UK-Africa Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute in Mathematical Sciences (UK-APASI)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Abstract
The research consortium between, the UK, Africa and other interested partners seeks to provide innovative mathematical solutions to fundamental global problems and questions faced by the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region (Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe).
The statistics are overwhelmingly clear:
(i) The top five killer-diseases in Africa are HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory tract infections including Tuberculosis, diarrhoea diseases (linked to water borne diseases and poor sanitation), malaria and strokes;
(ii) Despite significant investments, crime activities (murder, sexual offences, assault, robbery, hijacking of cars, etc.) in Southern Africa, particularly in South Africa, continue to be of national and international concern;
(iii) Governments and National Parks across SSA are faced with significant challenges in designing efficient methods for wild-life management and conservation;
(iv) Almost 80 percent of faculty staff in Departments of Mathematics at Universities across SSA hold at most a Masters degree and in some cases, many senior faculty staff members do not possess a PhD. The figures are astonishingly depressing particularly for Historically Disadvantaged Institutions.
Our mission is to offer alternative research-led quantitative solutions to these global challenges by carrying out interdisciplinary and inter-institutionally research in mathematical sciences focusing on six key research strands:
(1) Infectious Tropical Diseases: Towards disease control policies supported by scientific evidence theory; (2) Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems: From data to models and back; (3) Numerical Analysis and High Performance Scientific Computing; (4) Crime Modelling in Sub-Saharan Africa; (5) Mathematics for Public Policy and (6) Statistical Methods for Data Analysis, Model and Parameter Estimation. Outcomes of our programme include (i) innovative quantitative solutions based on rigorous mathematical theories, (ii) training of a new generation of young African scientists agile and competent in skills for model building, validation, interpretation, and communicating modelling results to policy makers, and (iii) influence government and non-governmental organisations through rigorously tested scientific methods and solutions.
The mode for delivery of these research activities is through one Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute in Mathematical Sciences and two intensive Workshop Series aimed at training the future leaders of Africa on the latest state-of-the-art mathematical, numerical and statistical methods that allow them to derive new models from data, carry out rigorous mathematical and numerical analysis and then to complete the full research cycle, fit the models and parameters to data by use of rigorous statistical methods. This allows the researchers to select from a wide range of models based on different biological assumptions and their mathematical translations, the best model that fits data and be able to carry out parameter estimation under these conditions.
We will partner with the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) and MASAMU program to deliver our research and pedagogical activities (see letters of support from both). SAMSA represents over 40 Universities across SSA and hosts an annual conference to which many of the SSA researchers are in attendance. One of the postgraduate advanced study institute and workshop will revolve around the SAMSA annual conference in order to reach a wider community beyond that supported by this proposal. The MASAMU program, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation for USA faculty staff only, will complement our research and training activities.
The statistics are overwhelmingly clear:
(i) The top five killer-diseases in Africa are HIV/AIDS, lower respiratory tract infections including Tuberculosis, diarrhoea diseases (linked to water borne diseases and poor sanitation), malaria and strokes;
(ii) Despite significant investments, crime activities (murder, sexual offences, assault, robbery, hijacking of cars, etc.) in Southern Africa, particularly in South Africa, continue to be of national and international concern;
(iii) Governments and National Parks across SSA are faced with significant challenges in designing efficient methods for wild-life management and conservation;
(iv) Almost 80 percent of faculty staff in Departments of Mathematics at Universities across SSA hold at most a Masters degree and in some cases, many senior faculty staff members do not possess a PhD. The figures are astonishingly depressing particularly for Historically Disadvantaged Institutions.
