Tutoring Positions at AIMS
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is looking for excellent Master students and graduates to teach and support gifted students from across Africa in mathematics, statistics and computer science at AIMS Centres in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Rwanda.
Tutoring at AIMS - The Facts
external page AIMS centres are unique postgraduate teaching centres that recruit students from across Africa and prepare them for careers in the quantitative sciences. Each centre needs a dedicated group of academics and advanced students engaged as tutors to assist the institute in its teaching program. The tutoring positions are typically offered for the full academic year (usually August-June), but shorter positions might be possible (to be discussed with the relevant centre).
Responsibilities:
Providing general assistance to the Academic Director and professors, following group and individual tutorials as needed, contributing to the assessment of student performance, preparing instructional materials and additional duties as required.
Requirements:
Master studies in one of the mathematical sciences; skills in higher education; excellent interpersonal skills; sense of innovation; excellent command of English (essential) and/or French; ability to work as a member of a dedicated team, in which responsibilities are shared.
Application:
Applications should be sent by e-mail to . Candidates must include a letter of motivation (specifying the centre(s) they prefer), a CV and a list of two references that can be reached. Candidates that are interested in a particular centre are advised to send an email to the respective academic director to inform them that they have applied. For more information about the application process, see external page here.
Centres:
external page South Africa, external page Senegal, external page Ghana, external page Cameroon and external page Rwanda
ETH Zurich students at AIMS
Göktug Alkan and Georg Anneg share their experiences as tutors at AIMS Cameroon and AIMS South Africa.
What expectations did you have of your work as a tutor?
Göktug: To be honest, as far as the academic programme was concerned, I went there without expectations and was positively surprised. The last few years in Zurich were filled with study, and I was looking forward to getting completely new inputs, seeing a completely different place, and getting to know new people. I expected that I would learn a lot about the world, about people, about other cultures.
What are the responsibilities of tutors at AIMS? What skills should they have?
Georg: Tutors need a solid understanding of core topics in undergraduate mathematics but equally important is a strong interest in teaching in a diverse environment.
Göktug: The program has two phases, a lecture period and a project phase. During the lecture period, you work together with a lecturer supervising the lecture, correcting assignments, giving tutorials, and helping the students with their questions. In the last two or three months, students work on project assignments. The tutor is the main contact person for the students and helps them complete their projects. However, tutoring at AIMS is not comparable to a student assistant position at ETH Zurich. At AIMS, the tutor is also a mentor who spends his days with the students and discusses personal matters. You should show the willingness to listen and try to help. It is a very personal bond.
Why would you recommend other students to become an AIMS tutor?
Göktug: You get to know a completely different culture. Sometimes people tend to transfer what they see in Europe to other contexts. But the world is very diverse. It does not only consist of Europe and Switzerland. You become aware of this fact. And I believe that this can give a person maturity. One thing I’ve learned is that if you know something, it is your responsibility to share it with others.
Georg: AIMS is totally unique for many reasons. Who can claim, for example, to have worked closely with people from 20+ different African countries in less than one year? Tutors get to teach hard-working students and help shape their learning journey, experience an incredible diversity of cultures, languages, educational backgrounds, and scientific interests, as well as gain invaluable perspective on living and working in Africa.
Read more about Göktug's and Georg's experience here and here. Both are also willing to answer questions from interested ETH students about tutoring at AIMS: and
