Date: 23/06/2006
Source: Department of Science and Technology
Title: Mangena: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences graduation ceremony
Address by the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences graduation ceremony, Muizenburg, Cape Town
Programme Director
Vice Chancellors
Members of Council
Academic and Professional Staff
Graduates
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Every culture on earth has developed some mathematics, which spread and evolved from culture to culture until today where there is international mathematics. Western historians are agreed that international mathematics has roots in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, and it grew rapidly after its establishment in ancient Greece. Mathematics continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with no end in sight. But the application of mathematics to science becomes greater all the time.
One of the profound contributors to the current international mathematics is Albert Einstein. His pronouncements about the value of mathematics to science and human development are very instructional.
On the question of value, he asserts, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual”. And on the subject of science, he claims, “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well”.
Human civilisation dates back many millennia, and mathematics is the basis for all human development initiatives. Therefore, today’s students in the mathematical sciences are engaged in a profession they can be truly proud of.
Located at the Southern tip of Africa, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences can be seen as a reincarnation of the knowledge generation tradition that began in ancient Egypt those many years ago.
Africa is in danger of falling behind in its ability to provide high quality graduates in the mathematical sciences. In South Africa itself, the number of students graduating as secondary school maths and science teachers is approaching zero, and this is cause for grave concern.
My department is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the development of science and technology nationally. And to be able to fulfil our mandate, producing the critical mass of relevant human capital is a deciding factor. Without mathematics teachers the foot soldiers in our classrooms in the villages and townships the results of the work done by my department will reach the desired mark.
Many African countries are in the same boat as us in this regard. Mathematics is the bedrock of all sciences, and without mathematicians, Africa’s hope of reclaiming its unique position in the community of nations will remain an illusion. The formation of this institute in 2003 was a major accomplishment for Africa, and that is why every graduation is a critical step in the right direction.
The tutors here are outstanding African and international lecturers, grounded in the tradition of strong mathematical and computing problem-solving skills. The result is that their students leave with a postgraduate diploma in the Mathematical Sciences they can be truly proud of.
Allow me to mention a few initiatives that South Africa has undertaken to address the challenge of producing more high school graduates with sound mathematical grounding.
In 2001, we launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, known as the Dinaledi Project. The maxim of this strategy is, ‘Creating Tomorrow’s Stars Today’. Dinaledi are stars. From ancient times, stars have played an important role in human culture of showing direction. Since then, a number of initiatives to support the strategy have been developed by communities, NGOs and the private sector.
For example, in December 2005, we officially launched the Department of Science and Technology (DST)/Thuthuka Maths and Science Development Camps, which is a joint initiative between my department and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). Through this programme, learners receive intensive tuition in mathematics and science to assist them to qualify for admission into the undergraduate streams leading to careers in accounting, science, engineering, mathematics and technology.
Similar initiatives at this institute, which have the potential of increasing the effectiveness of our initiatives in supporting our youth in mathematics and science, include the formation of African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Schools Enrichment Centre (AIMSSEC), a schools’ mathematics enrichment programme offering free learning resources for learners from age five to about 18 years. Valuable additional dimensions of this programme include the provision of a professional development course for teachers, and an Online African Mathematics Community. The online system is particularly helpful in supplying an interactive medium to assist learners and teachers having problems with school mathematics. There is also access to Global Links for Schools, through which, in conjunction with Cambridge University, students are exposed to video-conference mathematics and science lessons linking schools around the world. A particularly innovative and useful aspect of these services relates to the programme which provides Grades 4 to 12 educators working in rural and township schools, an opportunity to join a ten-day residential course in Stellenbosch.
Further developments at this institute include the AIMS/DST/NRF Advanced Mathematical Science Programme. The course also serves as preparation for the AIMS Postgraduate Diploma Programme, and it teaches advanced research skills and provides an overview of cutting edge sciences.
All these developments come from an institute which graduated its first 30 students two years ago. After last year’s 41, now another 42 students join their ranks, and we commend and congratulate them. It is to these graduates that I now wish to address my remarks.
As custodians of over 75% of the world’s platinum deposits, South Africa has decided to strengthen its hydrogen fuel-cell research in the hope of developing an alternative to the internal combustion engine. Platinum is the key catalytic material used in hydrogen fuel cells, and although it is not the only catalyst in use, it is the catalyst of choice for the most promising emerging developments, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A world-wide system of hydrogen refuelling stations and hydrogen pipelines is envisaged.
Again, in the field of responsible energy-generation, our country is well advanced in the development of the South African Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor. The demonstration plant is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
In Sutherland South Africa hosts the South African Large Telescope. International collaborative research in astronomy is being conducted here, and we need more young scientists from all over Africa to come and work at this cutting edge scientific project. Similar initiatives, notably, the Karoo Array Telescope, are being established in the Northern Cape and we need a new generation of scientists, researchers and engineers to come and work at these national facilities.
These are some, though by no means all of the projects that are illuminating our country’s scientific progress. We need the assistance of skilled mathematicians to successfully implement all these projects.
