On 3 October 2025, AIMS South Africa participated in the 2025 Future Skills Forum, a biennial event organised by Quantify Your Future – a project of the South African Graduate Employers Association (SAGEA). The forum brought together leaders from academia, banking, professional services, and partner organisations to address a shared challenge: how to nurture and prepare the next generation of quantitative professionals in South Africa and beyond.

Through keynote speeches, panel debates, group discussions, and networking events, the forum explored how universities and industry can collaborate to develop talent pipelines and innovative solutions for a rapidly evolving economy.

In his keynote address, Prof. Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria, noted that universities face a global trust challenge and must renew their “social contract” through stronger partnerships with schools, industry, government, and civil society. He emphasized that graduates should not only be technically strong but also ethical and adaptable citizens. He urged the creation of advisory boards as mechanisms to keep curricula relevant and research problem-led and highlighted transdisciplinary collaboration linking energy, mining, finance, law, and technology as a model for societal impact.

A multi-sector panel followed, examining the skills mix needed in today’s economy: productised data and AI, climate and non-financial risk analytics, and human-centred capabilities such as communication, collaboration, and purpose-driven problem-solving. Panellists called for earlier exposure to industry at school and university levels, shared training resources between companies and academia, and intentional efforts to build inclusive talent pipelines, particularly for women in STEM, through mentoring and visibility programmes.

Representing AIMS South Africa, Dr Rejoyce Gavhi-Molefe, House of Science Manager, highlighted AIMS’ holistic approach to developing future-ready South African graduates through Africa Scientifique: Leadership, Knowledge and Skills for Science Communication and WAFIRA programmes, delivered in partnership with African Gong, as well as other skills-based programmes, such as Industry Immersion programmes. She emphasized that AIMS’ model goes beyond technical training to nurture scientists who are confident communicators, ethical leaders, and socially engaged contributors to Africa’s knowledge economy.

“At AIMS, we recognize that a mathematical sciences or AI degree alone is no longer sufficient preparation for existing, emerging, and future careers. Through our added value enrichment programmes, we equip students to communicate their research effectively, engage diverse publics, and apply their expertise in ways that benefit society.

Through the WAFIRA programme, in particular, AIMS supports the advancement of women in STEM by building mentorship networks and strengthening participants’ leadership agency, confidence, and professional capacity. By empowering female students and researchers and encouraging their male peers to be allies and co-leaders, we are cultivating a new generation of scientists who are not only technically skilled but also inclusive, collaborative, and purpose-driven.