Growing a Global Mathematics Network

The International Mathematics Master (IMM) is an ambitious two-year master’s programme that aims to provide talented postgraduate students in developing countries with the opportunity to be taught by a high-level, international faculty. The programme was conceived to be easily adapted to different host institutions and to grow into a network of interconnected international masters worldwide.

ICTP has been an important partner to IMM and it has supported the programme in several ways. It awards scholarships to some of IMM’s international students and the IMM’s host institutions join the network of ICTP’s affiliated centres.

After a successful first implementation in Lahore, Pakistan, IMM has also been launched in Algiers, Algeria, thanks to a collaboration with the Algerian National Higher School of Mathematics (NHSM), a university founded in 2021 and designed to be one of the country’s elite universities. An opening ceremony was held in Algiers on 23 January.

Stefano Luzzatto, a senior research scientist in ICTP’s Mathematics section, and Peter Stevenhagen, a professor of mathematics at Leiden University, have established IMM as an Italian Associazione di Promozione Sociale. They were both involved in the process of establishing IMM-Algeria and kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the launch of the new programme.

Why has Algeria been chosen for this first expansion of the International Mathematics Master?

S.L.: Many universities approach us to adopt this programme; NHSM meets many of the conditions that a host needs to fulfil for the programme to be successful. As IMM, we design the academic programme and find the lecturers, but much work and investment is required from the host institution, which needs to provide the facilities and most of the funding, as well as take care of several administrative aspects related to awarding legal master’s diplomas.

P.S.: Algeria also has several advantages. Geographically, it is at the same time incredibly close to Europe and to sub-Saharan Africa, making it an ideal location for a programme that aims to close the knowledge gap and build capacity in developing countries. The country has a long tradition in mathematics and already trains its students at a very high level. NHSM was ready to welcome an advanced international master’s course in mathematics, and there are many people locally who are taking care of its implementation. We are very grateful to the director of the school, Prof. Ahmed Medeghri, and IMM local coordinator, Prof. Rezki Chemlal, who have been key to launching the programme.

What do you hope the impact of IMM-Algeria will be?

P.S.: The aim of the master is ultimately to create a “critical mass” –a large-enough community– of high-level researchers in mathematics, who will carry out research and grow independently.

S.L.: As in the case of IMM-Pakistan, which attracts not only students from Pakistan, but also from other countries, we hope that IMM-Algeria will impact mathematics in the whole region. It will do that in many ways—from attracting international students from Algeria’s neighbouring countries, to affecting the way mathematics is taught and done.

What are the differences and the similarities with IMM-Pakistan?

S.L.: Flexibility is the hallmark of IMM. The master’s was conceived to be adapted to various places, and many things stay the same as we implement it in different host institutes. The teaching model, for example, is a key feature of the programme, differentiating it from any other. Exactly as for IMM-Pakistan, courses take place over a full semester and there is a team of three faculty members that collaborate in designing the lectures. Two of them are members of the IMM international faculty; each of them spends two weeks at the university during the semester, while a local professor covers the teaching during the rest of the time. This model ensures both continuity in the programme and very high-level courses.

P.S.: Apart from these similarities, many aspects need to be adapted to the country. For example, in Pakistan we work with a private university, while NHSM is a state university, run in close collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The teaching programme also needs to be adapted to the type of training that the students receive before joining the master’s, which also changes from country to country.

What is the make-up of the inaugural cohort of IMM-Algeria students?

S.L. This year we started with six students, although in the future we will aim for ten. That is because we needed to launch the programme in time for the first group of graduate students from NHSM to be able to enroll.

P.S.: The gender balance is equal, with 50% women and 50% men. There are two international students, a young man from Madagascar and a young woman from Tunisia. Three of the students are from NHSM, while the others did their BSc at a different university.

What were your impressions at the inauguration ceremony?

S.L.: We were very honoured by the warm welcome we received. Algerian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kamel Baddari, attended the ceremony and the day before he received the two of us together with ICTP’s Karim Aoudia. The Minister stressed how much he valued the collaboration with IMM and how the relationship with ICTP has strengthened now that NHSM is an ICTP Affiliated Centre.

P.S.: We were also impressed by the organisation of the event. The ceremony took place at the new university campus where NHSM is located. Everything went very smoothly. We also had the opportunity to meet some of the representatives of the local student societies and were impressed by how motivated and enthusiastic they are.

Are there plans to expand the IMM to other locations?

P.S.: We are in preliminary conversation with several universities, including in Rwanda, in the United Arab Emirates, and in Iraqi Kurdistan. When we explore these possibilities there are many aspects that we need to consider to evaluate if a certain institution has all the assets required to welcome the IMM. The process to have the master’s finally implemented at a certain university is very long and usually takes years.

S.L.: The host institution needs to coordinate many aspects, working out the schedule, finding accommodation for the faculty and coordinating their visits. They also need to create the conditions for the collaboration between the lecturers to be smooth and constructive. The involvement of the host institution is essential to make all these aspects work, which is why starting the process can take some time.

What are the advantages for a university that hosts the IMM?

S.L.: Next year twelve courses will be taught at NHSM as part of IMM-Algeria--eight for first year students and four for second year students. For each course, there will be two members of our international faculty who will each spend two weeks at the university campus—that means that there will be 48 weeks of international visits. These high-level researchers volunteer two weeks of their precious time and, while there, they also take part in other activities.

P.S.: Not only do the students get to experience a truly international environment, the whole local mathematical community benefits from these interactions. The presence of the international faculty profoundly changes the environment of the host institute’s math department and makes it more closely resemble that of a mathematics research centre.  Moreover, thanks to the support of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) in Edinburgh, from this year IMM students in both Algeria and Pakistan will have the opportunity to spend some time in Europe—many of them at ICTP.