MANIRU IBRAHIM

2021 - Admitted to the University of Limerick, Ireland

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How did you know about the IMM Pakistan program and why did you decide to apply for it?

I heard about the program from some Nigerian students who were attending a PhD in Pakistan; I already knew about ICTP from one of my professors – he said lots of good things about ICTP – so I immediately thought that it would have been an interesting opportunity and I decided to apply for it.

I can imagine your happiness when discovering that you had been selected! 

Yes, I was really excited.

Your path is even more interesting because you are from Nigeria: this meant going to Pakistan to attend the program. How was the experience? How did you feel as an international student, surrounded by Pakistani colleagues?

I enjoyed staying there, I did not feel any stress. I feel that Pakistan is similar to Nigeria for some things; in more than one situation it was like being at home.

What kind of things?

For example the street food is some how similar, or the accommodations; and also the university system and the way lessons are set out look so similar. In Nigeria, some people tend to have a negative opinion about Pakistan, while I found out that Pakistani people are very peaceful and accepting.

You had the opportunity to reverse some stereotypes about Pakistan and its people.

Yes.

What about the IMM courses? Were you interested in a special field of mathematics at that time?

I was interested in numerical linear algebra.

What is it about?

It is a way to apply linear algebra to create computer algorithms. I used some tools of machine learning and artificial intelligence and also some programming software like Python. I am more interested in applied mathematics, and I think that this is the reason why I got my PhD scholarship. 

Tell me about it.

In the last semester of the IMM program, I started to apply to various PhD scholarships and masters. I was rejected several times, but I never stopped applying for new opportunities, and in the end I was admitted to this four years PhD position at University of Limerick, Ireland, in the Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science.

Interesting. What do you study now? 

At the moment I am studying a fluid dynamics problem. When you take a medicine tablet, you know that it dissolves in the body after a certain time. The object of my studies is exactly this one: how does it dissolve? What time does it take to complete the process?

Very interesting. Do you also study the chemical side of the problem?

I don’t study it but I start from some mathematical equations - diffusion equation, Fick's laws, Bessel's equation – and from some existent chemical results of the problem and I try to use my computational approach to verify if I can fix medical problems associated with this. 

Do you like this field of mathematics?

I really like it, and in fact I still make use of some numerical linear algebra in studying it, like optimization results: I don’t feel so far from the concepts that I studied for my IMM thesis.

You are back in Nigeria right now, aren’t you?

Yes, I am in Sokoto. I got married on August 6th.

Congratulations! Are you planning to stay there for a while?

I’m planning to go back to Ireland next week.

And what about the future? Are you and your wife planning to live together in Ireland?

Yes, maybe next year. Visa documents take a long time to be ready: next week I will start the procedure.

I see. It’s very nice. Do you already have plans after your PhD?

I have some plans, but maybe they will change. I would like to apply for a postdoc position and continue my research career. The PhD program I’m attending is founded by Science Foundation Ireland, and the same foundation sets up some postdoc positions. When I apply for them, I’m sure that Stefano, the IMM scientific coordinator, and Douglas, our tutor during the Master courses, will help me both for references and good advices. I am still in touch with them.

Nice that your IMM family is still there for help during your path. Would you like to come back to Nigeria at a certain point?

For now I would like to stay in Europe a little bit. 

Good luck. Thank you for your time.