European Research Council (ERC) president Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon will today speak at the Next Einstein Forum Global Gathering in Dakar, Senegal.

It marks his first visit to Africa in his capacity as president of the ERC.

Speaking ahead of a plenary session of the Next Einstein Forum, which aims to propel Africa into the global scientific landscape, Bourguignon said: “I’m very pleased and honoured to be in Dakar on the occasion of the Next Einstein Forum. I am truly impressed by the drive and excellence of the scientists I have met here, in particular the younger ones. Together with this forward looking initiative, originally built around the African Institutes for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), it bodes well for the future of first class research in Africa. It is absolutely key that talented researchers hosted here are nurtured and that their bright ideas are brought to fruition.”

He added: “It has been and will remain important for the ERC to engage with outstanding scientists and counterparts from across the world to forge closer ties and to make the attractive ERC grants better known to ambitious researchers. The aspiration to make Europe a hotbed for top talent has been at the core of the ERC’s mission since its launch in 2007. For that purpose, an international mindset is essential, and the message is clear: the ERC is open to the world.”

Bourguignon, a renowned mathematician, will speak in the plenary session ‘Developing a national science strategy including curiosity-driven science’, alongside US National Science Foundation director France Córdova, Rwandan minister of education Papias Musafiri, and the CEO of South Africa’s National Research Foundation, Molapo Qhobela, amongst others.

The first global gathering of the Next Einstein Forum, which closes today, has seen some 500 outstanding thinkers, policy makers, journalists, civil society representatives, business people and entrepreneurs from around the world come together to highlight breakthrough discoveries and catalyse scientific collaboration for human development under the theme ‘Connecting Science to Humanity’. It has also showcased 15 of Africa’s top young scientists and connected them with leaders from Africa and the rest of the world.

The next edition of the forum, which was launched by the AIMS initiative in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, will be held in 2018.

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