AIMS Rwanda welcomed Canada’s High Commissioner to Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda at a high profile visit to the latest centre of excellence launched in April. Her Excellency Sara Hradecky led a town hall on gender equality and climate change as students assembled to discuss the importance of STEM education and global development issues. She challenged the AIMS students to go ahead and implement their classroom knowledge in the real world.

“It is one thing to be a mathematics genius but another to go and use those skills to solve the world’s major challenges like climate change,” she said. “For governments to respond, they need data to react to any possible impact on ecosystems. This can be done using mathematical models that predict and possibly mitigate the problems. This is possible with the right people and the right skills to predict and comprehend these situations.“

Hradecky and the students also spoke about gender equality. More women is STEM-related fields are needed and she cited the importance of the AIMS Women In STEM Initiative.

“I hope everyone has seen the recently revealed story of African American women at NASA in the film Hidden Figures,” she noted. “Women are not limited and can do anything. It is encouraging that AIMS is engaging more women in STEM.”

“The Canadian government has been a great partner to AIMS. It was the first government to fund it,” AIMS Executive Vice President Dorothy Nyambi reminded the audience. “Canada was the first to believe in the vision of Africa’s next Einstein.”

The high commissioner toured the AIMS centre observing its facilities and promised that the Canadian government will continue to support its impressive work.