OUR ALUMNI | AIMS RWANDA

Dr. Belle Fille MURORUNKWERE always loved mathematics. Numbers made sense. Equations felt logical and controlled. Yet for years, she wrestled with a quiet question: What could she truly build with it? She could solve problems on paper, but she could not yet see how mathematics translated into impact. She found herself suspended between passion and uncertainty. She knew she was capable. What she lacked was direction. From childhood, Belle Fille’s father planted the seeds of ambition. He reminded her that mathematics underpins innovation and national progress. He encouraged her to pursue advanced studies and never settle for small dreams. His belief in her potential became a quiet force behind her perseverance. In 2026, Dr. Belle Fille joined AIMS Rwanda. Surrounded by brilliant students, lecturers, and visiting researchers from across Africa, she witnessed mathematics being used to transform healthcare systems, optimize agriculture, and strengthen financial institutions. Seminars exposed her to data science applied to real world challenges. Models were not abstract exercises. They were tools influencing decisions, shaping policies, and driving innovation. For the first time, she felt she truly belonged in a space where mathematics was alive and consequential. Safe to say, that realization changed her trajectory. The true transformation came when she began experiencing mathematics through application rather than theory alone. At AIMS, she worked with data, programming, and modelling to address tangible problems. But the journey was not effortless. Programming was initially intimidating. With limited prior exposure to coding, she felt the weight of the learning curve. Instead of withdrawing, she committed herself to daily practice, using every available resource to strengthen her skills. Gradually, uncertainty gave way to competence. Communication posed another challenge. Naturally technical in her thinking, she initially struggled to explain complex ideas clearly, especially to non-technical audiences. Through repeated presentations, mentorship, and constructive feedback, she learned to translate sophisticated analysis into accessible insight. That skill would later define her professional effectiveness. Her most demanding test, however, was personal. During the intensive AIMS program, she was also the mother of a six month old baby. Balancing academic rigor with the responsibilities of early motherhood required extraordinary resilience. With unwavering support from her husband and encouragement from the AIMS community, she persevered and completed the program successfully. The experience strengthened not only her technical capacity, but her confidence. Motivated by clarity, Dr. Belle Fille pursued and completed a PhD in Data Science. The discipline, resilience, and intellectual courage she cultivated at AIMS became essential during her doctoral journey.

In a secondary school classroom in Rwanda, Gisa Murera was teaching physics by day while quietly imagining a larger role for himself in the future of African science. He understood equations, but he wanted to influence systems. He believed mathematics could transform agriculture, finance, and climate resilience, yet he had not been given the tools or platform to act at that scale. A graduate at the University of Rwanda College of Education, Gisa encountered what he would later define as a life-changing opportunity. In 2017, driven by a desire for mentorship that would expand his thinking, Gisa began his master’s studies at the AIMS Cooperative Education Program, with the support of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. “Immediately, I understood I was stepping into a different academic environment,” Gisa noted, “The intensity of the curriculum, the immersive learning model, and engagement with world class scientists exceeded what I thought possible.” For the first time, he began to see himself not just as a teacher or student, but as a problem solver capable of driving innovation. He became determined to ensure that Rwanda and Africa would not lag behind in this knowledge driven era.

Gladys Muthoni Kamau is an alumna of the AIMS Rwanda Centre class 2019/2021 taking the AIMS MSc. in Mathematical Sciences, Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, the Cooperative Program. Gladys opted for the Co-op trajectory focusing on its 6-months internship track. The desire to apply theoretical knowledge practically was too alluring to her.