AIMS Ghana organises colloquium for PhD students in mathematics

By Iddi Yire, GNA

Accra, Nov. 12, GNA - The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Ghana has organised its maiden colloquium for PhD candidates in Mathematics and its Applications (CMiA).

The four-day colloquium seeks to provide a supportive and constructive environment where PhD students could present their research in progress for an open discussion guided by a panel of experienced researchers and to increase cooperation among researchers.

The colloquium is being organised within the framework of the German Research Chair programme, with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Ministry of Education and Research and German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, Professor Francis Oduro, Academic Director of AIMS Ghana, said the University’s vision is to lead in the transformation of Africa through the use of mathematical sciences.

He said it has been found that the continent’s failure to develop was largely from the fact that its people were not able to deploy the tools of mathematical sciences in order to advance science technology engineering and mathematics.

Prof Oduro said currently AIMS Ghana was running a Master of Science (MSc) in Mathematical Sciences programme.

He said AIMS Ghana was also running the African Master’s in Machine Intelligence.

“We have been expanding what we do to cover research; cutting-edge research which has an impact on African development."

Prof Emmanuel K. Essel, Head of Mathematics Department at the University of Cape Coast, said the colloquium would help students take cue from what they have to do to become successful PhD students and as well be able to publish in good journals.

Prof Essel, who was among the panel of experienced researchers at the colloquim, noted that there was a need for PhD candidates to do a historical background of the topic they desire to work on, to ensure that it had not already been published elsewhere.

Prof Olivier Menoukeu Pamen, a German Research Chair at AIMS Ghana, also told GNA that the goal of the event was to bring together PhD candidates from the various universities across West Africa, to discuss their proposal and what they intend to do, for those who just started.

He said the first session of the colloquium highlighted on how to write a research paper, which had very good critics in the sense that Candidates were pleased because it pointed out to what to do and what not to do.

Prof Pamen said the event created an opportunity to have feedbacks and this would help them improve the quality of their proposal and as well improve the outcome of their research.

Mr William Ayeh, a PhD student, said he was working on a disease modelling with much emphasis on transmission of schistosomiasis using a mathematical method.

“It is about trying to identify the trends of the transition of these diseases and then find the basic reproduction number and then find a way of considering how we can take decision in order to curb this situation”, he added.

Mr Ayeh said this is a proposal he was trying to start with, as such, receiving feedback from fellow students and experienced researchers, was laudable.

GNA

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