Knowledgeable scientific experts will tell you all, the continent is facing a significant emigration of qualified young people. Thus, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “People from sub-Saharan Africa in OECD countries could reach some 34 million by 2050.” image of Mouhamed Moustapha Fall, have decided to go the opposite way with the objective of promoting African science from the continent. A return in 2013 to the country of Teranga which was punctuated by the start of a collaboration with the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) of which he became, in 2019, the president of the center located in Senegal. Within this institution, he carried out work in fields of study such as differential geometry and partial differential equations which are today recognized on the international scene. This is evidenced by his recent nomination as the winner of the prestigious 2022 Ramanujan Prize for young mathematicians from developing countries, of which he is only the second African to have won. In Dakar, he confided in Point Afrique to paint an inventory of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stim) sectors in Africa.
Le Point Afrique: You are one of the few people from the continent to be honored by the International Center for Theoretical Physics. What was your research work that enabled you to receive the Ramanujan Prize 2022?
Mouhamed Moustapha Fall: It is difficult for me to identify the parts of my research results that motivated peers to nominate me for this prestigious award, because the selection committee has its own selection criteria. I can only say that my work is about geometric analysis: a combination of geometry and partial differential equations (PDEs). I would also like to point out that PDEs are very widespread in the modeling of natural phenomena up to the sub-atomic world. I think I have made quite colossal contributions in this branch of research. In addition, the selection committee also praised my work for the advancement of science in Africa.
Speaking precisely of mathematics, what is your assessment of this sector on the continent?
Unfortunately, the situation in this area is not very good in Africa. For good reason, they have always been perceived as a difficult subject, reserved for geniuses because of its previous history, mainly because of the very theoretical teaching approach. This classic pedagogy made mathematics very complex and difficult to understand for students.
His teaching is not yet practical enough and linked to everyday realities. To make this sector relevant in the contemporary world, it is no longer a question of getting students to memorize the formulas, but of bringing the formulas back to daily realities. How to use mathematics in market gardens, or even in the activities of small and medium enterprises? These are the questions that must be addressed in the use of calculations and statistics.
How to change the game?
In this context, a reform of primary and secondary education is essential. We must adapt it to the current world, very advanced in information and communication technologies (ICT), where children live. We need to specialize students very early on by exposing them more to users of mathematical sciences in laboratories, companies, banks, because they spend far too much time in the classroom, copying formulas of which they do not understand the usefulness ! Thus, at AIMS, some of our training programs are set up in collaboration with companies specializing in big data, artificial intelligence or computer security. This gives an advantage to our students who are generally recruited a few months after their training. We are convinced that by making mathematics practical, we will create a new perception and a new passion among talented young Africans to contribute to the development of the continent through Stim.
For now, African science and mathematics students largely train and work abroad. Thus, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), more than 1 million people from the African continent and holders of a higher education diploma leave their country of origin each year. How do we invite these brains to stay on the continent?
It is unfortunately true that many of them leave Africa! However, there are hundreds of young scientists, like me, who return to the country every year thanks to the existence of frameworks that increasingly promote scientific research and reflection. Thus, several efforts are being made by many countries in the sub-region where we are seeing a fairly considerable increase in the budgets of the ministries of higher education. In Senegal, out of an overall budget of 600,000 billion CFA francs, more than 334 billion (more than 500 million euros) are allocated to this ministry in particular.
How can we better value learning and innovation opportunities for those who have the capacity, like 16-year-old Nigerian Faith Odunsi, world champion in mathematics?
Talent must be valued by giving them space and support. They will be able to contribute to important innovations that could change the lives of millions of people. I must also say that the promotion of talents should not exclude others. All our young people today are talents. It is imperative to make our learning spaces attractive, to dedicate them to modern learning techniques and to adapt our curricula. These curricula must go beyond theory and be more practical. A new way of teaching mathematical sciences must be promoted by creating an ecosystem conducive to the development of researchers in the country and encouraging the return of intellectuals residing abroad. This also requires a review of the bodies and institutions responsible for the evaluation of teaching and research. We need to value excellence more, promote young prodigies and reform the evaluation criteria, which have existed since the 1970s, and which are based solely on the quantity of results produced by a researcher and not on the quality.
Beyond research and teaching, what can STEM contribute to Africa’s development?
Africa is the continent of the future in the sense that its take-off is linked to the progress of Stim. They are also the best opportunity to create wealth and factors of production, and therefore employment and employability factors. Our policies must incorporate this dimension. In addition, the inclusion of women is also essential, as they have an essential role to play in the emergence of the continent thanks to Stim. However, they face many barriers, mainly social constraints. They are quickly involved in couples or are limited in participation because of our African values ??which are important but which must evolve and adapt to the current context of the world. For example, they continue to hold the heaviest burdens of our households, our families and our communities. The daily calendar, everywhere in Africa, clearly shows that the woman has the responsibility of more than 60% of the family expenses. These realities, of which we are at times proud, also explain the low enrollment of girls in certain situations. We must agree to send girls to school and support them while they are there. Our policies need to pay particular attention to these aspects, as advancing women’s equality in Africa could add $316 billion to its GDP by 2025.
