Newsroom
All Our Featured Stories
AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
Social Media
The latest from our various Social Media
Biometrics May Ditch The Password, But Not The Hackers
June 16, 2015 | Blog
Passwords get hacked — a lot. In an effort to move beyond passwords, big companies are embracing biometric technology: the use of fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition for user identification. To heighten security, smartphones are being outfitted with biometric features. But, ditching passwords for biometrics may not make the hackers go away. Selfie Security [...]
Read More... from Biometrics May Ditch The Password, But Not The Hackers
RWANDA: NEW EDUCATION STRATEGY PRIORITISES TECHNOLOGY
| Blog
“The Government is designing a strategic plan that will make it possible for the education sector to adopt Information and Communication Technology as a primary enabler of access to education. The Minister for Education, Prof. Silas Lwakabamba, said Rwandans need to take bold steps including the acquisition of computers by teachers to avail digital content [...]
Read More... from RWANDA: NEW EDUCATION STRATEGY PRIORITISES TECHNOLOGY
Big Idea 2015: The Coming Micropayment Disruption
| Blog
In this series of posts, Influencers and members predict the ideas and trends that will shape 2015. Read all the stories here and write your own (please include the hashtag #BigIdeas2015 in the body of your post). The innovation that will shape the coming year, I think, will be the consumer use of digital currencies, such as bitcoin and [...]
Read More... from Big Idea 2015: The Coming Micropayment Disruption
Tesla’s $13,000 battery could keep your home online in a blackout
| Blog
Elon Musk is a man who likes to make waves. Whether it’s privatizing space exploration or shaking up commuting with the Hyperloop high speed transport system, the billionaire technocrat aims big. Now his electric car company, Tesla, is planning to change the way people power their homes. In a tweet last month, Musk announced that Tesla would [...]
Read More... from Tesla’s $13,000 battery could keep your home online in a blackout
When ‘good enough’ is not good enough
| Blog
Apple’s product launches are covered with breathless enthusiasm usually reserved for royal weddings and vaccines for dreaded diseases. The recent launch of the iPhone6 featured an exciting new technology – ApplePay – which, if widely adopted, will allow Apple’s discerning customers to make electronic payments from their phones in situations where they would have used [...]
Why does Kenya lead the world in mobile money?
| Blog
PAYING for a taxi ride using your mobile phone is easier in Nairobi than it is in New York, thanks to Kenya’s world-leading mobile-money system, M-PESA. Launched in 2007 by Safaricom, the country’s largest mobile-network operator, it is now used by over 17m Kenyans, equivalent to more than two-thirds of the adult population; around 25% of [...]
Read More... from Why does Kenya lead the world in mobile money?
First Solar-Backed Off-Grid Innovator to Capitalize on Kenya Experience
| Blog
Powerhive, Inc. today announced that its industry-leading portfolio of off-grid metering and control solutions has successfully completed over two years of field testing in Kenya, paving the way for its commercialization and scale-up. With financial and technical backing from First Solar, Inc. FSLR, -1.97% a leading global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy solutions, Powerhive [...]
Read More... from First Solar-Backed Off-Grid Innovator to Capitalize on Kenya Experience
Bringing Women’s Perspectives to Africa’s Engineering Solutions
June 15, 2015 | Blog
In September 2014, at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City, I made a commitment on behalf of Ashesi to have gender balance in our new engineering program. Gender balance is rare in the world of engineering education, but we believe it’s necessary to aim for inclusion. More importantly, we believe in making sure that future [...]
Read More... from Bringing Women’s Perspectives to Africa’s Engineering Solutions
Far Out, Man: 13.1bn-Year-Old Galaxy Is Most Distant Yet Seen By Humans
| Blog
Galaxy EGS-zs8-1 has moved 30bn light-years away from Earth since it was born: ‘We’re actually looking back through 95% of all time to see this galaxy’ A team of astronomers has measured a galaxy farther than any other ever seen by human beings, reporting this week that the ancient star system offers a glimpse of [...]
