Highlights
EnTIRe, maths outreach in Africa - 2023 EAALG
2023 Eastern Africa Algebra Research Group Workshop
Having presented the first part of the "EnTIRe" project "Happy Classrooms" in November, we are now presenting the second part: “Eastern Africa Algebra Research Group Workshop”. Two more parts of the program will be presented in the coming months, along with their challenges and how they overcame them.
As a reminder, EnTIRe, the SNSF Ambizione project at the Section of Mathematics at the University of Geneva, was successfully completed last year. Besides the research part, it also included a separate outreach section focused on mathematics outreach in nine African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Sud Sudan). EnTIRe was led by Danilo Lewański, a former Senior Researcher in Marcos Mariño's group who now works at the University of Trieste’s Geometry group.
Context
There are huge divides in terms of access and quality of education across Africa. Research in pure Mathematics is often underfunded, and conferences, schools, scholarships and position openings are scarce at all academic levels. University lecturers can be overloaded with teaching on a disproportionate ratio of lecturers to students, taking away more and more time and energy to research. There is, however, no shortage of talented and passionate individuals with powerful ideas to improve the current state of research in pure Mathematics.
The Eastern Africa Algebra Research Group (EAALG)
EAALG is an active research Network on pure Algebra, Geometry, Combinatorics and related topics born in 2018 out of the synergy of lecturers and institutions in seven different countries — Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia — and devoted to build a united community facing this challenge and identifying students with potential and support them.
Its first official meeting took place virtually in December 2021 due to Covid restrictions and the first in-person EAALG workshop took place in the summer of 2023 in Uganda. It was supported by Danilo’s Ambizione project EnTIRe based at Section de Mathématiques, Université de Genève, as the main sponsor.
The event was hosted by the EAALG Coordinator, Prof. David Ssevviiri, at Makerere University, Kampala. It attracted lecturers and PhD students from other Ugandan Universities and several nearby countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, as well as internationals, for a total of over 40 participants from 13 different universities located in 8 different countries, with more than ten women participants.
A women-in-maths session was held at the event with the goal of sharing challenges and advice on how to overcome them. A professional development session also took place for all students and PhD students to share their questions, research experience and opportunities.
Master and PhD minicourses in Algebra and Algebraic Geometry were provided by Daniel Kaplan (Hasselt University, Belgium), Danilo, Andrea di Lorenzo (Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany), and Diletta Martinelli (University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands). The event strengthened the EAALG Network, scientifically and personally, as having the opportunity to spend a week together and share knowledge and insights in person can make all the difference.
Organizing Committee:
Tilahun Abebaw - Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Alex S. Bamunoba - Makerere University, Uganda
Adson Banda – University of Zambia, Zambia
Iara Goncalves – Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique
Celestin Kurijyibwami – University of Rwanda, Rwanda
Danilo Lewanski - University of Geneva, Switzerland and University of Trieste, Italy
Diletta Martinelli - University of Amsterdam
Jared Ongaro – University of Nairobi, Kenya
Layla Sorkatti – Khartoum University, Sudan
David Ssevviiri - Makerere University, Uganda
Alex B. Tumwesigye - Makerere University, Uganda
Scientific Committee: Leif Abrahamsson – International Science Programme
Rikard Bogvad – Stockholm University
Balazs Szendroi - University of Vienna
Beng-tove Turesson - International Science Programme
Michael Wemyss – University of Glasgow
Partners (full list in event website):
• Swiss National Science Foundation, Université de Genève — Section de Mathématiques.
• European Mathematical Society - Commission for Developing Countries (EMS-CDC)
• International Mathematics Union - Commission for Developing Countries (IMU-CDC)
• Supporting African Maths Initiatives (SAMI, UK-based Charity)
• Foundation Compositio Mathematica
•Amsterdam Young Academy
• Makerere University.
