Rwandan French Embassy Delegation visits AIMS Rwanda   

14 Sep – 2021 | Rwanda – A delegation from the French Embassy in Rwanda, led by Mrs. Juliette BIGOT, the Advisor for Cooperation and Cultural action & Director of the French Institute of Rwanda, paid a courtesy visit to the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in Rwanda Centre. The delegation was received by our CEO, Hakizimana Lydie, and our Centre President, Prof. Sam Yala, who led the team in a Centre tour and interacted with our students and staff.   

While meeting with the AIMS Rwanda new cohort of 60 students from over 18 different African countries, the delegation warmly welcomed the students to the country.   

“I am very impressed with the new promotion of AIMS Rwanda’s representation of excellence and diversity of the continent. Thank you for this meeting. The avenues of collaboration with the Frech Embassy in Rwanda are many,” Mrs. Juliette BIGOT, Advisor for cooperation and cultural action & Director of the French Institute of Rwanda.  

The students, in turn, received them in their mother tongue and excitedly shared the aspirations that they intend to achieve while at AIMS.  

“I want to make a great impact on the African science scene, and I might even be the next AIMS CEO after my studies,” Jean Modeste Mushimiyimana, Student from Rwanda, shared his future ambitions at AIMS.   

During the interaction, the AIMS Global Network CEO, Hakizimana Lydie, too welcomed the new cohort and encouraged them to feel at home and give their best to become the next African Einsteins.    

“This year, we received more than 5000 applications. You are the lucky 60. So, sit, enjoy, and put to use this opportunity because it only comes once in a lifetime,” she said to the students.   

The delegation also met our Research team and various department heads, including the Teacher Training Program Lead, who discussed multiple fields of partnership and cooperation with the French embassy and France.    

“AIMS is like a big river with different departments as streams, and Teacher Training Program is the source,” Dr. Herine Otieno-Menya, Director, Teacher Training Program (TTP)-Rwanda. TTP is changing the landscape in Mathematics and sciences, especially among the youth, encouraging them to join the STEM fields. TTP has made great strides in Rwanda with improving the learning outcomes in mathematics and STEM for secondary school students.    

TTP has managed to empower over 4000 teachers since its inception in 2018, launched 14 fully-fledged smart classrooms, awarded 42 teachers during its pioneer Teacher Awards, among other achievements. The program plays a paramount role in policy dialogues aiming at improving the learning and teaching of maths and sciences.    

The Director of the Teacher Training Program (TTP) also delivered a special invitation to the French Embassy for the 2021 AIMS Teacher Awards scheduled for December.    

The visit allowed fruitful discussions about how both AIMS and the French Embassy in Rwanda could further explore avenues for collaboration with the Embassy and France as we equip Africa’s youth to tackle its grand challenges.   

“This is your first visit, and we hope that moving forward, AIMS will have more collaborations with the France Embassy and France in general,” said Lydie Hakizimana, CEO, as a departing note to the visiting delegation.