Our mission is to offer alternative research-led quantitative solutions to these global challenges by carrying out interdisciplinary and inter-institutionally research in mathematical sciences focusing on six key research strands:
(1) Infectious Tropical Diseases: Towards disease control policies supported by scientific evidence theory; (2) Mathematical Modelling of Biological Systems: From data to models and back; (3) Numerical Analysis and High Performance Scientific Computing; (4) Crime Modelling in Sub-Saharan Africa; (5) Mathematics for Public Policy and (6) Statistical Methods for Data Analysis, Model and Parameter Estimation. Outcomes of our programme include (i) innovative quantitative solutions based on rigorous mathematical theories, (ii) training of a new generation of young African scientists agile and competent in skills for model building, validation, interpretation, and communicating modelling results to policy makers, and (iii) influence government and non-governmental organisations through rigorously tested scientific methods and solutions.
The mode for delivery of these research activities is through one Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute in Mathematical Sciences and two intensive Workshop Series aimed at training the future leaders of Africa on the latest state-of-the-art mathematical, numerical and statistical methods that allow them to derive new models from data, carry out rigorous mathematical and numerical analysis and then to complete the full research cycle, fit the models and parameters to data by use of rigorous statistical methods. This allows the researchers to select from a wide range of models based on different biological assumptions and their mathematical translations, the best model that fits data and be able to carry out parameter estimation under these conditions.
We will partner with the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) and MASAMU program to deliver our research and pedagogical activities (see letters of support from both). SAMSA represents over 40 Universities across SSA and hosts an annual conference to which many of the SSA researchers are in attendance. One of the postgraduate advanced study institute and workshop will revolve around the SAMSA annual conference in order to reach a wider community beyond that supported by this proposal. The MASAMU program, funded primarily by the National Science Foundation for USA faculty staff only, will complement our research and training activities.
Planned Impact
Our vision and motivation is to increase postgraduate capacity development and the quality of mathematics training in the Sub-Saharan Africa Universities and therefore our programme will focus on four key areas: Research, Education, Training and Collaborative Networking in Mathematical Sciences. An immediate impact is that we will increase the number of academics with Masters and PhDs in Mathematics in the ODA countries. In addition, the project will build capacity to offer postgraduate taught courses (e.g. taught Masters Program) which are not currently offered due to lack of qualified and experienced staff. Hence, this collaborative project will promote collaboration between South African academics and their counterparts in the UK with the potential to generate several impact cases through this training network: Impact cases include:
(1) Early career fellows and young faculty staff members from the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region will be trained in mathematical sciences through our Summer School, Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute and Workshop Series in mathematical sciences and their training will be put into practice through downstream training of masters and undergraduate students in mathematics when they return to their respective institutions. For example, the Department of Mathematics at the University of Limpopo in South Africa has 36 staff members of which only eight are PhD holders. Approximately 16 Staff members possess a Masters degree and 14 staff members are doing their Masters degree. A similar story at the University of Zimbabwe out of the 20 staff members in the Department of Mathematics, only 10 are Phd holders, 9 hold a Masters degree and 3 staff members are pursuing PhD studies. Therefore, this new generation of highly trained researchers will be highly sought after in Applied Mathematics in positions with their respective Universities or in government and non-governmental organisations. The expectation is that these will become the future leaders in mathematical sciences applied to real-life problems of significant importance to their countries.
(2) Ministries of Health, Law and Justice, Wildlife Management and Conservation will adopt quantitative solutions to make appropriate policies that could benefit their countries as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa region. New insights will be gained on infections disease transmissions, dealing with emergent new diseases, crime management, policing guided by mathematics, wild-life management and conservation, etc.
(3) Our research outcomes will impact knowledge transfer and exchange through international collaborations between the UK and SSA academics, pedagogical material will be made available to our African counter-parts, and algorithms and software packages will be offered to participants free of charge.
(4) The outcomes of our proposal will impact on economic growth in ODA countries (Sub-Saharan Africa region) as well as the UK economic growth. We will empower African researchers with employable and transferable skills ranging from modelling, analytical, numerical and computational skills as well as the ability to make informed policies. Employment opportunities include academic positions as well as in governmental and non-governmental organisations where their skills are most required.
