“Meridian“ is the science podcast of the Berlin Center for Global Engagement (BCGE), a center of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA) funded by the excellence strategy. In the podcast, researchers report on their work between different worlds, from Berlin to Dakar, from Rio de Janeiro to Manila. Kevin Caners explores how mathematics can transform the world in the latest episode (#16) of the MERIDIAN podcast, titled “Calculate with Africa.“ This episode features interviews with Postdoc Dominic Bunnett (TU Berlin) and PhD/BMS student Marwa Zainelabdeen (WIAS/FU Berlin), both members of MATH+.

Mathematics is a driving force for innovation across a broad spectrum of applications – from sustainable energy and mobility to health and artificial intelligence. Mathematicians provide the foundations for using the ever-growing amounts of data in other disciplines, seeking solutions for future challenges. But how can cooperation with the Global South in mathematics contribute to finding solutions for global challenges? What does international cooperation look like, for instance, with Africa? What roles do mathematicians play, and is math really a universal language? These questions are discussed in this episode of MERIDIAN. Tune in to hear Marwa and Dominic share their insights and experiences on collaboration with Africa. You can find this podcast episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.


MATH+ has established ties with African institutions, such as the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), and is a member of the Young African Mathematicians (YAM) Fellowship Program which supports young African mathematicians studying in Germany. This program was initiated by the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics in Bonn and is a collaboration between five AIMS centers in Cameroon, Senegal, Rwanda, Ghana, and South Africa, and four German Clusters of Excellence focused on mathematics. The YAM program’s mission is to provide fellowships for talented and motivated young African mathematicians at the master’s level, allowing them to spend nine months studying at one of the four German mathematical excellence clusters in Berlin, Bonn, Heidelberg, or Münster.

Marwa Zainelabdeen is a MATH+/BMS doctoral student at the Weierstrass Institute for Applied Analysis and Stochastics (WIAS) and Freie Universität Berlin and a lecturer at the University of Khartoum, Sudan. Dominic Bunnett is a postdoc at TU Berlin working in algebraic geometry and a member of the program committee for the Young African Mathematicians (YAM)program of MATH+.