Africa Encourages Next Einstein | God's World News

Africa Encourages Next Einstein

04/13/2018
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    (AP Photo: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame opens the Next Einstein Forum conference in Kigali, Rwanda.)

South African geneticist Vinet Coetzee has hopes for a malaria-diagnosing scanner she developed. It can be used in Africa’s rural areas—without the need for blood samples or lab tests.

Coetzee’s model was among the research projects highlighted at the recent Next Einstein Forum conference in Rwanda. The forum encourages the development of young scientists across Africa. Organizers called it the largest-ever gathering of scientists on the continent.

The Next Einstein Forum is an offshoot of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. The Institute provides full scholarships for students to earn masters’ degrees in mathematics at centers in Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. More than 1,500 students from 43 African countries have graduated from the program since it began in 2003.

The program to encourage Africans to study mathematics is the brainchild of South African-born physicist Neil Turok. He says, “We can draw strength from hardship.”

Africa lags behind the rest of the world in scientific output. But research on the continent is growing rapidly. A few countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Mali are increasing their research and development spending efforts.

Turok believes the world’s next Einstein can be an African. “When Africans enter science in large numbers, with their diversity, backgrounds and motivation, they will make massive, transformative discoveries. Those discoveries are just waiting there to be made.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame links scientific progress to Africa’s development at large. “For too long, Africa has allowed itself to be left behind.”

(AP Photo: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame opens the Next Einstein Forum conference in Kigali, Rwanda.)