(1) Early career fellows and young faculty staff members from the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region will be trained in mathematical sciences through our Summer School, Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute and Workshop Series in mathematical sciences and their training will be put into practice through downstream training of masters and undergraduate students in mathematics when they return to their respective institutions. For example, the Department of Mathematics at the University of Limpopo in South Africa has 36 staff members of which only eight are PhD holders. Approximately 16 Staff members possess a Masters degree and 14 staff members are doing their Masters degree. A similar story at the University of Zimbabwe out of the 20 staff members in the Department of Mathematics, only 10 are Phd holders, 9 hold a Masters degree and 3 staff members are pursuing PhD studies. Therefore, this new generation of highly trained researchers will be highly sought after in Applied Mathematics in positions with their respective Universities or in government and non-governmental organisations. The expectation is that these will become the future leaders in mathematical sciences applied to real-life problems of significant importance to their countries.
(2) Ministries of Health, Law and Justice, Wildlife Management and Conservation will adopt quantitative solutions to make appropriate policies that could benefit their countries as well as the Sub-Saharan Africa region. New insights will be gained on infections disease transmissions, dealing with emergent new diseases, crime management, policing guided by mathematics, wild-life management and conservation, etc.
(3) Our research outcomes will impact knowledge transfer and exchange through international collaborations between the UK and SSA academics, pedagogical material will be made available to our African counter-parts, and algorithms and software packages will be offered to participants free of charge.
(4) The outcomes of our proposal will impact on economic growth in ODA countries (Sub-Saharan Africa region) as well as the UK economic growth. We will empower African researchers with employable and transferable skills ranging from modelling, analytical, numerical and computational skills as well as the ability to make informed policies. Employment opportunities include academic positions as well as in governmental and non-governmental organisations where their skills are most required.
Organisations
- University of Sussex (Lead Research Organisation)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- COVENTRY UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- The Botswana International University of Science & Technology (Collaboration)
- International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (Collaboration)
- University of Swaziland (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG (Collaboration)
- Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) (Collaboration)
- University of Zimbabwe (Collaboration)
- University of Bath (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA (Collaboration)
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) (Collaboration)
- University of Limpopo (Collaboration)
- University of Johannesburg (Project Partner)
- University of Botswana (Project Partner)
- Southern Africa Mathematical Sci Assoc. (Project Partner)
Publications
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Yigit G
(2024)
A domain-dependent stability analysis of reaction-diffusion systems with linear cross-diffusion on circular domains
in Nonlinear Analysis: Real World Applications
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Van Yperen, J.
(2023)
A hospital demand and capacity intervention approach for COVID-19
in PLoS One
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Van Yperen J
(2023)
A hospital demand and capacity intervention approach for COVID-19.
in PloS one
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Sfakianakis N
(2020)
A Hybrid Multiscale Model for Cancer Invasion of the Extracellular Matrix
in Multiscale Modeling & Simulation
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Juma V
(2022)
A mathematical analysis of an activator-inhibitor Rho GTPase model
in Journal of Computational Dynamics
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Mapfumo K
(2022)
A Model for the Proliferation-Quiescence Transition in Human Cells
in Mathematics
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Mapfumo K
(2022)
A Model for the Proliferation-Quiescence Transition in Human Cells
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Murphy L
(2020)
A moving grid finite element method applied to a mechanobiochemical model for 3D cell migration
in Applied Numerical Mathematics
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Al-Hity G
(2021)
An integrated framework for quantifying immune-tumour interactions in a 3D co-culture model.
in Communications biology
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Frittelli M
(2021)
Bulk-surface virtual element method for systems of PDEs in two-space dimensions
in Numerische Mathematik
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Zhang J
(2020)
Characterizing the Effects of Self- and Cross-Diffusion on Stationary Patterns of a Predator-Prey System
in International Journal of Bifurcation and Chaos
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Ford E
(2022)
Co-creating a social licence for using novel linked datasets for planning and research in Kent, Surrey and Sussex: results of deliberative focus groups and a creative workshop.
in International Journal of Population Data Science
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Naik P
(2022)
Complex dynamics of a discrete-time seasonally forced SIR epidemic model
in Mathematical Methods in the Applied Sciences
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Malinzi, J.