Read More... from Far Out, Man: 13.1bn-Year-Old Galaxy Is Most Distant Yet Seen By Humans
Mars Exploration Rovers Update: Opportunity Logs Sol 4000, Digs Spirit of St. Louis Crater
| Blog
After investigating some flat, light and dark toned rocks around Spirit of St. Louis Crater in April, Opportunity chalked up another milestone achievement for the Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) mission – the 4000th sol or Martian day of surface operations – then did what she does best. By month’s end, the robot field geologist was closing [...]
Citizen Scientists Discover Five New Supernovas
| Blog
More than 40,000 citizen stargazers have helped to classify over 2 million celestial objects and identify five never-before-seen supernovas, in a massive example of citizen science at work. An amateur astronomy project of cosmic proportions, established by scientists at the Australian National University, asked volunteers to look through images taken by the SkyMapper telescope and [...]
Read More... from Citizen Scientists Discover Five New Supernovas
How A Computer Can Help Your Doctor Better Diagnose Cancer
| Blog
Correctly diagnosing a person with cancer — and identifying the specific type of cancer — makes all the difference in successfully treating a patient. Today your doctor might draw from a dozen or so similar cases and a big book of guidelines. But what if he or she could instead plug your test results and [...]
Read More... from How A Computer Can Help Your Doctor Better Diagnose Cancer
The Hubble Space Telescope: ‘It’s a terrific comeback story’
| Blog
gathered crowd to watch. On it was to appear the first ever image from Hubble, Nasa’s powerful, sparkling space telescope. That, at least, was the plan. Plenty of the astronomers wanted this event – called, in the business, first light – to be held away from the media gaze. But the press had been invited [...]
Read More... from The Hubble Space Telescope: ‘It’s a terrific comeback story’
Arx Pax Hoverboard, New Maglev System Paves Way For Flying Cars
| Blog
Arx Pax is pioneering a new kind of magnetic levitation that is much less expensive than existing maglev systems, which could lead to widespread adoption of maglev technology. Last fall, small startup Arx Pax nearly broke the internet with a Kickstarter campaign that many thought was too good to be true—it was building a real-life [...]
Read More... from Arx Pax Hoverboard, New Maglev System Paves Way For Flying Cars
Ardusat Launches Kids’ Science Experiments on Space Odyssey
| Blog
Next time you look up at the sky and spot one of the 1,100 satellites in orbit, it might be capturing data for your kids’ science project. In August 2014, US students submitted proposals for projects which would use two weeks of data collected by Ardusatsatellites. The 15 winning teams, selected by astronauts at the Association of Space Explorers, [...]
Read More... from Ardusat Launches Kids’ Science Experiments on Space Odyssey
Eco-Friendly Electric Cars In African Green Revolution – CNN.Com
| Blog
Sleek chassis, alluring paintwork and a need for speed, but these are no ordinary motors. When pedal hits metal, an eco-friendly process gets set in motion. Powered by electricity and engineered for efficiency, car enthusiasts from across Africa are sparking home-grown concepts that have gotten experts revving. ABUCAR 2 In Zaria, a city in northern [...]
Read More... from Eco-Friendly Electric Cars In African Green Revolution – CNN.Com
Zimbabwe’s new government must commit to science
December 18, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Highlight, News, Science
In a piece written by Dexter Tagwireyi in international journal of science in Nature, Zimbabwe has been excluded from many international funding and grant opportunities because of its instability, both real and perceived. The only way to access these funds has been to collaborate with scientists from other African countries and around the world. Just three [...]
Read More... from Zimbabwe’s new government must commit to science
The literary genius of Africa’s leading innovation scholar, Calestous Juma
| Blog, Highlight, Innovation, News
Calestous Juma, the towering Kenyan scholar of technology and development, died on Friday (Dec. 15) at the age of 64 in Boston, Massachusetts. Harvard’s Kennedy School professor, was known for his work on innovation, and how that intersected with sectors including agriculture, education, health, and economic prosperity. As a prolific and luminary academic, he combined rigorous evidence with [...]
Read More... from The literary genius of Africa’s leading innovation scholar, Calestous Juma
West Africa’s biggest solar farm launched in Burkina Faso
December 5, 2017 | Africa, Blog, Highlight, News
Burkina Faso is now home to West Africa’s biggest solar farm, a 33-megawatt plant located in the town of Zatubi, outside the capital Ouagadougou. Records indicate that only about 20% of Burkina Faso’s 17 million population have access to the national power system. The majority depend on other unsustainable power generation options. Built at a cost [...]
