The Science Communication engager and theoretical physicist who is the brain behind “Making Science A Star” project was excited when he received the news on August 18th, 2021.
“We are delighted to present the 20 Falling Walls Engage Winners who have been selected out of 50 outstanding Finalists and many more excellent applications. The 20 Winners will be invited to present their project in Berlin on 7 November during the Falling Walls Pitches – in-person or digitally – to compete for the title of Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year in the Science Engagement category. On 9 November, the Breakthroughs of the Year in 10 categories – including in Science Engagement – will be celebrated during the Falling Walls grand finale,” announced FallingWalls Engage on their website https://falling-walls.com/engage/engage-finale-2021/.
189 applications were received from 80 countries with participatory and interactive formats of all kinds – from co-productive research over public panels towards arts-driven or entertaining approaches.
With “Making Science the Star” on the list, Dr. Stephane Kenmoe savoured the selection with AIMS Cameroon on his mind
“This is Thanks to AIMS Cameroon. AIMS can be proud. Winning the FallingWalls Engage competition is the result of a long struggle. AIMS Cameroon has been one of the institutions which believed in the project ‘Making science the Star’ in its early hours. AIMS Cameroon allowed the effective implementation of our project. On behalf of the whole team, I am thankful and grateful,” said Dr. Kenmoe who teamed up with AIMS Cameroon’s Research Center and her Industry Initiative in December 2020 to co-organize the event dubbed “Science and You: How to Connect Science and Society” at AIMS Cameroon’s campus in Limbe.
“The impact of that event was that AIMS Cameroon made the actors believe in the project. Being received at a prestigious institution like AIMS Cameroon was an achievement for them. It was a unique experience for them as they could see how useful they can be to connect science and society. And for me, it was the first Science and Society event organized in Cameroon. You gave wings to the project,” explained Dr. Kenmoe.
On December 10th, 2021, AIMS Cameroon Research Center led by Dr. Jean-Daniel Djida was co-organizing the event “Science and You: How to Connect Science and Society”. Dr. Jean-Daniel Djida explained that the overreaching goal of AIMS Cameroon and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is to contribute to Africa’s transformation by supporting outstanding research in the field of Mathematical Sciences with emphasis on those areas that promote development and prosperity in Africa.
“As far as the Research Center is concerned, we encourage research freedom with researchers conducting research that will impact humanity; support local and global strategic-driven initiatives, forecast, and respond to emerging challenges and opportunities in various mathematical research areas. In this regard, the AIMS-Cameroon Research Center together with Dr. Stephane Kenmoe of “Making Science The Star”, and the AIMS-Cameroon Industry Initiative, decided to organize this event which highlights the importance of Science and encourages Africa’s community to invest in Sciences. This event equally fosters outstanding research and learning in the field of Mathematical Sciences thereby contributing to the next generation of pan-African leaders in many spheres as well as the advancement of African science and academia within a multicultural environment” said Dr. Djida.
Yesterday, Dr. Kenmoe’s project was internationally acknowledged and selected for this year’s Falling Walls Engage Finale which will take place in Berlin as part of the Falling Walls Science Summit on 7-9 November, the first in-person event that reunites the science community internationally. Organizers say this will be a great opportunity for selected Science Engagers to gain international visibility and connect with other inspiring practitioners engaging audiences with science all around the world.
Dr. Stephane Kenmoe was born in Cameroon and a researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, in Germany, where he works on the interactions between water and nanoparticles for the production of energy. He earned a Master’s degree in Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Dschang in 2009, a diploma from the International Center for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in the same specialty in 2011, and a Doctorate in Theoretical Physico-Chemistry obtained in 2015 from the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research in Germany. Stephane is a popularizer of science, novelist, and producer of science films. He is the movie producer of the movie series “Science in the City”. He is also very active in networking and organizing events for capacity building and connecting science and society. Stephane is also the Winner of the Diversity Prize for Academic Leadership at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany in 2020. His goal is to bring science into everyday life.