AIMS Partners Google and Facebook to Launch Masters Program in Machine Intelligence

The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is leading the continent to introduce Machine Learning into its educational system. AIMS has launched the continent’s first Machine Intelligence university program, the African Masters of Machine Intelligence (AMMI).

AIMS is thrilled to announce the launch of a one-year intensive African Master’s in Machine Intelligence (AMMI) beginning this September at the AIMS-Rwanda campus in Kigali, in partnership with @facebook and @GoogleAI. Learn more about the programme here…https://t.co/n5ddSlCEhU

— African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) (@AIMS_Next) July 31, 2018

AMMI isa one-year Master’s program that equips young Africans with state-of-the-art training in machine learning and MI applications.

What is AIMS?

Now, AIMS is not your typical university; it is a research institute with a wide network of centres across Africa. But it also confers degrees in collaboration with some notable universities. And over the last 15 years, AIMS has been recruiting and training Africa’s top graduates in maths, science, and engineering.

The AMMI program begins in September 2018 at the AIMS Campus in Kigali, Rwanda.

Interestingly too, the AMMI program was founded by Moustapha Cisse, the head of the Google AI Centre in Accra, Ghana.

Why AMMI?

According to Ciss, “Machine Intelligence (MI) is revolutionizing critical aspects of our lives. It enhances medical diagnosis, improves industrial processes and enables scientific discoveries.”

Over the past decade, thanks to large public and private investments, MI has progressed rapidly in both basic research and the development of a vast array of applications.

"Our goal with AMMI is to train a generation of young scientists who will bring a fresh perspective to machine intelligence research and contribute to advancing its development across Africa…" @Moustapha_6C on AIMS African Masters in Machine Intelligencehttps://t.co/qgssXE8oHT pic.twitter.com/RvnnDH4DxW

— African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) (@AIMS_Next) July 31, 2018

However, despite all the developments recorded in AI and Machine Learning, Africa is still far behind. The vast majority of active MI researchers and practitioners are in North America, Europe, and Asia while large regions, including Africa, are hardly represented.

“The lack of MI researchers from Africa means that many opportunities to use MI to create a better and more stable world are being missed,” says Cisse.

The AMMI Masters program looks to correct this situation and strengthen MI progress in Africa.

Writing on his Medium page, Cisse shared that “MI will allow us to usefully gather and analyze vast datasets and extract insights to improve decision making and public policy in diverse areas from education and health to transport, agriculture and finance.”

And he’s banking on the cohorts from AMMI to be pioneers of new AI and machine learning innovations on the African continent.

AMMI Gets Support from Google and Facebook

Additionally, the AMMI program has scored partnerships with Google and Facebook. Both tech companies are not just industry heavyweights; they’re also two of the biggest companies leveraging on MI to grow services.

Jerome Pesenti, Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Facebook says his company is excited to partner AIMS. He stated that “We’re excited to see how students will utilize advanced technologies to solve problems and build solutions for the future of Africa and the rest of the world.”

Today, we announced a Google AI research center in Africa, which will open later this year in Accra, Ghana. We’re excited to combine our research interests in machine learning and our experience in Africa to push the boundaries of AI. https://t.co/pBs4tcp62V

— Google AI (@GoogleAI) June 14, 2018

For Google, AMMI is in line with its objectives for AI on the African continent. And according to says Google’s Jeff Dean, along with our recent announcement of a Google AI center, scheduled to open later this year in Ghana, this partnership with AIMS is another example of our long-term investment and commitment to Africa.