COVID-19 transmission dynamics and the impact of vaccination: Modelling, analysis and simulations
in Royal Society Open Science
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Malinzi J
(2023)
COVID-19 transmission dynamics and the impact of vaccination: modelling, analysis and simulations.
in Royal Society open science
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Kavallaris N
(2020)
Dynamics of Shadow System of a Singular Gierer-Meinhardt System on an Evolving Domain
in Journal of Nonlinear Science
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Johnston N
(2022)
Exploring a novel linked dataset and building linked data analytics skills in Public Health Intelligence teams in Sussex.
in International Journal of Population Data Science
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Yang F
(2022)
Force Estimation during Cell Migration Using Mathematical Modelling.
in Journal of imaging
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Madzvamuse A
(2022)
How is mathematics applied to real world problems?
in Futurum Careers
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Madzvamuse A
(2020)
Integrating Actin and Myosin II in a Viscous Model for Cell Migration
in Frontiers in Applied Mathematics and Statistics
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Yang FW
(2020)
Investigating Optimal Time Step Intervals of Imaging for Data Quality through a Novel Fully-Automated Cell Tracking Approach.
in Journal of imaging
Description | The UK-Africa Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute in Mathematical Sciences (UK-APASI) is a capacity building initiative that seeks to strengthen mathematics in Sub-Saharan Africa by training early career fellows and young faculty in the areas of Applied Mathematics. The UK-APASI programme kick-started at the onset of the pandemic, as a result, the mechanisms for delivery of the programme's aims and objectives changed completely. The UK-APASI programme was meant to start 1st April 2020 but due to the pandemic, with all countries under lockdown, we approached the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) in Edinburgh to provide the programme with robust, efficient and highly organised regularly research and training workshops. For specific details on the workshops and the material delivered, please see https://www.icms.org.uk/workshops/2022/uk-apasi-mathematical-sciences. Recordings of some of the lectures can be found on the site as well. In collaboration with the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA), a regional organisation representing universities across Sub-Saharan Africa, and the ICMS, the UK-APASI delivered postgraduate advanced study institutes, through online workshops, all held virtually at the ICMS and one workshop through the USA-UK-Africa MASAMU Programme (from 19 - 29 November, 2021, virtually online). The programme hosted ten (10) postgraduate advanced study institutes from December 2020 to March 2022. These institutes were a mixture of postgraduate advanced lectures in Applied Mathematics (including modelling, analysis, numerical analysis, computing, statistics, etc) and research-intensive groups on various topics in Applied Mathematics in Africa. Research projects involved modelling infectious diseases (eg. COVID-19, malaria, TB, HIV, etc), cellular biology (cell motility and cell migration), pattern formation (e.g. reaction-diffusion systems on evolving biological surfaces), mathematical analysis, numerical analysis and algorithm development and crime modelling. Early career mentors from the USA, UK and Europe played a pivotal role in bridging the gap between senior faculty members and the masters and phd students from Africa. They also acted as ambassadors for mathematics by sharing expertise and good practice on how best to undertake research degrees (MSc, MPhil, PhD). Since We have scheduled four more workshops running monthly until end of June and then we will re-evaluate the programme to see if we can host an in-person event in Africa. All workshops are hosted virtually online and that has meant reducing the number of days per workshop to a maximum of three days. This decision was based on previous experiences of hosting virtual workshops in Mathematical Sciences. Research collaborative projects have been initiated involving COVID-19 in Nigeria and South Africa, modelling malaria in Nigeria, crime modelling in South Africa, modelling cell migration with collaborators in Botswana and mathematical analysis and simulations of coupled bulk-surface partial differentials equations with collaborators in Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Several papers have been submitted for publication and most of these are under consideration. For example, one of the COVID-19 modelling group submitted a manuscript entitled 'COVID-19 transmission dynamics and the impact of vaccination: Modelling, analysis and simulations' to a journal for possible publication. The authors of the manuscript are Joseph Malinzi, Victor Ogesa Juma , Chinwendu Emilian Madubueze, John Mwaonanji , Godwin Nwachukwu Nkem, Elias Mwakilama, Tinashe Victor Mupedza, Vincent Nandwa Chiteri, Shaibu Osman, Tawanda Matthew Mazikana, Emmanuel Afolabi Bakare, Isabel Linda-Zulu Moyo, Pretty Cynthia Nyalala, Eduard Campillo-Funollet, Farai Nyabadza and Anotida Madzvamuse. Similar publications are currently under review. |
