Curious students, heated debates and new learnings – An interview about tutoring at AIMS Rwanda

What did you like best during your stay as a tutor at AIMS?

It was deeply meaningful and felt like making a difference. During my usual Ph.D. life – doing math, writing code, reading papers– I often question what I actually did of significance today (or this week or month or year). However, my tutorship at external page AIMS was the exact opposite experience: it was very clear that I was making a difference almost every day. I observed my students grow and overcome problems over short periods, moving from confusion to mastery over mathematical theory, from breaking down during practice talks to acing their master thesis defenses with confidence. My students worked very hard and became substantially better problem solvers, question-askers and communicators – better scientists. Some students far exceeded my expectations. Gloria for example predicted the impact of a larvicide spray intervention on the basic reproduction number of malaria, using a complex system of differential equations with parameters she estimated from empirical data. Luel, another student, combined two very complex deep learning models to generate realistic sounding speech from characters of the ancient Ethiopian language Ge`ez. Due to the intensity of the environment, I quickly formed meaningful bonds with many of my students. I was struck by how conscientious and social-environmentally aware the students are. Most had genuine personal ambitions to use mathematics, science and engineering to tackle challenges like global health or climate change. Many were exceedingly curious and opinionated, and dinner would often turn into heated debates over everything from politics, history and religion to sexuality and philosophy. My fellow tutors were incredibly welcoming (thank you Pascal, Zeinab, Prudence, Finlay, Stive, Ailin, Cornelie and Michel) and soon taught me that AIMS is a family - and a very wholesome one at that! Time passed quickly, and - just as I'd gotten used to the cosy breakfast discussions about life, intense blackboard sessions and therapeutic motorcycle taxi rides in the warm Kigali nights - it was time to go home. Saying goodbye was emotional and difficult, but heading to the airport with a suitcase of shared experiences and new friendships made it feel alright.
 

Did you face any challenges or difficulties?

I tested positive for COVID the day before my flight to Rwanda! That delayed my arrival by three weeks, but it ended up being a minor inconvenience. As with anything existing in reality, Rwanda and AIMS are not perfect. I got the impression that students went through a very intense curriculum that sometimes prioritized academic performance rather than building solid foundations in knowledge and skills. However, numerous conversations with students and colleagues lead me to an appreciation of the broader context including non-academic considerations. It was now difficult not to acknowledge the current situation as a sort of constrained optimum, humbling my previous sense of having the answers. With time, this generalized to many things in Rwanda: The streets of Kigali are clean and safe at night, but you may encounter patrols of security personnel wielding metal pipes. It's hard not to be impressed by Rwanda's progress from its deeply traumatic recent past, however, you cannot speak freely about the government. There are not always easy answers.
 

What did you learn during your stay? Was there anything that surprised you?

Prior to going, I had heard Kigali (among other African capitals) described as the next big tech hub. I didn't know what to believe and wanted to form my own opinion from first-hand experience. I had sometimes wondered why I hardly ever met African researchers at major machine-learning conferences. My prejudices and fantasies were quickly shut down by reality. Most students had not had access to computers before university. Mobile data was expensive and home broadband was a significant investment. Academic opportunities were often hindered by late or rejected visas. My colleague holding a PhD in pure mathematics was preparing himself mentally to eat less in the months between semesters when he couldn't tutor. Most surprising was the notion that the main career prospect with a degree in mathematics or quantitative science was becoming a school teacher. Living in Zurich and most recently having visited San Francisco, where the skill-set of statistics plus programming equals an entry-level annual salary above $100k in the tech sector, it felt like an alternate reality. It was suddenly not difficult to imagine that Rwandan youth with extraordinary intellectual potential would never even consider a degree in mathematics, physics or computer science, but instead pursue careers as doctors, lawyers, businesspeople or politicians. Prior to this experience, the prospect of a foreign tech company outsourcing tech work to Rwanda at a fractional cost would have seemed solely exploitative. Now, I can see it also being an opportunity to get the Rwandan youth interested in a career in mathematics and science. I can only encourage those with resources to provide more tech jobs and funding opportunities for tech startups in Rwanda.
 

Would you recommend becoming an AIMS tutor to other students?

Absolutely! It is hard to overstate how meaningful the experience was. AIMS needs more tutors, especially with machine learning expertise. You will make a difference, and this is not a voluntourism program. AIMS is an excellent institution that has an overwhelmingly positive impact. You should email the academic directors directly instead of applying through the website. Please reach out on if you have questions or need help with the process. Also, please do reach out if you have job or PhD opportunities in machine learning – I have several bright and hard-working AIMS graduates for you!