony continued ... Mr Clifford Klaas, Executive Director, Siemens Africa, thanked AIMS and ESMT for giving Siemens the opportunity to take part in the program. “The focus on skills development is very important to us as we need to have the talent in Africa that can execute our programs and I like what I have seen.” Prof. Wulffe Plinke, Founding Dean of ESMT Berlin thanked all the partner companies noting, “We appreciate the investment that they are making for the future of Africa.” To the students he said, “You are now embarking on a new chapter in your life and your future is in your hands, I wish you all the best for your future careers.” In an interview after the ceremony Mr Micheal Kloss, Managing Director, Bosch South Africa, said that he had been very happy with the two interns that were placed at Bosch. “They both worked on real business problems which will have an impact on our business as they conducted a study that will be put into practice.”

The IIP was launched at AIMS South Africa in July 2017 in partnership with ESMT Berlin and the Southern African German Chamber of Commerce and Industry with funding support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation (BMZ) through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). This support is gratefully acknowledged. In addition, Stellenbosch University, led a series of seminars aligned around leadership, active citizenship, social responsibility, skills development and business start-ups. Industry Partners from South Africa included BBraun, Bosch, Evonik, Hatch, Khonology, and Siemens. In Cameroon the partners were the Cameroon Development Company, ENEO and Kouaba Consulting and in Ghana CAL Bank and the Ghana Energy Commission. Kenya and Senegal were represented by Superfluid Labs and Obertys, respectively. AIMS South Africa will host this program again in 2018. Please visit https:// youtu.be/4C17mb4j01k to view a video of the graduates.

Student updates The August intake completed the following courses: Model Theory (Gareth Boxall, Stellenbosch), Quantum Mechanics

(Rafael Nepomechie, Miami) and Data Analytics (Pete Grindrod, Oxford and Jeff Sanders, AIMS).

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AIMS Women in STEM mentoring lunch should manage to be a go-getter, successful, smart, role model, mentor, and a person who can balance work and life.

As part of the International Council for Science (ICSU) Regional workshop in Africa for the project “A Global Approach to the Gender Gap in Mathematical and Natural Sciences: How to Measure It, How to Reduce It?” which took place from 1 to 2 December 2017 at AIMS South Africa, a special women mentoring session for students was organised by AIMS South Africa Women in STEM. The theme of the session was "Phenomenal Women in Science" which aligned with the ICSU workshop goals. The session was aimed at providing AIMS women students and researchers with an informal opportunity to interact with workshop delegates who are leading professionals in science. The discussion was centred around personal qualities and values that women

During the event, our guest Prof. Zingiswa Jojo from the Department of Mathematics Education at UNISA advised women students to reach out to other people for help, and build themselves such that they can be able to plough back to their community and empower other girls in their countries. Also, she suggested that students should enrich their knowledge through reading relevant books for example "Disciplines of a beautiful woman" by Anne Ortlund and "Own Your space" by Lori Milner. Our destiny lies in our hands and Prof. Jojo emphasised that "Take a journey into the self and allow the academic journey to shape, shake, mould you, design you, discover talents in you and reach out to the destinies you were meant for." The session was enjoyed and appreciated by the participants which included students, workshop delegates and AIMSWIS members.

Alumni news Teamwork leads to PhD and MSc in mathematics Academic perseverance and teamwork at home paved the way for a couple originally from Madagascar, to both completing postgraduate degrees in mathematics from Stellenbosch University in 2017. Dr Valisoa Razanajatovo Misanantenaina, an AIMS South Africa alumnus, received her PhD in mathematics at the graduation ceremony on 4 December for her research on graph polynomials and related parameters. Her husband,

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Valisoa, with her husband Tsinjo and their son Ntsoa

Tsinjo, an AIMS Ghana alumnus earned his MSc in mathematics in March 2017, also at SU. Please click here to view the full story.

AIMSWIS members at SAWISE AGM AIMSWIS South Africa members Dr Rejoyce GavhiMolefe, Ms Innocenter Amima and Ms Bathata Masego attended the South African Women in Science and Engineering Association Annual General Meeting which took place on 4 December 2017, at the South African Astronomical Observatory auditorium in Cape Town. The theme was evolution with a suggested title 'Evolution: From prehistoric to intergalactic'.

Ms Amima, Dr Gavhi-Molefe, and Ms Masego at the AGM

Announcements January 2017 intake for the AIMS Master’s in Mathematical Sciences Applications are now open for the AIMS structured Master’s degree in Mathematical Sciences which is awarded by the Universities of Stellenbosch, Cape Town and the Western Cape. The January intake is for students who follow the South African academic calendar and preference will be given to South African nationals. For more information and to apply please visit https:// www.aims.ac.za/en/programmes/aims-structured-masters-inmathematical-sciences/applications-january-intake Applications for the AIMS Master's 2018-2019 are now OPEN. The AIMS Master’s Program is not a typical university program. We look for the most talented and motivated students from across the African continent. Taught by top international and local lecturers, the program is supported throughout by tutors who work closely with the lecturers and students. The program material is purposefully broad, allowing students to learn about a wide spectrum of mathematical topics and their applications before focusing on a specialised topic for their research project. Please visit https://www.aims.ac.za/en/programmes/aimsstructured-masters-in-mathematical-sciences/aims-structuredmasters-applications-august-intake for more information and to apply. Call for course proposals The AIMS structured Master's in Mathematical Sciences programme commences in August each year at all centres. AIMS South Africa has a second intake for South African students commencing in January. For more information and to apply please visit https://www.aims.ac.za/en/apply/structuredmasters-course-proposals

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Announcements continued ... AIMS South Africa - call for research project topics Potential supervisors of AIMS South Africa structured Master's students are invited to submit research project topics. For more information and to submit a proposal please visit https:// www.aims.ac.za/en/opportunities/research-project-supervisors The AIMS Structured Masters in Mathematical Sciences includes a research project, which makes up one third of the course. Proposal submissions close on 16 February 2018, but are reviewed by AIMS staff as they are submitted and so may be released earlier. The approved topics are made known to the students by 19 February at the latest, and students select a topic by 23 February. Early interaction between students and supervisors often leads to the choice of topic being decided earlier, subject to approval by the AIMS Director or the Academic Director. Applications for Teaching Assistants for the 2018-2019 academic year are now OPEN. AIMS South Africa needs a dedicated group of advanced students and academics as tutors for its academic year, to assist in its exciting teaching programme. For more information and to apply please visit https:// www.aims.ac.za/en/opportunities/tutors Applications close when all positions are filled. Enquiries please contact Prof. Jeff Sanders, Academic Director of AIMS South Africa ([email protected])

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PhD opportunities in Data Science: Call for applications AIMS South Africa will be hosting a year-long PhD preparatory programme for students who are either contemplating registering for or in the first year of doctoral study in Data Science. The programme will be coordinated by Dr Bubacarr Bah (AIMS) and Prof. Loyiso Nongxa (Wits). The preparatory workshop will take place in April 2018 and will focus on:  Introduction to Data Science  Python Programming & HPC For further information please visit https://sites.google.com/ aims.ac.za/phdopportunities/ The 11th annual Summer School in Mathematical Finance will bring to South Africa several leading academic exponents of the fast-growing field of Mathematical Finance, and presents a week-long opportunity to local practitioners, academics and students to interact with international leaders in Mathematical Finance on topics and modelling techniques current in the South African and international financial markets. For more information please visit https://www.aims.ac.za/en/ research-centre/workshops-conferences/currentfuture/summerschool-in-mathematical-finance-21-23-february-2018

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