G20 Flagship projects

Description of the project:

The Skills for Employability Project aims to strengthen and develop Senegal’s knowledge-based economy by building upon the established African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) Industry Initiative and Co-op Master’s Programme to support the integration and engagement of Senegalese female and male scientists in industry and entrepreneurship across the Francophonie. The Programme provides internship, mentorship, job-shadowing, and work-based learning opportunities to help female and male students gain experience and opportunities for meaningful future employment, while also providing valuable technical talent to employers. AIMS will deliberately increase access and opportunities for African women through the Project as well as mainstream gender across all Project components to promote inclusive, gender-sensitive learning and working environments in the field of mathematical sciences.
Key elements in this Project include 1) a new post-AIMS 2-month business certificate to enable AIMS students and alumni to develop in-depth business and entrepreneurial skills with a 3-month business internship; 2) the launch of online learning modules through the African Virtual University (AVU) digital learning platform and 3) industry-focused math forums that bring mathematicians and industry together to solve practical challenges faced by industry in la Francophonie.
This project is implemented by the AIMS – Next Einstein Initiative Foundation (Canada) in partnership with AIMS Senegal.

Impact of the project:

200 students (80 females and 120 males) will graduate from AIMS Co-op Master’s programme in Senegal, 330 students (208 females and 122 males) will obtain an Entrepreneurship certificate and 2250 students (680 f – 1570 m), will complete a massive open online course (MOOC) across Francophone Africa.

Area of focus of the project:

• access and affordability of ICT to women and girls
• ICT in formal education (teacher education, learning materials)
• scholarships
• increasing participation of girls in ICT studies (mentoring programmes, career counseling)
• information and awareness-raising campaigns
• enabling women’s entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship education, financing schemes, incubators)
• increasing the recruitment, retention and promotion of women in the ICT sector