Rakuten Europe and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Announce Agreement to Offer Students Cooperative Research Opportunities

- Rakuten Europe and AIMS agree to foster cultural interchange and cooperative research.
- Collaborative opportunities to include work placements, lectures and seminars by Rakuten staff and joint projects on innovation topics.

Luxembourg, May 18 2020 – Rakuten Europe S.à r.l. and the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (“AIMS”) in Rwanda today announced that they have concluded a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on research, foster cultural interchange and promote interaction.

This new initiative from Rakuten and AIMS will center around creating opportunities for students to start a career at Rakuten after graduation, as well as knowledge sharing through online lectures and internships. Rakuten hopes to offer in-person lectures and seminars for AIMS students to support student learning. Other joint activities will include projects on innovation topics and support on the training of master’s students at AIMS.

Since its founding, Rakuten has been dedicated to building a better, more optimistic future by empowering individuals, business and societies to realize their dreams.

“A central pillar of our company’s philosophy is to constantly challenge the status quo,” says Toby Otsuka, CEO of Rakuten Europe. “We achieve this by investing in new businesses, innovative ideas and most of all people and talent. That’s why I’m particularly proud of entering this partnership with AIMS. We are convinced that this joint venture can create substantial mutual benefits for students, the institute and us as a company.”

“AIMS is always looking to expand the opportunities of our students especially with organizations that believe in science and innovation to improve our lives. We are excited to partner with Rakuten Europe and believe this partnership will lead to new ideas and innovations,” said Lydie Hakizimana, CEO of AIMS.

About AIMS
Founded in 2003 by globally acclaimed South African physicist Professor Neil Turok, the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is Africa’s first and largest network of centers of excellence in mathematical sciences with focus on mathematical sciences, climate science and machine intelligence. It opened its doors in South Africa before spreading to other African countries and is currently headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda.

AIMS has five centers of excellence across Africa - in South Africa, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, and Rwanda. AIMS has graduated over 2000 young graduates from 43 countries since its inception.