The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana has organised a four-day conference on Mathematics and Its Applications (CMIA), within the framework of the German Research Chair Program at the Centre from 29th August to 1st September 2022 in Accra.
The conference was funded under the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Ministry of Education and Research, and the DAAD Foundation.
The CMIA 2022 brought together about 40 participants and 108 speakers from about 15 countries across the world, with the main objective of providing an avenue for these researchers in the Mathematical Science field to share their work, connect, and network with others in various disciplines.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, Prof. Olivier Pamen, German Research Chairat AIMS Ghana, highlighted the significance of organising scientific conferences, especially in mathematics and its applications.
He indicated that mathematics was a scarce skill in Africa, and many African governments generally lacked the input that could help develop mathematical sciences for national development, which could change the status quo and result in adequate skills, in terms of scientific advancement.
This, he said, was the reason for the few numbers of Ph.D. students, mathematics teachers, and researchers across the Continent. In order to eliminate, if not bridge this gap, he added that there would be a need for governments to institute proactive measures and realign policies to facilitate the work of researchers.
Professor Pamen explained that his desire of helping young researchers in the world, especially African researchers in mathematics and its applications necessitated the organization of the conference and similar workshops and conferences over the last four years.
In his remarks, Prof. Ralf Wunderlich of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg highlighted the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizing face-face conferences. He noted the relevance of organizing onsite conferences, especially in mathematical sciences which require close interaction amongst participants.
The conference particularly increased the cooperation between students and researchers in Mathematics and its Applications and facilitated relations between various institutions and research centers.
Over the four-day period, there were a total of 10 plenary talks from renowned professors who enriched participants with knowledge and expertise in their respective fields.
There were also 13 presentations from young African researchers who exhibited their research findings in a variety of fields within the Mathematical Sciences including Stochastic Analysis (Mathematics and its Applications), Quantum Algebra, Mathematical Biology, Statistics, and among others.
Another research presentation looked into climate change and the turnaround in energy policy requires the improvement of energy efficiency in all areas.
The participants also visited the AIMS Ghana campus where they engaged in a poster session to give visual explanations to their various research interests as well as meet with management and staff of the Centre.
At the closing ceremony, AIMS Ghana’s COO, Ms. Adelaide Asante, took the opportunity to share with participants, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization’s Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers (RSSR).
Ms. Asante emphasised that the UNESCO-SIDA project sought to ensure that governments and national science institutions would take measures to strengthen their national and regional STI policies, governance of STI, and institutions in research and innovation under the RS|SR.
Based on UNESCO’s recommendation, research across all the sciences in Africa need to be addressed with more intentionality and focus to meet international standards.
