Ghana to build $1.5m African mathematics centre

President John Atta Mills has committed $1.5 million to the building of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS-Ghana), a pan-African centre of excellence in the mathematical sciences at Saltpond.

AIMS-Ghana is scheduled to open in September 2012 and will offer world-class postgraduate education in the mathematical sciences to the best science graduates from across Africa, a statement issued in Accra by AIMS-Ghana on Monday said.

Professor Francis Allotey, a distinguished Ghanaian scientist and founder of AIMS-Ghana said: “This is a strategic investment in young people.

Ghana and Africa will reap the benefits of this initiative for a very long time”.

Sir Michael Berry FRS, long-time supporter of the AIMS-Next Einstein Initiative said: “It is the time of Africa, time to release the vast potential for innovation and discovery from the peoples of this continent.

AIMS is both an early indicator and a driver of this African scientific renaissance.”

The statement said AIMS-Ghana would be the third independent institute of the AIMS-Next Einstein Initiative, which was aimed at creating a coordinated network of 15 African Institutes for Mathematical Science by 2020.

It said since 2003, AIMS had trained 305 students, a third of them women, with advanced quantitative skills needed in many sectors: science, engineering, medicine and business, among other disciplines.

The statement said the Ghana Government’s support was matched by funds from the Canadian Government, Google and the Alero Olympio Trust for sustainable architecture.

Construction is expected to begin late 2011, once the currently open architecture competition is closed and exact plans have been chosen.

“We are thrilled with Ghana’s leadership on this initiative and delighted to be working with its scientists, universities and government to ensure AIMS-Ghana is a jewel benefitting all,” said Professor Neil Turok, a prominent South African scientist and founder of the AIMS-Next Einstein Initiative.

Vice President John Dramani Mahama expressed the importance the Government of Ghana attached to education, especially in the sciences.

“We see AIMS-Ghana as a springboard for the future development of the people of Ghana and of Africa,” he told the AIMS-Ghana delegation.

Source: GNA