Exploitation Route | UK-APASI outcomes include delivery of advanced postgraduate lectures which have been recorded and can be accessed through the ICMS servers. These lectures are freely available, ranging from data-driven modelling, analysis, numerical analysis, simulations and applications. Topics covered include infectious diseases (COVID-19 featured prominently), pattern formation, cancer biology, ecology, finance, and crime and subsistence-abuse modelling. Lectures were delivered by faculty members from the UK, USA, Canada, Europe and Africa. Plenary talks were also delivered, one per workshop and these can also be accessed and used by others. All this material can be taken and be used by universities in the UK and Africa where masters or phd students can view and listen to these advanced lectures in Applied Mathematics. The outcomes are being used by many early career fellows in Africa to advance their research in epidemiology and infectious diseases. |
Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Education,Environment,Financial Services, and Management Consultancy,Healthcare |
URL | https://www.icms.org.uk/events/workshops/UKAPASI |
Description | Training of early career fellows in Sub-Saharan Africa will enhance the fellows' career pathways and choices. Many of these are contributing to their home countries' human infrastructure development which leads directly to economic contributions to through job creation, education and research. We have trained and supervised between 35-40 UK early career researchers per workshop for 10 workshops, over a period of one and half years. Many of these have since graduated with Masters in Mathematics, 10 in Eswatini, 3 in South Africa, 2 in Botswana 8 in Zimbabwe, 1 in Mozambique and 2 in Kenya. The rest of the participants are either enrolled for a PhD or are early career faculty members. Similarly, a number of UK-APASI participants graduate successfully with a PhD, 2 at the Botswana University of Science and Technology in Botswana, and 1 at the National University of Science and Technology in Zimbabwe. Here is a narrative from QUEENSLEY CHIDIMMA CHUKWUDUM; PHD , one of the UK-APASI early career fellow The UK-Africa Postgraduate Advanced Study Institute (UK-APASI) workshop series for my cohort, began in December 2020 and wrapped up in March 2022. This was a great learning curve for me as an early-career researcher. Aside from the academic perspective, I learnt about the value of rigour, excellence, personal development, international research collaborations and reciprocating, selflessly, the same gesture within my community. My communications with Professor Anotida Madzvamuse, brought to fore the need for compassion and care. His light enlightened my path and all these gifts have directly and indirectly positively impacted my progress since then. In terms of academia, I have co-authored two papers that are now under peer review. These are papers from the UK-APASI crime modelling and financial mathematics groups. Although the latter group was not fully active during the program, we made it a point of duty to finish what we had started. Additionally, we (in the crime modelling group) further developed a research proposal on cholera modelling and submitted it to the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) for funding. UK-APASI works closely with the Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA). In the spirit of international research collaborations and giving back to my community, I voluntary accepted to be the Chair of the Insurance and Climate Pan African research group, which established under the MASAMU program in November 2020. It comprises 15 scholars (5 PhD students, 6 doctorate degree holders and 4 professors) from 13 universities in Africa. The major purpose of the research group is to build local capacity and promote colearning among postgraduate level and early to advanced career researchers in financial and insurance mathematics. It also seeks to develop and harness the knowledge and expertise of local mathematicians in agriculture-related risk management studies in Africa, with a focus on the presence of climate variability and the hedging of its adverse impact using weather derivatives. This research group is based solely on voluntary collaboration, as it receives no funding. We presented two conference papers in 2022. My duty as the coordinator of the UK-APASI Nigerian students allowed me to gain insights on finance distribution and financial reporting in real-time. I also experienced, firsthand, the dire problems we face as African students because of the lack of funds. This motivated me to lend my voice in aiding to raise funds for African mathematicians and statisticians. The GoFundMe account (https://gofund.me/2bfbcd90) and appeal call published in the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) bulletin, serve as a testament. The level of excellence I experienced during the UK-APASI training series also strengthened my ability to apply for grants. It heightened my level of confidence. Since then, two grant applications from the London Mathematical Society, UK and the International Mathematical Union, Germany, have been successful. Further, my proposal on modelling the compound climatic normal conditions in Africa and India was accepted by the Casualty Actuarial Society, US. These accomplishments and more, as detailed below, indicate that the UK-APASI program provides farreaching benefits that last a lifetime. It is definitely a critical learning component for early-career African mathematicians and statisticians. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Education,Healthcare |
