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Second edition of Next Einstein Forum Africa Science Week begins in 35 countries
KIGALI, Rwanda, 10 September 2018 – The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung, today announced the beginning of NEF Africa Science Week in 35 African countries throughout the months of September, October and December 2018. NEF Africa Science Week are led [...]
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Cities must lead the clean energy drive, says report
Did you know, that poor households in cities spend 14-22% of their income on energy? As urban growth intensifies energy use, cities must lead with efficient fuels and renewables. Cities can implement practical solutions to meet the need of the urban under-served through development models that slow carbon emissions & shift to cleaner cooking fuels [...]
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Cities must lead the clean energy drive, says report
May 17, 2019 | Blog
Did you know, that poor households in cities spend 14-22% of their income on energy? As urban growth intensifies energy use, cities must lead with efficient fuels and renewables. Cities can implement practical solutions to meet the need of the urban under-served through development models that slow carbon emissions & shift to cleaner cooking fuels [...]
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Scientists have created a silicon beating heart
May 7, 2019 | Blog
Researchers have created an artificial, silicone heart to help combat the shortage of donor hearts. The silicone heart has been developed by Nicholas Cohrs, a doctoral student in the group led by Wendelin Stark, Professor of Functional Materials Engineering at ETH Zurich. It looks like a real heart. And this is the goal of the first [...]
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Young African Robotics Designers Sparking at Pan African Robotic competition in Senegal (PARC 2018)
May 6, 2019 | Blog
Technology is taking part everywhere in this modern era of time, specially to face the challenges that require a sustainable development and help less fortune communities to have the privilege of standard living conditions. Africa by its high potential and promising future should be in the front line for implementing the technology that help local [...]
Black Holes, Africa and the Future of Astrophysics
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In a major scientific breakthrough, astronomers on 10 April 2019 unveiled the globally anticipated image, which reveals a halo of hot gas and plasma around the event horizon of a black hole. This discovery confirms, yet again, the predictions from Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and includes the contributions of scientists from Africa. The involvement [...]
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Africa Must Produce Technology
April 30, 2019 | Blog
Maths and science key to future, writes Neil Turok. Angelina Lutambi was born into a peasant family in Tanzania’s Dodoma region, where HIV and Aids has decimated much of the population. Her future could easily have been bleak – but Lutambi had a keen aptitude for maths. Today she is a senior research scientist at [...]
African Higher Education Summit in Dakar, Senegal
March 10, 2019 | Blog
Live Event: The African Higher Education Summit Dakar, Senegal Join global policy makers, entrepreneurs, academics and international development partners as they develop a common vision geared towards transforming Africa’s higher education system. Dr. Khumbah: “Technical mastery differentiates the developed world from the underdeveloped.” Dr. Green: “Africa has no time to waste. We need to look at initiatives [...]
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At Davos 2019, NEF Experts Examine How to Accelerate Innovation in Africa
March 1, 2019 | Blog, Multimedia
By building a home-grown scientific and technology capacity, added to a pan-African ecosystem of knowledge and innovation, Africa can get past most of the stumbling blocks hindering its development, said experts from the Next Einstein Forum at Davos 2019. The experts took part in ‘Conversations in coLaboratory’, a space for world leaders to engage in [...]
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I have no doubt the next great scientific minds will be from Africa
February 5, 2019 | Blog
Low levels of investment in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education have the potential to gravely affect Africa’s growth, impeding the competitiveness of many of its nations on a global scale. It is time for a wake-up call. There are signs the continent is thriving economically. But is it sustainable without a workforce that will build [...]
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The Next Einstein Forum publishes first issue multidisciplinary journal Scientific African and accompanying Scientific African Magazine
December 20, 2018 | Blog, News
Kigali, Rwanda – 20 December 2018 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) – Africa’s global forum for science in Africa – is pleased to announce the launch of the first issue of Scientific African, and its sister publication Scientific African Magazine. Published quarterly, Scientific African is a peer-reviewed, open access, inter- and multidisciplinary scientific journal that is dedicated to [...]