Having been identified and named as one of New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) Centres of Excellence, this institute has a clear responsibility to Africa “to harness and apply science and technology to fight poverty, improve health, to achieve environmental sustainability and industrialisation, while contributing to global science and innovation.”
As part of this responsibility, we are presently deeply involved in the formation of the African Mathematical Institutes Programme. This is a partnership between my department, AIMS, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Sun Microsystems and the Vodacom Foundation. AMI-Net will work to partner and complement existing initiatives such as the African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) to help build a knowledge network connecting Africa’s mathematicians and scientists. This will provide access and inspiration to young researchers throughout the continent.
It is all very exciting, I believe more so than anywhere else in the world. That sense of excitement is now made keener by the addition of 42 highly skilled persons to Africa’s roster of mathematicians who can now make it possible for us to take a substantial step forward in the field of mathematics.
May I, in closing, thank the eminent panel of international patrons who gave their unstinting support to the formation of this institute? Amongst them, Francis Allotey, Director of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Ghana; Philip Anderson and Joseph H Taylor of Princeton University, both Nobel laureates in Physics; Sylvester J Gates of Maryland University and Director of the Centre for String; David J Gross, Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, another winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics; Stephen Hawking, Cambridge University’s world-renowned cosmologist; Professor Romain Murenzi, Minister of Education, Science and Technology in Rwanda; and Sir John Sulston of the Sanger Institute, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. We are deeply grateful for their input, their contributions and their encouragement.
We are also much beholden to a large group of financial supporters’ organisations and individuals from Africa and abroad. These include a number of distinguished universities, foundations, trusts, United Nations agencies, mathematical societies; government agencies and concerned businesses. Without their spirited assistance, the institute would most certainly not have advanced this far. On behalf of the students and all of us, I wish to convey our sincerest gratitude and appreciation. We have no doubt that the growth of this institute will make a greater contribution than was originally envisaged to Africa’s development.
Apart from the caring patrons and founders I mentioned earlier, the emergence of the Institute has been advised and assisted by a number of related organisations, all of whom have contributed towards making the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences one of NEPAD’s Centres of Excellence. Amongst these are South Africa’s National Department of Education; those concerned with the Advanced Mathematical Sciences Development Programme; and the African Mathematical Institutes Network.
We greatly appreciate the backing of all concerned and are deeply indebted to the wonderful staff and visiting lecturers at the Institute. As a final tribute to the graduates and their teachers, I wish to end by quoting an old Indian saying
Source: Department of Science and Technology
Title: Mangena: African Institute for Mathematical Sciences graduation ceremony
Address by the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Mosibudi Mangena, at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences graduation ceremony, Muizenburg, Cape Town
Programme Director
Vice Chancellors
Members of Council
Academic and Professional Staff
Graduates
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Every culture on earth has developed some mathematics, which spread and evolved from culture to culture until today where there is international mathematics. Western historians are agreed that international mathematics has roots in ancient Egypt and Babylonia, and it grew rapidly after its establishment in ancient Greece. Mathematics continues to grow at a phenomenal rate with no end in sight. But the application of mathematics to science becomes greater all the time.
One of the profound contributors to the current international mathematics is Albert Einstein. His pronouncements about the value of mathematics to science and human development are very instructional.
On the question of value, he asserts, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual”. And on the subject of science, he claims, “After a certain high level of technical skill is achieved, science and art tend to coalesce in aesthetics, plasticity, and form. The greatest scientists are always artists as well”.
Human civilisation dates back many millennia, and mathematics is the basis for all human development initiatives. Therefore, today’s students in the mathematical sciences are engaged in a profession they can be truly proud of.
Located at the Southern tip of Africa, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences can be seen as a reincarnation of the knowledge generation tradition that began in ancient Egypt those many years ago.
Africa is in danger of falling behind in its ability to provide high quality graduates in the mathematical sciences. In South Africa itself, the number of students graduating as secondary school maths and science teachers is approaching zero, and this is cause for grave concern.
My department is tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the development of science and technology nationally. And to be able to fulfil our mandate, producing the critical mass of relevant human capital is a deciding factor. Without mathematics teachers the foot soldiers in our classrooms in the villages and townships the results of the work done by my department will reach the desired mark.
Many African countries are in the same boat as us in this regard. Mathematics is the bedrock of all sciences, and without mathematicians, Africa’s hope of reclaiming its unique position in the community of nations will remain an illusion. The formation of this institute in 2003 was a major accomplishment for Africa, and that is why every graduation is a critical step in the right direction.
The tutors here are outstanding African and international lecturers, grounded in the tradition of strong mathematical and computing problem-solving skills. The result is that their students leave with a postgraduate diploma in the Mathematical Sciences they can be truly proud of.
Allow me to mention a few initiatives that South Africa has undertaken to address the challenge of producing more high school graduates with sound mathematical grounding.
In 2001, we launched the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, known as the Dinaledi Project. The maxim of this strategy is, ‘Creating Tomorrow’s Stars Today’. Dinaledi are stars. From ancient times, stars have played an important role in human culture of showing direction. Since then, a number of initiatives to support the strategy have been developed by communities, NGOs and the private sector.