Impact Types | Societal,Economic |
Description | COVID-19 Modelling and data analytics for NHS decision making and forecasting |
Amount | £190,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Brighton & Hove City Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 07/2023 |
Description | Large application incentives fund: Novel approaches to uncertainty quantification in compartmental models |
Amount | £3,140 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Kent |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 02/2022 |
Description | Machine Learning Training for Length of Stay Project: Predicting Length of Stay on NHS Mental Health Adult Inpatient Wards Using Machine Learning |
Amount | £53,763 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Piddle: 10316 |
Organisation | Health Foundation |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 01/2022 |
Description | NERC DH: Flooding mitigation |
Amount | £21,272 (GBP) |
Funding ID | G3479 |
Organisation | University of Sussex |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2022 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | University Capacity Development Programme (UCDP) Collaborative Project Proposal for Phase 2 of the University Staff Doctoral Programme (USDP): Building Capacity in Applied Mathematics (USDP-BCAM), |
Amount | R6,250,000 (ZAR) |
Organisation | British Council |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2026 |
Description | Unlocking data to inform public health policy and practice: Exploring barriers and creating solutions for public health intelligence using integrated datasets across Kent, Sussex and Surrey (KSS) |
Amount | £177,974 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NIHR133761 |
Organisation | National Institute for Health Research |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2021 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Botswana: UK-APASI Sub-Saharan African Country Partner |
Organisation | The Botswana International University of Science & Technology |
Country | Botswana |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Development of research collaborations with faculty and students at BIUST 2. Co-delivery of training and postgraduate advanced lectures |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Organisation of UK-APASI participants in Botswana 2. Provision of internet facilities for participants from Botswana |
Impact | Too early |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Eswatini: UK-APASI Sub-Saharan African Country Partner |
Organisation | University of Swaziland |
Country | Swaziland |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Collaborative research with faculty and students from Eswatini 2. Mentoring of junior faculty and early career fellows from Eswatini in mathematical sciences |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Organisation of all UK-APASI participants from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) 2. Provision of internet facilities to participants from Eswatini |
Impact | Too early |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | International Centre for Mathematical Sciences: UK-APASI Oline Virtual Workshop Series |
Organisation | International Centre for Mathematical Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Our collaborative network of scientists and academicians has provided the ICMS with novel ideas on how to carry out online workshops involving international partners from Africa. The challenges and lessons learnt have been passed on to the ICMS, thereby enriching their expertise in running workshops of this nature. For example, how to support participants who have internet challenges that require financial support. By identifying leaders from African countries and working closely with them, the UK-APASI team has been able to support participants secure reliable internet access and bandwidth which is crucial to participate in the online workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The ICMS had supported the UK-APASI programme by hosting all our online workshops starting in December 2020 on a monthly basis. The value of this contribution can not be measured in monetary terms, it has been a priceless contributions, without their support, the UK-APASI programme would have been much more difficult to implement, manage and deliver on the objectives. We are on track to fulfil our aims and objectives largely due to the role played by the ICMS. |