The Next Einstein Forum launches search for Africa’s top scientific talent for prestigious Fellows Class
November 13, 2018 | Blog
We’re thrilled to launch the search for the third Class of NEF Fellows, 2019 – 2021. Application to the NEF Fellows programme is open to Africans from around the world – including those who currently reside in the Diaspora – in all fields of science, including the social sciences and technology fields. Applicants must be [...]
IBM Files Patent for Blockchain-Based AR Helper System
November 7, 2018 | Blog
IBM has filed a patent for a blockchain-based system which will prevent players of augmented reality games entering physical spaces that are undesirable. Augmented reality is a technology which adds layers to physical reality. An example is Zombie GO, an AR game which places zombie in real life or perhaps the most famous example, Pokemon Go. AR can have [...]
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L’Afrique prend sa place dans l’avancée de l’intelligence artificielle
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La grande majorité des experts en IA se trouvent en Amérique du Nord, en Europe et en Asie. L’Afrique, en particulier, est à peine représentée. Ce manque de diversité peut non intentionnellement enraciner les biais algorithmiques et construire une discrimination pour les produits dérivés de l’IA. Ce n’est pas le seul défi : moins de [...]
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Africa’s future needs a better research culture and not just for scientists
November 5, 2018 | Blog
Of the many developmental challenges facing Africa, scientific research doesn’t often rise to the top of the discussion agenda, though thankfully that has been changing with high profile initiatives like the Next Einstein Forum. And yet research and development will be key to the kinds of improvements that African citizens need and expect. The priorities, or [...]
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Look to Africa to advance artificial intelligence
October 25, 2018 | Blog
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing society as profoundly as the steam engine and electricity have done. But unlike past technological revolutions, the AI revolution offers a unique chance to improve lives without opening up and exacerbating global inequalities. That will require widening of the locations where AI is done. The vast majority of experts are in [...]
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Gov’t pledges 1% GDP to support STEM education
October 9, 2018 | Blog
Government has pledged a minimum of one per cent of GDP towards the promotion of research and development expenditure of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in the country. Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has said in many advanced countries, conservative estimates have it that the direct and indirect contribution of [...]
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Second edition of Next Einstein Forum Africa Science Week begins in 35 countries
September 10, 2018 | Blog, News
KIGALI, Rwanda, 10 September 2018 – The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with Robert Bosch Stiftung, today announced the beginning of NEF Africa Science Week in 35 African countries throughout the months of September, October and December 2018. NEF Africa Science Week are led [...]
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The Dynamics of Innovation in Traditional Medicine in Ghana
March 25, 2015 | Blog
In the last 30 years, Ghana has made strides in offering traditional medicine as a healthcare option. The government has worked hard to make traditional medical practice viable and innovative for its citizens. For many, traditional medicine is preferred. This is especially relevant for those living in rural areas. In Ghana, it is estimate that [...]
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Percentage Share of Female Entrepreneurs
March 20, 2015 | Blog
An infographic depicting the percentage share of formal firms that are owned by women in Africa. Data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (2006-2010). Infographic designed by @Ivanisawesome at http://afrographique.tumblr.com/post/9344771081/an-infographic-depicting-the-percentage-share-of [...]
Advancement of Women of Color in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Disciplines
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Women of color face numerous barriers in the STEM fields. In a well-researched paper, the scholars indicate the unique factors that contribute to challenges that women of color face in the STEM industry, including tokenism, bicultural stress, racism and stereotyping, among other challenges. The research also examines the combination of courage, strength and resilience that [...]
Gender in Higher Education in Africa
| Blog
Education at all levels in Africa is gendered and disparities are visible in higher education. Although some progress has been made in increasing female participation, research shows that as Amina Mama states, “patriarchal knowledge is still coded into everyday practices.” According to the CODESRIA (Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa) article, the [...]
