- African Institute for Mathematical Sciences
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is an educational institute in
Muizenberg ,South Africa , established in2003 . Students from all over Africa come to Muizenberg to complete a postgraduate diploma. Many of them continue to aMaster's degree in science at a South African University; others return to teach, work, or continue their studies in their home countries.AIMS was founded by
Neil Turok , a Cambridge mathematician, in September 2003. Neil is the son ofBen Turok , an ANC MP livingMuizenberg , and so had close ties with the town. A partnership was formed between theUniversity of Cambridge ,University of Oxford , andUniversity of Paris-Sud , as well as the three South African universities ofStellenbosch University ,University of Cape Town and theUniversity of the Western Cape .The goals of AIMS are to promote
mathematics andscience in Africa, to recruit and train talented students and teachers, and to build capacity for African initiatives in education, research, and technology.The Institute is focussed around a nine-month, postgraduate course covering many of the most exciting areas of modern science, taught by outstanding African and international lecturers. The course develops strong mathematical and computing problem-solving skills and leads to a postgraduate diploma in the Mathematical Sciences, formally accredited by the three partner South African Universities and taught in association with the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and the Division of Physical Sciences at the University of Oxford. Students with good mathematics, science or engineering degrees are invited to apply are supported on bursaries where needed.
The AIMS project is a concrete attempt to implement the
New Partnership for Africa's Development , the vision of South African President Thabo Mbeki and other African leaders.Lecturers who have taught at AIMS
*
Alan F Beardon
*Alan Macfarlane
*Tadashi Tokieda
*David MacKay
*Neil Turok
*Malcolm Macfarlane
*Bernt Øksendal
*Sanjoy Mahajan
*Munte-Kaas
*Vincent Rivasseau
*Kimber Gross
*Liz Moyer
*Pedro Ferreira
*Peter Olver
*Carl Scheffler
*Edward M. Lungu
*Tanimola B. Liverpool
*Gareth Witten
*Oluwale D. Makinde
*Ekhard Kopp
*Jacek Banasiak
*Gabriel Lord
*Jeroen van den Brink
*John Cardy External links
* [http://www.aims.ac.za AIMS website]
* [http://www.dst.gov.za/media-room/press-releases-1/stephen-hawking-nobel-laureates-and-nasa-administrator-to-visit-sa/ Stephen Hawking, Nobel Laureates, and NASA administrator to visit AIMS]
* [http://www.nepadst.org/platforms/aminet.shtml NEPAD plans to build 15 similar institutes across Africa]
* [http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=mnms6JsxhjTyg6btHJmgsrFqmrZ6wcNH Article on AIMS in Chronicle of Higher Education]
* [http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v6/n11/full/nmat2035.html Article on AIMS in Nature Materials]
* [http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/scitech/aims.htm Article in www.southafrica.info about launch]
* [http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/160 Founder of AIMS, Neil Turok, wins 2008 TED prize]
* [http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/232 TED talk about AIMS, by Neil Turok]
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