German research chairs AT AIMS

A celebration of the first decade

To strengthen mathematical higher education and research in Africa, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) have implemented the German Research Chairs Program at AIMS centers. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funds the program.

The program aims to help strengthen mathematical higher education and research in Africa, promote networking between AIMS and German higher education institutions and support networking amongst the various AIMS centres in Africa. It is aimed at researchers in mathematics worldwide who conduct application-related research and who have experience training students and doctoral candidates.

Since its establishment in 2013, the BMBF has installed nine research chairs at the AIMS centers in Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, Rwanda, the Tanzania (previously) and South Africa. The tenth chair holder is currently being selected. Below are the past and present German Research Chairs in Africa.

On Thursday and Friday (20 and 21 March), the German Research chairs will be celebrating their 12th anniversary.

The German Research Days aim to recognise what has been achieved in 10 years of AIMS-BMBF cooperation. Furthermore, the aim is to raise awareness of the BMBF measure and the German Research Chairs; network with potential local partners; exchange needs and opportunities for future cooperation; and exchange all programme funders and partners (BMBF, AvH, DAAD, AIMS, Chairs, German university partners, postdocs, PhDs).

Presentations, interactive and hands-on workshops, posters, discussion sessions and bilateral meetings …

Keynote Addresses by German & South African Ministries

German Research Days

  • Keynote Address (on 21 March 2024) by Prof. Dr. Sabine Döring, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research on behalf of the German government. The South African counterpart (Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation representative) would respond with an address themed around South Africa’s Government Policy Imperatives for Mathematical Science and Transformation Agenda in South Africa.

  • Presentations, interactive and hands-on workshops, posters, and discussion sessions led by the past and present German Research Chairs in Africa and their research group members.

  • High-level strategic event activities.

  • Bilateral Meeting with the South African Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation.

present chairs

  • Abebe Geletu

    AIMS Rwanda (2021 — 2026)
    Control Engineering, Mathematical Optimization, Artificial Intelligence, and modern ICT methods for renewable energy systems

  • Jan Hązła

    AIMS Rwanda (2022 — 2027)

    Coding theory

  • Mouhamadou Sy

    AIMS Senegal (2023 — 20xx)
    Partial Differential Equations, Stochastic Analysis

  • Nicholas Monk

    AIMS Ghana (2022 — 2027)
    Mathematical Biology

  • Olivier Menoukeu Pamen

    AIMS Ghana (2016 — 2024)

    (Backward) Stochastic differential equations (SDE); Malliavin calculus and applications to SDE and mathematical finance; Stochastic control theory and application to mathematical finance

Past chairs

  • Bubacarr Bah

    AIMS South Africa (2016 — 2022)

    Data Science

  • Gisèle Mophou

    AIMS Cameroon (2017 — 2019)

    Partial Differential Equations, Time Fractional Partial Differential Equations and Control Theory

  • Marc Sedjro

    AIMS South Africa (2018 — 2021)
    Calculus of Variations, Partial Differential Equations, Fluid Mechanics, Mean-Field Games

  • Mouhamed Moustapha Fall

    AIMS Senegal (2012 — 2021)

    Mathematics

German Research DAYS ORGANISER

The German Research Days are organised by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) - supported by the project management organisation DLR-PT.

Contact: BMBF-Afrika@dlr.de.