Read More... from West Africa’s biggest solar farm launched in Burkina Faso
Hopes for HIV vaccine buoyed by start of second big trial
| Blog, Healthcare, Highlight, News
Scientists announced the launch of another large HIV vaccine efficacy study, fueling hopes for a protective shot against the virus that causes AIDS, despite past disappointments. The start of the new trial involving 2,600 women in southern Africa means that for the first time in more than a decade there are now two big HIV [...]
Read More... from Hopes for HIV vaccine buoyed by start of second big trial
Open access publishing platform launched for African scientists
| Blog, Highlight, News, Science
African scientists are getting their own open access publication platform, which will use a system of transparent, post-publication peer review. The African Academy of Sciences, in partnership with F1000, is launching AAS Open Research, which will offer immediate online publication to AAS-funded and affiliated researchers. Peer review reports will be published alongside the articles, together [...]
Read More... from Open access publishing platform launched for African scientists
Nairobi Scientists discover technology to manage maize pest
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, News
Scientists at the Nairobi-based International Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) announced Thursday they have discovered a technology that will manage ravaging pest that has worsened food insecurity in Africa. In a statement released in Nairobi last week, the scientists said the technology, Push-Pull, is effective in controlling the Fall Armyworm, which mainly prefer maize plants [...]
Read More... from Nairobi Scientists discover technology to manage maize pest
How a West African lab made a 3D printer from toxic e-waste
| Africa, Blog, Highlight, Innovation, News
An innovative lab in Lomé, the capital city of Togo in West Africa created the first “Made in Africa” 3D printer using e-waste. WoeLab, a community tech hub established by architect Sénamé Koffi Agbodjinou, 37, made the machine using little more than scrap printers, computers and scanners. The idea was born after Agbodjinou purchased a 3D [...]
Read More... from How a West African lab made a 3D printer from toxic e-waste
BIO GIRLS DAY 2017: EXPOSING GIRLS TO OPPORTUNITIES IN BIO-SCIENCES
December 1, 2017 | Blog, Feat Articles, Highlight, Science, The NEF Blog, Youth
The African Woman in Science and The Work Place The under-representation of African women in science and its related fields is a cause for concern. The stereotypical African woman in times past was seen as a weak figure better suited to doing ‘menial’ jobs including raising children and taking care of the home. Today, paradigms [...]
Read More... from BIO GIRLS DAY 2017: EXPOSING GIRLS TO OPPORTUNITIES IN BIO-SCIENCES
Africa must keep its rich, valuable data safe from exploitation
November 24, 2017 | Highlight, News
Data is being driven by major international research collaborations like the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project. This and similar initiatives are producing volumes of data the continent has never witnessed before. All of that data then needs to be carefully managed throughout every stage of the research project. That’s why data stewardship – a job that didn’t exist in academia [...]
Read More... from Africa must keep its rich, valuable data safe from exploitation
Educator Challenges AAAS to Join the Search for Next Einstein
February 14, 2016 | Blog, Highlight
African education leader Thierry Zomahoun called on global scientific community to pick up chalk and help him uncover a new Einstein in Africa. President and CEO of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Zomahoun delivered a speech to a packed room at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in [...]
Read More... from Educator Challenges AAAS to Join the Search for Next Einstein
AIMS, through the Next Einstein Forum announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week – 7th to 18th October 2024
September 11, 2024 | Africa, Blog, News, News Articles, Press Releases, The NEF Blog
“Youth-led innovations driving sustainable development in Africa.” Kigali, Rwanda, September 11th, 2024 The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an initiative of the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), is pleased to announce the NEF Africa Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Week, set to take place from October 7 to 18, 2024. This groundbreaking event will be hosted [...]
Wired-up Interview with Charles LM Kimpolo
April 11, 2022 | Africa, Blog, Fellows, Highlight, News, News Articles, STEM
Education problems and a lack of access to technology have been widely recognized on the continent as major stumbling blocks to economic competitiveness and social equality.” Charles Lebon Mberi Kimpolo, Director of the AIMS Industry Initiative, launched the Young African Technologists (YAT) project to change this situation. How? Watch his inspiring interview on WiredUp Africa [...]