Impact | 1. Delivery of four workshops all held by the ICMS. 2. Pre-recording of lectures that are uploaded onto ICMS website 3. Live-recording of lectures and plenary talks that are hosted by the ICMS website 4. Reliable data management of participants and lecturers |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | International Centre for Mathematical Sciences: UK-APASI Oline Virtual Workshop Series |
Organisation | International Centre for Mathematical Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Our collaborative network of scientists and academicians has provided the ICMS with novel ideas on how to carry out online workshops involving international partners from Africa. The challenges and lessons learnt have been passed on to the ICMS, thereby enriching their expertise in running workshops of this nature. For example, how to support participants who have internet challenges that require financial support. By identifying leaders from African countries and working closely with them, the UK-APASI team has been able to support participants secure reliable internet access and bandwidth which is crucial to participate in the online workshops. |
Collaborator Contribution | The ICMS had supported the UK-APASI programme by hosting all our online workshops starting in December 2020 on a monthly basis. The value of this contribution can not be measured in monetary terms, it has been a priceless contributions, without their support, the UK-APASI programme would have been much more difficult to implement, manage and deliver on the objectives. We are on track to fulfil our aims and objectives largely due to the role played by the ICMS. |
Impact | 1. Delivery of four workshops all held by the ICMS. 2. Pre-recording of lectures that are uploaded onto ICMS website 3. Live-recording of lectures and plenary talks that are hosted by the ICMS website 4. Reliable data management of participants and lecturers |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | South Africa: UK-APASI Sub-Saharan African Country Partner |
Organisation | University of Johannesburg |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Development of collaborative research with faculty and students from the University of Johannesburg 2. Mentoring of junior faculty and early career fellows in mathematical sciences |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Organisation of all UK-APASI participants from South Africa 2. Provision of internet facilities for participants in South Africa |
Impact | Too early |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Diseases |
Organisation | London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Development of collaborative research between partners 2. Joint research grant applications |
Collaborator Contribution | 1 Delivery of UK-APASI lectures 2. Mentoring of African researchers in Mathematical Sciences |
Impact | Too early |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | UK-SAMSA partnership |
Organisation | Southern Africa Mathematical Sciences Association (SAMSA) |
Country | Botswana |
Sector | Learned Society |
PI Contribution | SAMSA has played a pivotal role in helping me deliver training and mentorship of early career research fellows in Africa by helping with recruitment of fellows in Africa as well as costs associated with advertising annual workshops across the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region. My collaboration with SAMSA started in 2010 when SAMSA and the University of Sussex signed a memorandum of understanding to support research and training activities between UK and SSA. I was instrumental in designing and delivering the MoU. |
Collaborator Contribution | SAMSA has been a valuable partner, it represents more than 50 universities across SSA allowing us direct access to students and faculty in mathematical sciences. |
Impact | 1. Co-organising the UK-APASI workshops at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh 2, Co-organising the USA-UK-Masamu programme in November 2020 (virtual conference online). |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University College London |
Organisation | University College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Joint research grant applications 2. |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Delivery of UK-APASI workshop series and their lectures 2. Mentoring of African Researchers in Mathematical Sciences |
Impact | See research publications |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University of Bath |
Organisation | University of Bath |
Department | Department of Mathematical Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The University of Bath is a partner in the UK-APASI consortium. |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Co-delivering of lectures in epidemiology/infectious diseases 2. Research co-supervision through the USA-UK-Masamu programme |
Impact | 1. Training of early career fellows from Sub-Saharan Africa in Mathematical Sciences 2. Research co-supervision of early career fellows from the SSA region in Mathematical Sciences |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University of Coventry |
Organisation | Coventry University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | 1. Development of joint grant applications 2. Provision of postgraduate lectures to UK-APASI workshop series |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Delivery of online postgraduate advanced lectures 2. Mentoring of African researchers in Mathematical Sciences |
