KIGALI, 21 April 2021 -The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and Baden-Württemberg International (BW_i) have kicked off a virtual scientific conference under the theme “How can digitalization contribute to a more resilient global health”. Launched to bring together young scientists from Africa and Germany, the two-day (April 20-21) event will provide a unique platform for knowledge exchanges, facilitate networking, and draw insights from global health and digitalization experts.
“The theme of this conference perfectly interlocks with our current global context, in terms of crisis management, global cooperation, leadership, and above all, science for advancement,” said Lydie Hakizimana, AIMS CEO. “There is no doubt that ICTs present new opportunities for the global advancement agenda, notably, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We cannot overemphasise the benefits of strategically leveraging these ICTs in global health, especially against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure expeditious care, efficient data management, accurate science communication, and data science-driven decision-making,” she said.
“We have set up the conference “Facing Global Challenges Together” in order to foster scientific collaboration between Baden-Württemberg and Africa as an overall aim,” said Dr. Christian Herzog, BW_i CEO. “We truly believe that we neither can nor will be able to face our global challenges on our own. Let’s share our experiences and knowledge for not only better scientific results but for everybody’s good.”
The conference series “Facing Global Challenges Together” will contribute to establishing stronger scientific exchange and collaboration between researchers and scientists from African countries and the German state of Baden-Württemberg. In addition to keynote speeches and parallel expert sessions, the conference will also feature idea pitches, speed “matching”, virtual casual coffee lounges and workshops.
Participating institutions include University of Cape Town, Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH) – University of Heidelberg, University of Maseno, Ministry of Health, Kenya, University Tübingen, eye2you GmbH, Université Abdou Moumouni – Niamey, University of Quebec, University of Ghana, Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture (RICA), IDEMS International, University of Pretoria, South Africa, Africa Health Research Institute, Strathmore University, African Maths Initiative (AMI), World Health Organization, Deep Learning Indaba and Rwanda Biomedical Centre.
About AIMS
Founded in 2003, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a pan-African network of Centres of Excellence for post-graduate training in mathematical sciences, research and public engagement in STEM. With centres in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda, AIMS is contributing to Africa’s socio-economic transformation through innovative scientific training, cutting-edge research, and public engagement. With expertly tailored academic and non-academic programs spanning through Centres of Excellence, Research Centres, the AIMS Industry Initiative and gender-responsive Teacher Training, AIMS equally created two critical initiatives: Quantum Leap Africa, which aspires to do leading-edge research in quantum science, and the Next Einstein Forum, which is positioning Africa to become an important player in global science. For more information, visit www.nexteinstein.org
About BW_i
BW_i brings business and science to the global markets and positions the state as an attractive location internationally – now and in the future. As a competence centre for the State of Baden-Württemberg for the internationalisation of business and science, BW_i offers numerous services to help the different stakeholders in Germany’s Southwest to branch out into foreign markets. BW_i supports companies, universities and research institutions as well as clusters and networks in tapping into foreign markets, putting them in touch with valuable, lasting contacts and facilitating collaboration in the respective target countries. For more information, visit https://www.bw-i.de/.
Media Contact
Dr Layih Butake
Senior Outreach Manager & Acting Director of Communications, AIMS