Read More... from Wired-up Interview with Charles LM Kimpolo
La Somalienne Mariam Noor conçoit un anneau capable de limiter les risques d’insuffisance cardiaque
April 10, 2022 | Africa, Feat Articles, Fellows, Highlight, News, News Articles, STEM
(Agence Ecofin) – Conçu pour le traitement de l’insuffisance aortique, une condition pouvant entraîner une insuffisance cardiaque, l’anneau de Mariam Noor a déjà été testé sur un porc et a présenté des résultats prometteurs salués par des cardiologues. lien Web:https://www.agenceecofin.com/entreprendre/2103-95906-la-somalienne-mariam-noor-concoit-un-anneau-capable-de-limiter-les-risques-d-insuffisance-cardiaque?fbclid=IwAR0vMCw5_WxxaNH7TQNDr3x6FNthUt8kwT1eAOmcKOuK4NNdLRKArT-ippM [...]
Tribune How can we achieve equity in higher education for Africa’s socio-economic transformation?
April 9, 2022 | Africa, Feat Articles, Fellows, Highlight, News, News Articles, STEM
While female enrolment in higher education has tripled globally between 1995 and 2018, the gender gap is still large in sub-Saharan Africa ‘s higher-ed institutions. Women are particularly underrepresented in the STEM fields due to several barriers that the region must necessarily remove to reach its full socio-economic development potential, argues the CEO of the African [...]
Les scientifiques du Next Einstein Forum se lancent dans la lutte contre le COVID-19
June 11, 2020 | Africa, Healthcare, News, News Articles, Newsroom, Science
PAR YOUSSEF TRAVALY, VICE-PRÉSIDENT DU NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM DANS FINANCIAL AFRIK Le Covid-19 éprouve les pays africains dans leur capacité de gestion pandémique, leur maîtrise des impacts socio-économiques, la robustesse de leurs systèmes de soins de santé et de leurs réponses politiques. Cependant, qu’en est-il des scientifiques africains ? Comment s’organisent-ils pour répondre de manière [...]
Learning from the best: Evaluating COVID-19 responses and what Africa can learn
June 9, 2020 | Africa, Feat Articles, Highlight, News, Policy, Science
A Next Einstein Forum opinion paper Since the first case of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), was detected in Wuhan, China, towards the end of 2019, and declared a global pandemic on 11 March by the World Health Organization, attention has now turned to how countries have responded. The magnitude of the resultant shock from COVID-19 [...]
Read More... from Learning from the best: Evaluating COVID-19 responses and what Africa can learn
Intelligent farming: An AI opportunity in Africa (Youssef Travaly, Vice-President of NEF, in Ressources Magazine)
June 8, 2020 | Africa, Feat Articles, Innovation, News, News Articles, Newsroom, Technology
BY DR. YOUSSEF TRAVALY VICE-PRESIDENT – NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM AND KEVIN MUVUNYI RESEARCH OFFICER – NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM The Fourth Industrial Revolution will transform our lives in unprecedented ways. This revolution, which is characterised by the confluence of digital, physical, and biological systems, is slowly disrupting and redefining value chains across a multitude of industries, [...]
L’intelligence artificielle, une opportunité pour le secteur agricole africain (Youssef Travaly, Vice-président du NEF, dans Ressources Magazine)
| Feat Articles, Innovation, News, News Articles, Newsroom, Technology
PAR YOUSSEF TRAVALY, VICE-PRÉSIDENT DU NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM ET KEVIN MUVUNY, CHERCHEUR AU NEXT EINSTEIN FORUM La 4e révolution industrielle va fondamentalement changer nos vies. Caractérisée par la confluence des systèmes numériques, physiques et biologiques, elle perturbe et révolutionne progressivement les chaînes de valeur de multiples secteurs, notamment par le biais de l’intelligence artificielle (IA). Dans [...]
Can COVID Organics win the battle over SARS-CoV-2 infections?
