The Future is African: A Unique Teaching Experience in South Africa

“The next Einstein will be African”, says Neil Turok, before pointing out that currently, Africa doesn’t even exist in the world of science yet. To put the continent on the scientific map, he founded the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences in 2003, whose acronym AIMS matches Neil’s lofty goals.

A professor for Theoretical Physics at Cambridge at the time, he quickly got backing from world-renowned mathematicians and physicists who pledged their support and agreed to be part of the ambitious project – and continue to do so to this day. A mere 16 years later, the AIMS network has spread across Africa and now consists of six campuses, where talented students hailing from Morocco to Madagascar are invited to a fully-funded one-year graduate course in Mathematics.

I had the pleasure of joining the AIMS family as the Head Teaching Assistant from 2016 to 2018 at the original campus in Cape Town, South Africa. AIMS was brought to my attention by one of my mentors at the University of Cambridge, who was one of those early supporters and a regular visitor. I was about to graduate with a Master’s in Mathematics and had asked him for advice on where to go next.

It did not take much at all to convince me – I immediately loved the principles it was built on. It might have seemed daring to move across the globe to a country I knew nothing about, with no significant work experience and just enough mathematics under my belt to be qualified for the job, but I was buzzing at the prospect of new opportunities. In the end, I ended up enjoying it so much that I extended my contract for a second year only a few months into my first year.

The guiding idea of the AIMS teaching philosophy is to cultivate growth in a hothouse of education, instead of harvesting a crop of students. In this context, growth is not about chasing grades or rote learning for exams. Rather, group work is encouraged and exams are removed entirely in favor of ongoing assessment. Guest lecturers from around the world give short and intensive courses, exposing students to a wide range of mathematical principles and applications.

“That sounds like a teaching paradise”, a former lecturer of mine exclaimed when I described my working conditions. AIMS only accepts about 60 students each year, and having eight full-time teaching assistants means that there is enough time for one-on-one interactions. The lack of exams together with independence from large, public universities keeps the administrative load to a minimum. In addition, the students, as well as the lecturers, all live and work in the main campus building, providing a 24/7 learning environment.

It is no surprise that so many visitors choose to come back.