The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) has announced the appointment of 2012 Tutu Fellow Lydie Hakizimana as its Chief Executive Officer. The AIMS International Governing Board (IGB) made the announcement on the 4th of November 2020, following a unanimous decision.
Founded in 2003, 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 leading Africa’s socio-economic transformation through innovative scientific training, cutting-edge research, and public engagement.
AIMS has academic and non-academic programs spanning its Centres of Excellence; Research Centres; the AIMS Industry Initiative; and gender-responsive Teacher Training. AIMS has also begun two 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.
Lydie is the Founder and CEO of Happy Hearts, a chain of preschools that is providing quality education to hundreds of children between the ages of 18 months and five years old in Rwanda. She is also the co-founder of Drakkar Ltd, a publishing house that serves more than 3,000 schools in Rwanda. She previously worked at Harvard University on a project to scale up her schools by providing quality early education and creating educational programs accessible to all. She earned a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
On her appointment, Professor Neil Turok, AIMS Founder and the international board Chair said, “Under her capable leadership, we foresee a very bright future for the organisation. Africa needs home-grown scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and innovators. By providing outstanding scientific training, research and public engagement programs, AIMS is opening career pathways for these brilliant young people.”
Read more about the appointment at AIMS.
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