AIMS South Africa 2004
Teaching mathematics and building the pipeline at a local university
Dr Gift Muchatibaya from Zimbabwe was among the first graduating class at AIMS in 2004. Prior to AIMS, he completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Mathematics from the University of Zimbabwe in 1991. Since graduating from AIMS, he went on to pursue a PhD in Mathematics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and was a postdoctoral fellow in Industrial Mathematics at AIMS South Africa in 2010, where he also worked as a tutor. Following a rich career as a lecturer at UCT and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa, he decided to return to Zimbabwe in 2014 where he currently works as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Zimbabwe. The decision to return home to teach in Zimbabwe was motivated in large part by his strong desire to build the pipeline of students skilled in mathematical sciences at all levels.
“My country needs me. After developing my skills in mathematical sciences and research, I saw the need to go back home where the need is greatest to give back and enable more young to excel in mathematics through teaching.”
He has a strong passion to inspire people in his country, especially the youth, to develop an interest and pursue further studies in mathematics, as a fundamental subject for most careers in modern society. Gift says “AIMS enabled me to realise my potential and dreams as a young African mathematician and to build a professional network that has given me access to various opportunities.”