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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
| Blog
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
| Blog
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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International scientists collaborate on Global State of Young Scientists (GloSYS) Africa study to deepen understanding of early-career scientists and scholars in Africa and the African diaspora
January 9, 2018 | Africa, Blog, Feat Articles, Policy, Science
For long science, as well as scientific performance, in Africa has been associated with challenges and handicaps more than anything else. This global “impression” has hampered many knowledge contributions from African science, especially given the absence of national, regional and continental database on the state of science, scientists and scientific performance. This has made it [...]
For tech to be funded, it must improve lives
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, News, Policy, Science
Technology can’t solve problems. Neither can data, for that matter. It can’t plug the holes of governance and political will but, without it, we cannot hope to address the myriad problems facing African countries. This idea permeated the Science Forum South Africa. Whether it was in the use of satellites to monitor the continent’s resources [...]
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There’s No Such Thing as Being Bad at Math: How Neuroscience Is Changing the Equation
It’s common to hear well educated adults declare themselves “not a math person,” sometimes proudly. Indeed, many people of all ages believe that mathematical ability is something you are either born with or not, rather than something to be mastered with focused effort. This belief is wrong. What’s more, it’s harmful to kids as they have their first [...]
A blog on Science Diplomacy for early Career Investigators
January 5, 2018 | Blog, Feat Articles, Policy, Science
Science is one of the best available tools for solving societal challenges—whether they are the 17 agenda items in the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals or finding vaccines for infections such as Zika. To help ensure success, early career academic investigators can play an important role in bridging the gap between science and policy. Building capacity requires [...]
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Next Einstein Forum Announces Its Ambassadors, Champions Of Science And Technology Across Africa
December 21, 2017 | Africa, Ambassadors, Blog, News
The Next Einstein Forum, announces its second cohort of Ambassadors Class, 45 scientists and tech champions across Africa, solving Africa’s and the world’s challenges. Central to the NEF’s vision of propelling Africa onto the global scientific stage, the NEF Ambassadors will attend the NEF Global Gathering #NEF2018 in Kigali, connect with each other and scientists from across [...]
UGANDA’S SCIENTIST NAMED AMONG THE NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM AMBASSADORS, CHAMPIONS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ACROSS AFRICA
| Ambassadors, Blog, Highlight, News
Uganda’s Joanitah N Nalubega named among the champions of Science & Tech across Africa. She’s an industrial chemist, with a deep passion for technology, currently working to deploy solutions for the health sector using technology. Also a founding partner of a fellowship of creatives called Kafunda Kreative which seeks to build the capacity of young creatives [...]
Un “ambassadeur” ouest-africain dédié à l’agriculture pour le 2è Next Einstein Forum
| Africa, Ambassadors, Blog, News
Le Next Einstein Forum (NEF) a annoncé hier sa deuxième “classe d’ambassadeurs”, soit 45 scientifiques et champions technologiques en Afrique, tous âgés de moins de 42 ans, qui résolvent les défis de l’Afrique et du monde, rapporte Tic Mag. La première édition a eu lieu en mars 2016 à Dakar. D’Afrique de l’Ouest, un seul ambassadeur [...]
40 Africans Under 40 – Making It In Africa
December 18, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Highlight, News, STEM
NEF Fellow Mouhamed Moustapha Fall, recognized by Africa.com under Top 40 Under 40 extraordinary men and women who are transforming the future of Africa. This list includes people who are making amazing contributions in their respective fields of expertise. Young Africans are smart people who’ve taken it upon themselves to use their various talents and fields of [...]
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STEM fields need to be more friendly to women
According to NSF’s Science and Engineering Indicators, the STEM fields are dominated by a male presence. For example, 11.1 percent of physicists and astronomers are women, 22.7 percent of chemical engineers are women, 35.2 percent of chemists are women and 7.9 percent of mechanical engineers are women. NSF also says that Women, Minorities, and Persons [...]
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Gender Equity for Africa’s Scientists
The next Einstein could be an African woman, but Africa’s gender gap in science education and jobs means the world may never know. To position Africa for long-term development success, and to give women and girls the opportunities they deserve, efforts must be made to achieve gender parity in the so-called STEM disciplines. NEF Fellow Aminata [...]
Zimbabwe’s new government must commit to science
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, News, Science
In a piece written by Dexter Tagwireyi in international journal of science in Nature, Zimbabwe has been excluded from many international funding and grant opportunities because of its instability, both real and perceived. The only way to access these funds has been to collaborate with scientists from other African countries and around the world. Just three [...]
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Jonathan Mboyo Esole : un futur Einstein pour l’Afrique ?
C’est l’histoire d’un garçonnet connu pour ses problèmes de développement et ses difficultés d’expression à Kinshasa devenu professeur de mathématiques à l’université Northeastern, à Boston, aux États-Unis. « J’étais un enfant différent des autres. J’avais des problèmes de croissance. J’ai même été déclaré cliniquement mort. J’étais incapable de me servir de mes mains et de parler [...]
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The literary genius of Africa’s leading innovation scholar, Calestous Juma
| Blog, Highlight, Innovation, News
Calestous Juma, the towering Kenyan scholar of technology and development, died on Friday (Dec. 15) at the age of 64 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard’s Kennedy School professor, was known for his work on innovation, and how that intersected with sectors including agriculture, education, health, and economic prosperity. As a prolific and luminary academic, he combined rigorous evidence with [...]
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How scientists and farmers creating climate and disease resistant livestock for Africa
Visiting Brisbane in November for theInternational Tropical Agriculture Conference for 2017, Director General of theInternational Livestock Research Institute Dr. Jimmy Smith discussed with Devex a range of new and exciting programs his organization is delivering to help create climate and disease resistant livestock for Africa. With research progressing rapidly, Smith believes 2018 will see ILRI deliver a [...]
There’s more to evidence-based policies than data: why it matters for healthcare
December 12, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Healthcare, News, Policy
The idea of “Health for All” was first put on the global agenda in 1978 at the International Conference on Primary Health Care at Alma Ata. It called for primary health care to be introduced as the first step to making sure that everyone has access to health care. The big question is: how can [...]
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Scientists build hydrogen sensor readable with the naked eye
According to many scientists, the proposed ‘hydrogen economy’, in which hydrogen is to become the most important carrier of sustainably generated energy, is an inevitable development. Unfortunately, the use of hydrogen entails certain risks, because it is flammable and difficult to detect. The research that the scientists described in their publication in Nature Communications focuses on [...]
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NEF on Flickr
NEF Community of Scientists Annual Meeting- Day3
