“The future belongs to those who not only believe but are prepared to walk into an unknown future choosing hope over fear.” These inspiring words were delivered by Prof. Thuli Mandonsela, Chair in Social Justice in the Law Faculty: Stellenbosch University and member of the AIMS International Board of Directors, at AIMS South Africa’s 15th Graduation ceremony held on 19 June 2018.
Forty-one students (including 16 women) from 17 African countries were awarded a Master’s in Mathematical Sciences, bringing the total number of graduates since 2003 to 757, of which 34% are women.
Prof. Madonsela asked the mathematical science graduates to help combat social injustice “We have many programmes in our country and on our continent to tackle poverty and inequality but they are not working, the day to day human experience is becoming more unequal. You can help government policy makers calculate the impact of their policies before they implement them by designing mathematical applications that can predict the future outcome of these policies helping to ensure that the correct policies are put in place.”
She went on to encourage the students to be leaders for Africa in the 4th and 5th Industrial Revolutions. “As you take Africa forward to be a leading continent, do so with integrity. It may be slow but when you do things the right way and you attain success it will be sustainable.”
In his welcoming address Prof. Barry Green, Director of AIMS South Africa said, “Today is a very proud moment for AIMS as we celebrate 15 years with our new graduates who join over 1600 alumni across the network.”