OVERVIEW
ABOUT IMM
HISTORY
OF IMM
The IMM is the brainchild of Stefano Luzzatto, a Mathematician and Senior Research Scientist at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), a UNESCO category 1 institute located and Trieste, Italy, and dedicated to promoting excellence in research in basic sciences worldwide through an outstanding range of programmes.
The beginning
In 2009, Luzzatto left a Readership at Imperial College London to join ICTP and contribute to its global mission. His very first task was to attend the 3rd National Conference on Basic Sciences in Libya, where he met Prof Faitori Omer, the Head of the Mathematics Department at Alfateh University. Responding to his request for help, Luzzatto organized an ICTP School in Dynamical Systems in Tripoli in November 2010 and by March 2011 had developed a proposal for setting up the very first Mathematics Master and PhD programmes in Libya, with the help of ICTP and other international organizations. A few months later, in August 2011, the war unfortunately broke out in Libya and many years later the political situation is still not stable enough to revive this plan.
Shaping a Global Vision for Mathematics Training
The experience with Libya was nevertheless very formative and highlighted the need for systematic capacity building strategies which provided more continuity and coordination than most existing programmes. With this in mind, and as part of his role at ICTP, Luzzatto was involved with a number of initiatives promoting mathematics training and research in several countries, including Nepal, Uzbekistan, Malaysia, Iran, Tunisia, Kenya, and, in a more intensive and systematic way, in Benin, Senegal, and Pakistan. Building on these experiences, and on the extensive experience of the faculty and staff of ICTP, a more detailed and concrete vision for an International Mathematics Master (IMM) emerged.
IMM PAKISTAN
In 2019, Luzzatto and Dr Sarfraz Ahmad, then Head of the Mathematics Department at COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Lahore campus, in Pakistan, launched the very first IMM. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between ICTP and CUI and the first international tutors and professors, from a number of prestigious international universities and research institutions, began to travel to Lahore to teach the first cohort of dedicated and enthusiastic students.
Notwithstanding the many challenges, including the global covid pandemic which forced all teaching online for almost two years, the programme was a great success. Not only has there been an extraordinary response by top level international faculty volunteering to teach but also, in recognition of their strong mathematical foundations, most of the IMM graduates have received full scholarships to continue their studies in prestigious universities in Europe and the US.
Notwithstanding the many challenges, including the global covid pandemic which forced all teaching online for almost two years, the programme was a great success. Not only has there been an extraordinary response by top level international faculty volunteering to teach but also, in recognition of their strong mathematical foundations, most of the IMM graduates have received full scholarships to continue their studies in prestigious universities in Europe and the US.
Lasting impact
An important part of IMM’s vision and strategy is to have a lasting impact on the host country and institution, which should ultimately be able to set up a similar programme on its own. In this spirit, thanks to the vision and commitment of Dr Ahmad, CUI is now running its own independent International Master Program in Mathematics (IMPM). In 2023, the IMM-PAKISTAN moved to the prestigious Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), one of the top 50 “small universities” worldwide, where it is coordinated by Dr Shaheen Nazir and Head of Department Dr Imran Anwar.
Expanding the network
At the beginning of 2024, Prof Peter Stevenhagen, University of Leiden, Netherlands, joined Stefano Luzzatto as co-director of IMM. Under their joint leadership, the IMM structure and strategy has been consolidated. Particular effort has gone into exploring possibilities of opening other IMM nodes to create an international IMM network.
IMM ALGERIA
In September 2024, a second IMM was launched at the National Higher School of Mathematics (NHSM) in Algiers, Algeria, coordinated by Dr Rezki Chemlal and the Director of NHSM, Dr Ahmed Medeghri. This is a turning point in IMM’s history and underlines the strength of the IMM as a capacity building model based on fundamental core principles but with the flexibility to adapt to different cultural and institutional settings. Discussions are in progress with several other institutions worldwide, interested in becoming an IMM host.