We’re excited to share how Dr Emmanuel Dufourq, AIMS-Carnegie Junior Research Chair at AIMS South Africa, is leading the way in training Africa’s future ‘computer conservationists.’ Featured in Nature, this inspiring piece highlights his work in developing accessible AI solutions for wildlife research in under-resourced contexts. Dive into the full story to see how AI
Category: Centre news
AIMS Celebrates Emerging Scientists at the Recognition of Achievement Ceremony
AIMS South Africa was delighted to celebrate the graduation of its January 2024 intake from the Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences programme. The Recognition of Achievement Ceremony, held on 28 November 2024, honoured the hard work and outstanding achievements of these dedicated students. This latest cohort consists of 29 students, including 7 women, hailing
AIMS Women in STEM: Inspiring Insights from Dr Zara Randramanakoto
AIMS South Africa continues to foster empowering conversations, ensuring that the next generation of women in STEM is equipped to thrive. On 22 November 2024, the House of Science’s Women in STEM mentoring programme featured an inspiring session with Dr Zara Randramanakoto, an Astronomer and co-founder of Ikala STEM (Women in STEM – Madagascar). During
Advancing science communication in Africa: Reframing Afrocentric perspectives on inclusion, capacity-building and language plurality
From 18 to 20 November, Dr Rejoyce Gavhi-Molefe, AIMS House of Science Manager, attended and presented an insightful talk at the Communicating Discovery Science Symposium, hosted by the Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University. The three-day symposium was attended by researchers and practitioners in science communication. They shared various
Experimenting with reverse-teaching: Learners guide teachers
On Saturday, 9 November, AIMS South Africa held its first-ever Computational Thinking course for teachers, led by an expert facilitator from SAP and AIMSSEC staff. This event was groundbreaking, as learners from Masibambane and Lavender Hill High Schools — who recently completed algorithmic thinking courses at AIMSSEC — supported and even taught alongside the facilitators,
Exploring Shweshwe Patterns
In computer science education, the concept of an algorithm, an unambiguous step-by-step instruction to solve a problem, is often best explained through practical, unplugged activities. These activities, such as making a peanut butter sandwich or folding a paper plane, are effective because learners can relate to the results from their everyday life and have likely
Folding Numbers: Mathematics meets Origami
On 14 November AIMS South Africa hosted a public lecture titled “Folding Numbers – Mathematics Meets Origami,” presented by Prof. Michael Winckler from Heidelberg University. This two-part event – lecture and hands-on workshop – showcased intricate connections between the ancient Japanese art of paper folding and modern mathematics. It attracted more than 100 people, including
Uniting learners – Assisting with the transition from primary to high school
On Saturday 26 October 2024, a unique gathering took place at Crestway High School, bringing together learners from Lourier Primary School and Crestway High, united by a common interest in computational thinking. This event took a novel approach by mixing different ages in a cross-age setup, allowing them to collaborate on constructing algorithms. This format
‘Cosmic inflation’: did the early cosmos balloon in size? A mirror universe going backwards in time may be a simpler explanation
Proud to share an intriguing article by AIMS founder Prof. Neil Turok on The Conversation.
AIMS Women in STEM: Inspiring Insights from Prof. Corinne Manogue
On 25 October, the AIMS Women in STEM initiative welcomed Prof. Corinne Manogue as a special guest mentor for its monthly session. Prof. Manogue, a distinguished physicist from Oregon State University, was visiting AIMS as a lecturer. The theme for the session was, “Mentoring for Personal & Professional Development.” She shared her personal and professional