Climate change has disastrous effects on the environment affecting almost all facets of human life, including political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental. Consequently, Africa needs experts who can accurately monitor weather patterns, offer accurate predictions of the weather patterns, and develop practical and mathematical models with workable solutions.   

Enter Jackeline Kipkemboi, an African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Rwanda Alumna with a great hunger to tackle Climate Change through Big Data analytics.  Originally a graduate of the University of Eldoret, Kenya, Jackeline holds an Applied Statistics and computing degree. Her statistical analysis background fueled her natural interest in Big Data analysis using various statistical software applications.  

While attending the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Global Gathering in 2018, Jackeline visited the African Maths Initiative (AMI) booth. The visit marked the beginning of her journey at AMI, where she did her internship that was a requirement for her Master’s in Mathematical Sciences at AIMS.  

Before settling for her internship at AMI, Jackeline had attended several interviews in some leading banks and corporations in Rwanda.  She acknowledges the value and contribution of the many interviews she attended at the various banks and corporations because each of them taught her ideas that helped her flourish in other settings.   

While acknowledging that the interviews were challenging, she also appreciates that they contributed to understanding the kind of data the institutions handled and tying up with the classroom learning in her MSc in mathematical sciences.   

AMI has a wide range of data for analyzing climate change, an area where Jackeline hoped to gain more knowledge. “I am interested in data analysis for climate change. AMI is the organization that will expose me to a wide variety of climate analysis,” remarked Jackeline.     

Climate change has had far-reaching effects on the environment, forever changing the usual way of life. The impact of Climate change on Africa includes fluctuations in the rainfall patterns causing droughts, flash floods, heatwaves, changes in seasonal patterns, and many more, all of which adversely affect human health.  

Africa needs experts who can accurately monitor weather patterns, offer accurate predictions of the weather patterns, and develop practical and mathematical models with workable solutions.   

Among other young Africans that AIMS has trained, Jackeline contributes to the pool of trained experts in analyses of Big Data for Climate Change.  She hopes to contribute towards the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SDGs) which incorporates fighting climate change, among other priorities.   

Jackeline appreciates very much the support she got from AIMS towards her internship. AIMS-NEI provided a return ticket to and from Rwanda, a monthly stipend, and a laptop for her use. The training in Kenya accorded her an opportunity to bond with her young son that she had left behind to join AIMS Rwanda for her studies.   

AIMS continues its quest to prepare Africa’s talented students to become innovators driving the continent’s scientific, educational, and economic self-sufficiency.  

About AMI:  

Egerton University mathematicians formed AMI in 2011 to cater to the lecturers’ and postgraduate students’ interests in mathematics. The success informed the motivation to develop AMI of the Maseno Mathematics Camp formed in 2010 to assist secondary school students in learning mathematics in a free and enjoyable environment. The mandate of AMI is to identify, improve and scale up African initiatives in mathematical sciences.