May 13, 2020 | Africa, Blog, Feat Articles, Fellows, Healthcare, Highlight, News, News Articles, Science
by Dr Vidushi Neergheen* Ever since the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, announced holding the cure against COVID 19 on 20 April 2020, there has been an upsurge of support for this herbal concoction named COVID organics from many African countries. The drug developed as a herbal tea by the Malagasy [...]
Read More... from Can COVID Organics win the battle over SARS-CoV-2 infections?
Coronavirus (COVID-19)-induced re-imagination: 7 things we knew, but “could do nothing about”…until we could…and did
April 20, 2020 | Africa, Feat Articles, Fellows, Healthcare, Highlight, News, News Articles, Science
by Prof. Tolu Oni* One thing is clear: we can’t avert a next pandemic with the same logic and systems that got us to this point. In addition to emergency responses to reduce transmission needed to end the pandemic, I have previously written about the need for emergency foresight in the midst of crises. This [...]
Supplies to vulnerable communities and protection of health workers, as Africa battles COVID-19
April 3, 2020 | Africa, Feat Articles, Fellows, Highlight, News
by Sara Suliman and Fatoumatta Darboe* COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) has become a household name for the disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV2), which has rapidly become a global epidemic crisis. SARS-CoV2 infections have been slow to enter Africa, potentially as a result of early travel restrictions imposed by multiple African countries. [...]
R&D en Afrique : une approche panafricaine s’impose pour remédier à la faiblesse des financements (Youssef Travaly, NEF)
March 13, 2020 | Africa, Highlight, News, Science, Uncategorized
Dépêche N°622703 Par Anne ROY Lundi 09 mars 2020, 18:04:00 Toute reproduction ou transmission de cette dépêche est strictement interdite, sauf accord formel d’AEF Lancé en 2013 à l’initiative de l’African institute for mathematical sciences et la fondation Robert Bosch Stiftung, le Next Einstein Forum est une plate-forme qui entend connecter science, société et politique [...]
Le Next Esintein Forum dévoile les 25 meilleurs innovateurs qui entreront en compétition lors Rassemblement international à Nairobi
February 24, 2020 | Africa, Feat Articles, Highlight, Innovation, News, Press Releases, STEM
KIGALI, Rwanda, le 25 février 2020 – Le NEF dévoile aujourd’hui sa liste des 25 finalistes pour son concours de l’Invention à l’Innovation (Ci2i) dans 5 catégories qui aura lieu durant le Salon de l’innovation les 10 et 11 mars 2020 prochain. Sélectionnés parmi plus de 260 candidatures, cette troisième cohorte de finalistes du Ci2i [...]
Next Einstein Forum unveils top 25 innovators to compete at global gathering in Nairobi
| Africa, Highlight, Innovation, News, Press Releases, Science, STEM, Technology
KIGALI, Rwanda, 25 February 2020 – Today, the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) announces the 25 finalists for its Challenge of Invention to Innovation (Ci2i) competition in five categories to be held on 10-11 March 2020 in the NEF Innovation Salon. “The third cohort of Ci2i finalists, selected from 260 applications, are ambitious African innovators developing [...]
Seven reasons to attend Next Einstein Forum Global Gatherings
January 27, 2020 | Africa, Highlight, News, News Articles, Newsroom
The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Global Gatherings is a space like no other! We focus on creating a collaborative environment for young innovators and great scientific minds to come together with the singular goal of propelling Africa as a global scientific hub. The Global Gathering is the largest science and innovation gathering on the continent. [...]
Read More... from Seven reasons to attend Next Einstein Forum Global Gatherings
Les nouveaux ambassadeurs du Next Einstein Forum vont faire évoluer la façon dont la science et la technologie sont perçues en Afrique
December 2, 2019 | Africa, Ambassadors, Blog, News, Press Releases, STEM
KIGALI, Rwanda, le 2 décembre 2019,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- Aujourd’hui, le Next Einstein Forum (NEF) – Forum du Prochain Einstein – annonce sa nouvelle promotion d’ambassadeurs, la troisième cohorte de jeunes figures brillantes des sciences et des technologies de toute l’Afrique. Les ambassadeurs, un par pays africain, dirigeront les activités d’engagement du public afin d’encourager l’enseignement, [...]
@NextEinsteinFor
NEF on Flickr
NEF Community of Scientists Annual Meeting- Day3
English 
French