Category: Call

In (early) preparation for this year’s AGM meeting at the 69th annual SAMS Congress scheduled to take place at Nelson Mandela University in December 2025, the current SAMS Council is requesting nominations for two positions that will become vacant when the terms of the respective Council members come to an end. Specifically, these include the important portfolios of the President and Financial Manager, currently held by Prof. Zurab Janelidze and Dr. Wen-Chi Kuo, respectively.

For more details on the responsibilities of the Council members and a description of these positions, kindly consult the SAMS website: https://www.sams.ac.za/governance-sams

Please send any nominations of capable individuals, accompanied by this nomination form and a short CV of the nominee, to the General Secretary of SAMS, Dr. Christian Budde, at buddecj@ufs.ac.za or secretary@sams.ac.za by no later than 1 September 2025.

As a member of SAMS, you are invited to nominate candidates for two awards of the South African Mathematical Society. The two awards are the SAMS Award for Research Distinction and the SAMS award for Advancement of Mathematics. Further information about the description of these categories, and the nomination procedure, can be found here on the SAMS website. Kindly send your nominations to the Vice-President of SAMS, Dr. Amartya Goswami at agoswami@uj.ac.za, by no later than 31 May 2025.

In preparation for this year’s AGM at the 67th annual SAMS Congress scheduled to take place at the University of Pretoria from 4 to 6 December 2024, the current SAMS Council requested nominations for three vacant positions. These included the portfolios of the Vice-President and Education, currently filled by the interim members Prof. Seithuti Moshokoa and Dr. Belinda Huntley, respectively, and the recently vacant Liason portfolio.

For more details on the responsibilities of the Council members and a description of these positions, kindly consult the SAMS website: https://www.sams.ac.za/governance-sams

We are happy to report that we received the following nominations:

• Dr. Amartya Goswami (A_Goswami_CV) was nominated for the position of Vice-President.
• Dr. Rina Durandt (R_Durandt_CV) was nominated for the Education portfolio.

Sadly, we did not receive any nominations for the vacant Liason portfolio. We hope to address this during the AGM, where we will give SAMS members the opportunity to nominate appropriate candidates, and to give their views on the suitability of the nominations already received.

We look forward to your participation in this year’s AGM.

SAMS members are invited to assist with training at the South African Mathematics Foundation’s annual Maths Olympiad camp hosted by Stellenbosch University. The countries best grade 8 to 11 learners identified through the South African Mathematics Olympiad and other SAMF programmes are invited to the camp and receive intensive training in solving non-routine mathematics problems. 

• Dates: 8-13 December (classes commencing on the 9th of December)
• Venue: Stellenbosch University
• Academic Coordinators: Dr Dirk Basson (SU) and Dr Liam Baker (SU)
• SAMF Coordinator: Herman Bosman

Members who are interested can contact Herman Bosman at herman@samf.ac.za. The SAMF will pay the SAMS members’ travel and accommodation (for those outside Stellenbosch), as well as a honorarium. 

TWAS and UNESCO Launch 2024: Call for Researchers in Developing Countries to Collaborate at Centres of Excellence

Researchers from developing countries working in the natural sciences are invited to apply for the TWAS-UNESCO Associateship Scheme, which provides an opportunity to visit leading centres of excellence in the Global South. The programme, established in 1994 by The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and UNESCO, aims to strengthen scientific collaboration and capacity in developing countries. 

Eligible candidates must hold a PhD or equivalent degree and be citizens of a developing country in the South. Women scientists and those from isolated institutions are particularly encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will be appointed for three years and can visit a designated centre twice for two to three months each time to pursue collaborative research. 

Most participating centres are located in Argentina, with additional centres in Africa, Asia and South and Central America. Travel support and a contribution towards subsistence costs of up to $300 per month are provided by TWAS, while living expenses are covered by the host institutions. 

The application deadline is 5 December 2024.

More on this news alert

Optiver Foundation Scholarship Programme

The Optiver Foundation Scholarship Programme at the University of Oxford is an international postgraduate scholarship programme for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Over the first two cohorts, students from countries around the world, including Bangladesh, China, Colombia, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria and Ukraine, have come to Oxford to undertake a one-year MSc course. A video featuring some of the scholars’ stories can be seen here: Optiver Foundation Scholars Video

Applications for next year’s Optiver Foundation Scholarship Programme are now open. A third round of scholarships will be awarded to students applying to one-year masters’ courses within the Departments of Statistics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering Science, or the Mathematical Institute. Female applicants from low- and middle-income countries will be considered for the awards, which provide full financial support to cover course fees and a stipend for living costs. Scholars will also receive tailored induction activities, mentoring and on-course support. View more information about the Optiver Foundation Scholarships, including how to apply, here.

Join our Mathematics hotel, AIMS South Africa, as part of the January Mathematical Sciences 2025 intake!

What makes our offering unique? 

It is fully residential, completely funded, multi-disciplinary and presented by top local and international lecturers. 

As a bonus, you have access to the AIMS network with many future opportunities.

Deadline: 15 November 2024

Visit https://apply.aims.ac.za/ to apply!

For more details, see the poster or contact academic-admin@aims.ac.za

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity!

Via the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust the National Graduate Academy for Mathematical and Statistical Sciences has the opportunity to utilize part of a grant for a 2-year pilot project as an Academic Sponsor of the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute’s (SLMath) Summer Graduate Schools. The purpose is to provide the next generation of mathematical scientists (postgraduate students and academics registered for PhDs in the mathematical sciences) with international exposure to important contemporary developments in their research areas.

We hereby request nominations for at most TWO next generation mathematical scientists that will be considered to attend the the following SLMath 2025 Summer Graduate School. Special attention should be given to those that have chosen to pursue an academic and/or research career in the mathematical sciences with specialization in

Topological and geometric structure in low dimension

For more details and guidance towards the suitability of candidates for nomination, please visit 

slmath.org/summer-schools

and consult the following documents (paying special attention to prerequisites and course description):

SGS2025_Announcements
SLMath Flyer – Summer Graduate Schools 2025

Kindly send nominations to Professor Emeritus Loyiso Nongxa, email address: loyiso.nongxa@gmail.com, by Friday, 22 November 2024.

In preparation for this year’s AGM meeting at the 67th annual SAMS Congress scheduled to take place at the University of Pretoria from 4 to 6 December 2024, the current SAMS Council is requesting nominations for three vacant positions. These include the portfolios of the Vice-President and Education, currently filled by the interim members Prof. Seithuti Moshokoa and Dr. Belinda Huntley, respectively, and the recently vacant Liason portfolio.

For more details on the responsibilities of the Council members and a description of these positions, kindly consult the SAMS website: https://www.sams.ac.za/governance-sams

Please send any nominations of capable individuals, accompanied by this nomination form and a short CV of the nominee, to the General Secretary of SAMS, Dr. Christian Budde, at buddecj@ufs.ac.za or secretary@sams.ac.za by no later than 15 November 2024.

Please take note of the opportunity to apply for two Scholarships to attend the Annual 2025 ÖMG-DMV Meeting. This will be a joint activity of the Austrian Mathematical Society (ÖMG) and the German Mathematical Society (DMV), scheduled to take place between 1 September and 5 September 2025 in Linz, Austria.

More information is available at 
https://www.oemg.ac.at/2024/09/26/global-south-scholarships-2025.html