Impact | Too early |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University of LImpopo |
Organisation | University of Limpopo |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I have established a formal agreement between the University of Sussex and the University of Limpopo whereby we have secured 6.25 million South African Rands to establish a 5-year Staff Development Doctoral Training Centre at the University of Limpopo in Applied Mathematics. The funding is from the Newton Fund, administered by the British Council and the Department of Higher Education & Training in South Africa. Through this collaboration, we have created a UNIVERSITY CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UCDP) COLLABORATIVE PROJECT PROPOSAL for the UNIVERSITY STAFF DOCTORAL PROGRAMME (USDP). The programme enrolled 10-PhD students from across various universities, these students are already employed by these universities as lecturers, even though they do not hold PhDs. Our aim is to upskill them by training them in applied mathematics enroute to a PhD award. The Universities of Limpopo (SA), Sussex (UK), Leicester (UK), Stellenbosch (SA), Johannesburg (SA), Bath (UK), London School of Economics (UK), Vaal University of Technology (SA), the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS-SA), Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and Warsaw School of Economics (Poland) have established a multi-lateral collaboration under the theme University Staff Doctoral Programme: Building Capacity in Applied Mathematics (USDP-NCAM) that seek to train academic staff at South African institutions to acquire doctoral qualifications which will in turn increase the number of permanent academics with PhDs while also building supervisory capacity in postgraduate programs. The project seeks to respond to the National Development Plan which states that by 2030, 75% of university academic staff should hold PhDs (National Planning Commission, 2013, p.267). The collaboration brings together expertise in different field in Applied Mathematics and is tailored to meet the needs of South Africa. Hence, the project aims to increase graduate capacity development and the quality of mathematics training in South African Universities. The programme will focus on four key important areas: Research, Education, Training and Collaborative Networking in Applied Mathematics with the aim of increasing the number of academics with PhDs in Mathematics in South African Universities. Scientific interests The Doctoral program is in diverse areas of Applied Mathematics that include: Mathematical modelling (disease modelling, crime dynamics), Mathematics of Finance, Ecological modelling, Cell morphology, motility and pattern formation (including applications to cell migration), and public health policy models. The objectives of the USDP-BCAM are: To increase the number of academic staff holding doctoral qualifications in Applied Mathematics To establish a multi-lateral collaboration to establish a brand-new University Staff Doctoral Programme in Applied Mathematics To develop and establish a postgraduate doctoral training centre in Applied Mathematics To equip academic staff with non-scientific skills that are relevant to research, mentorship and career development To develop scientific skills for public engagement and dissemination that include Proposal writing Presentations (seminars, conferences) Thesis writing To publish an academic book with selected works from the PhDs and the consortium on PhD research topics in Applied Mathematics. |
Collaborator Contribution | My partners have contributed with financial and human resources to manage and supervise the 10 PhD students. Given the current pandemic, all supervision meetings are taking place remotely. |
Impact | 1. Enrolment of 10 PhD students 2. Two postgraduate advanced study institutes in Applied Mathematics already hosted (one of them through the UK-APASI programme) 3. This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | University of Pretoria |
Organisation | University of Pretoria |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Through the UK-APASI programme, I have established a research collaboration with Professor Michael Chapwanya at the University of Pretoria and I am co-supervising one PhD student in Applied Mathematics |
Collaborator Contribution | - Research collaboration on partial differential equations coupling the molecular interactions between the cytosol and cortex. - PhD supervision - Capacity building and training |
Impact | No outputs yet since the collaboration started late 2021. |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Zimbabwe: UK-APASI Sub-Saharan African Country Partner |
Organisation | University of Zimbabwe |
Country | Zimbabwe |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The University of Zimbabwe is one of the Sub-Saharan African country that is a partner in the UK-APASI programme. |
Collaborator Contribution | 1. Organisation of UK-APASI participants who are resident in Zimbabwe 2. Provision of online facilities to participants |
Impact | Too early to say. |
Start Year | 2020 |