Ibni Prize – Description

The 3rd of February 2008, our colleague Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh disappeared, kidnapped from his home in N’Djamena by members of the Chadian armed forces. He presumably died, in detention within the next few days. 

Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh was professor et a former rector of the university of N Djamena. Former minister in Tchad, he was one of the chief figures of the democratic opposition. He built partnerships between universities in Tchad and France, and also with other african countries. He wanted these agreements to contribute to the quality of teacher education in his country.

The French learning mathematical societies SFdS (Société Française de Statistique), SMAI (Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles) and SMF (Société Mathématique de France) initiated in 2009 the setting up of a prize, to continue Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh’s commitment to quality training of young African mathematicians.

Since 2017, he « Ibni Oumar Mahamat Saleh » prize is awarded every two years. The jury may nominate two candidates. The applicants must have obtained a doctoral degree within the past 5 years and must provide evidence they currently live in Central or West Africa (*). No age limits. Female candidates are encouraged to apply.

The PHD thesis must be in mathematics, including statistics. The word » mathematic » is to be understood in a broad sense, with connections with computer science, theoretical physic and applications of mathematics.

Each recipient will receive 3000 euros (conditional this amounts are available). He or she may also have a travel grant (maximum 1000 euros) if this money is used to visit a laboratory abroad.

The selection is done by an independent jury (**). Firstly, the jury draws up a short list given the files; then seeks some supplementary informations to the pre-selected candidates. The key documents in the file are the PHD thesis and the resulting published articles.The curriculum vitae must describe the different periods spent in Africa or in other universities. Reports, recommandation letters and research projects can be jointed to the file.

A subscription has been set up to ensure funding for the prize.