PIMS-CIMPA Africa Mentorship
The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) is launching the PIMS–CIMPA–Africa Mentorship Network, a new program connecting early-career African mathematical scientists with experienced researchers from universities in the PIMS network. The network is part of a broader PIMS collaboration with African mathematicians and will operate as a complementary program of the CIMPA Regional Mentoring Network for Young Scientists, an international initiative supporting structured mentorship for students and early-career researchers.
Sustained access to mentors is crucial for early-career researchers, and many African graduate students and junior faculty face barriers to structured academic mentoring, including limited access to experienced mentors, sparse local networks, and limited exposure to international research environments. At the same time, Canadian mathematicians gain new perspectives, collaborations, and connections to vibrant research communities through closer ties with Africa. Like Western Canada, African universities are geographically sparse, and researchers on both continents have deep experience sustaining productive collaborations online. Building on this shared experience, the network will be virtual.
Program Structure
The PIMS–CIMPA–Africa Mentorship Network brings together two groups: mentors and mentees. Together, they form a network designed to support meaningful academic and professional connections between experienced researchers and early-career mathematical scientists in Africa.
Mentors
We are currently soliciting expressions of interest from mentors at PIMS member and affiliated universities. Mentors will be matched with African graduate students or junior faculty based on research area, career goals, career level, and availability.
Mentees
The second component of the network will connect African graduate students and junior faculty with participating mentors. We will be opening the call for student and early-career researcher participants soon.
The student/mentee application will open soon.
What Mentors Do
Mentors will be paired with African graduate students or junior faculty based on research area and career goals. Mentoring relationships will typically involve regular virtual meetings (for example, one meeting per month over an initial one-year term) and may include guidance and collaboration on any of the following:
- Scientific writing and publishing, including choosing journals and responding to referees
- Preparing competitive applications: CVs, research statements, and grant proposals
- Career planning, including PhD and postdoctoral applications and international mobility
- Networking, conference participation, and access to global research communities
- Research direction, including feedback on ongoing projects and manuscripts (when aligned)
- Research collaboration on an existing or new problem (when aligned)
We will match based on preferred topic as well as research area for pairs interested in a research collaboration. Mentees will also be connected, where appropriate, with PIMS programs such as research exchanges and summer schools, suggested mentoring resources, and periodic check-ins throughout the program.
Who Should Apply
We invite expressions of interest from faculty, research scientists, and senior postdoctoral researchers at PIMS member and affiliated universities, across all areas of the mathematical sciences. Prior mentoring experience is welcome but not required, and mentoring matching will be made appropriate to career level. What matters most is a genuine commitment to supporting the development of an early-career colleague.
Expected Commitment
- Roughly one virtual meeting, one to two hours, per month with your mentee
- Occasional asynchronous feedback (for example, on a draft CV, paper, or application)
- Participation in a brief program orientation and optional online workshops
- An initial commitment of one year, renewable by mutual agreement
How to Express Interest
If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please complete the short expression of interest form here. The form asks for your affiliation, research areas, languages spoken, support areas you can offer, career stage of mentees you'd like to work with, and number of mentees you can take, and takes about ten minutes to complete. Expressions of interest will be reviewed for fit, and matches will be made based on research area, goals, career level, and availability. This is a rolling call, but we request submissions as early as possible, so we can begin the matching process before the end of the year.
Questions? Please contact Deanna Needell, Co-Director, Programs at co-director-programs@pims.math.ca.