For example, in December 2005, we officially launched the Department of Science and Technology (DST)/Thuthuka Maths and Science Development Camps, which is a joint initiative between my department and the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA). Through this programme, learners receive intensive tuition in mathematics and science to assist them to qualify for admission into the undergraduate streams leading to careers in accounting, science, engineering, mathematics and technology.
Similar initiatives at this institute, which have the potential of increasing the effectiveness of our initiatives in supporting our youth in mathematics and science, include the formation of African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Schools Enrichment Centre (AIMSSEC), a schools’ mathematics enrichment programme offering free learning resources for learners from age five to about 18 years. Valuable additional dimensions of this programme include the provision of a professional development course for teachers, and an Online African Mathematics Community. The online system is particularly helpful in supplying an interactive medium to assist learners and teachers having problems with school mathematics. There is also access to Global Links for Schools, through which, in conjunction with Cambridge University, students are exposed to video-conference mathematics and science lessons linking schools around the world. A particularly innovative and useful aspect of these services relates to the programme which provides Grades 4 to 12 educators working in rural and township schools, an opportunity to join a ten-day residential course in Stellenbosch.
Further developments at this institute include the AIMS/DST/NRF Advanced Mathematical Science Programme. The course also serves as preparation for the AIMS Postgraduate Diploma Programme, and it teaches advanced research skills and provides an overview of cutting edge sciences.
All these developments come from an institute which graduated its first 30 students two years ago. After last year’s 41, now another 42 students join their ranks, and we commend and congratulate them. It is to these graduates that I now wish to address my remarks.
As custodians of over 75% of the world’s platinum deposits, South Africa has decided to strengthen its hydrogen fuel-cell research in the hope of developing an alternative to the internal combustion engine. Platinum is the key catalytic material used in hydrogen fuel cells, and although it is not the only catalyst in use, it is the catalyst of choice for the most promising emerging developments, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. A world-wide system of hydrogen refuelling stations and hydrogen pipelines is envisaged.
Again, in the field of responsible energy-generation, our country is well advanced in the development of the South African Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor. The demonstration plant is scheduled to be completed by 2011.
In Sutherland South Africa hosts the South African Large Telescope. International collaborative research in astronomy is being conducted here, and we need more young scientists from all over Africa to come and work at this cutting edge scientific project. Similar initiatives, notably, the Karoo Array Telescope, are being established in the Northern Cape and we need a new generation of scientists, researchers and engineers to come and work at these national facilities.
These are some, though by no means all of the projects that are illuminating our country’s scientific progress. We need the assistance of skilled mathematicians to successfully implement all these projects.
Having been identified and named as one of New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s (NEPAD) Centres of Excellence, this institute has a clear responsibility to Africa “to harness and apply science and technology to fight poverty, improve health, to achieve environmental sustainability and industrialisation, while contributing to global science and innovation.”
As part of this responsibility, we are presently deeply involved in the formation of the African Mathematical Institutes Programme. This is a partnership between my department, AIMS, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, Sun Microsystems and the Vodacom Foundation. AMI-Net will work to partner and complement existing initiatives such as the African Mathematics Millennium Science Initiative (AMMSI) to help build a knowledge network connecting Africa’s mathematicians and scientists. This will provide access and inspiration to young researchers throughout the continent.
It is all very exciting, I believe more so than anywhere else in the world. That sense of excitement is now made keener by the addition of 42 highly skilled persons to Africa’s roster of mathematicians who can now make it possible for us to take a substantial step forward in the field of mathematics.
May I, in closing, thank the eminent panel of international patrons who gave their unstinting support to the formation of this institute? Amongst them, Francis Allotey, Director of the Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Ghana; Philip Anderson and Joseph H Taylor of Princeton University, both Nobel laureates in Physics; Sylvester J Gates of Maryland University and Director of the Centre for String; David J Gross, Director of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, another winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics; Stephen Hawking, Cambridge University’s world-renowned cosmologist; Professor Romain Murenzi, Minister of Education, Science and Technology in Rwanda; and Sir John Sulston of the Sanger Institute, winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. We are deeply grateful for their input, their contributions and their encouragement.
We are also much beholden to a large group of financial supporters’ organisations and individuals from Africa and abroad. These include a number of distinguished universities, foundations, trusts, United Nations agencies, mathematical societies; government agencies and concerned businesses. Without their spirited assistance, the institute would most certainly not have advanced this far. On behalf of the students and all of us, I wish to convey our sincerest gratitude and appreciation. We have no doubt that the growth of this institute will make a greater contribution than was originally envisaged to Africa’s development.
Apart from the caring patrons and founders I mentioned earlier, the emergence of the Institute has been advised and assisted by a number of related organisations, all of whom have contributed towards making the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences one of NEPAD’s Centres of Excellence. Amongst these are South Africa’s National Department of Education; those concerned with the Advanced Mathematical Sciences Development Programme; and the African Mathematical Institutes Network.
We greatly appreciate the backing of all concerned and are deeply indebted to the wonderful staff and visiting lecturers at the Institute. As a final tribute to the graduates and their teachers, I wish to end by quoting an old Indian saying
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