President Obama Recognizes Inspiring Story of a Nigerian Woman, Saheela Ibraheem
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On February 26th, in honor of Black History Month, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama honored 19 year-old Nigerian Saheela Ibraheem with an official White House reception. Named among the “World’s 50 Smartest Teenagers,” Ibraheem was accepted into 14 prestigious colleges including MIT, Harvard, Cornell, Brown, Princeton, among others. She started Harvard at age 15 [...]
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Verizon Launches Campaign to Support Girls in STEM
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To learn more about this campaign, click here. [...]
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The Ellen Pao Case: Gender Discrimination in the Silicon Valley
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Women are consistently underrepresented and dismissed in the STEM fields and especially in the Silicon Valley technology companies. Ellen Pao’s case is prime example of the challenges facing women in STEM. Pao is filing a lawsuit against one of the most successful Venture Capitalist firms in Silicon Valley for gender discrimination and retaliation. [...]
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United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59)
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One of our NEF team members was given a personal update by a friend participating in the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2015 meeting. It took place from March 9 to 20th in New York. Lyna Javier-Castillo, featured below, has been working with the UN for the last four years. The march towards [...]
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Device Invented by Car Mechanic that could Revolutionize Childbirth
March 5, 2015 | Blog
Jorge Odon, age 60, a car mechanic by profession is the inventor of a childbirth device. His idea was to replace the cruder forceps with with a smaller plastic bag inside the womb to ease pressure on a birth with complications. According to Odon: “At 3 a.m. I woke up with the idea [for the [...]
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Women and the mathematical sciences should make an amicable pair in Africa
March 1, 2015 | Blog
Author: Thierry Zomahoun I recently spoke to someone who told me that mathematics and science are gender blind. They do not see sex, gender, race, ability. It is simply numbers and equations and if one has the right aptitude, they can learn and apply it. If mathematics and science were indeed gender blind, why are [...]
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Women and the mathematical sciences should make an amicable pair in Africa
| Blog
AIMS CEO, Thierry Zomahoun writes about gender equity in STEM and how AIMS is bringing more women to the fore: Excerpt: ” What we need now is strong leadership to break through these gender equality challenges in an innovative and scalable way. As we look to the future, we need to recognise the strides we [...]
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NEF Monthly Newsletters – February 2015
February 26, 2015 | Blog
NEF Weekly Newsletter – 27 February 2015 – Science Meets Traditional Medicine Sent Thursday, February 26, 2015 Welcome to the weekly NEF Newsletter on Science Meets Traditional Medicine. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. NEF FACT OF THE WEEK Physicians per 1,000 people. Data includes generalist and specialist medical practitioners. Data is collected from [...]
Rwanda’s Green Revolution
February 20, 2015 | Blog
Rwanda is one of the African countries propelled ahead by the use of science to boost its nation’s food security. As a landlocked country in central Africa, Rwanda has confronted some challenges in the past. Farmers did not have the tools to boost production. In 2006, it was estimated that more than 80% of Rwandans [...]
Minority and Women Scientists and Engineers Honored at the AAAS 2015 Annual Meeting
February 18, 2015 | Blog
Women and minority scientists and engineers were honored at the AAAS Annual Meeting in San Jose. These are all PhDs and researchers in STEM fields representing Nigeria, Sudan and Vietnam. Hearing about the challenges they faced to establish labs, some conducting research in rural areas, given extremely limited resources and in places where women still [...]
Preparing for the AAAS Annual Meeting 2015
February 11, 2015 | Blog
Every year, members, supporters and affiliates of the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science convene to discuss recent developments in science and technology. This year’s theme is Innovation, Information and Imaging and involves examining the changes across all disciplines of science and technology brought about by advancements made in organizing, visualizing and [...]
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Why We Need More Scientists in Davos 2015
February 8, 2015 | Blog
In a panel titled “A New Era in the Fight against Cancer,” Scientific American Editor-in-Chief Mariette Dichristina talks with José Baselga, Physician-in-Chief and Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Richard W. Vague, Professor in Immunotherapy, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. (Benedikt von Loebell/Flickr) The NEF believes that the world needs more [...]
NEF on Flickr
NEF Community of Scientists Annual Meeting- Day3
