Temitope Comfort Iroko is one of AIMS Cameroon’s products currently pursuing studies in prestigious institutions around the world. While at AIMS, Comfort carried out a statistical analysis of Climate extremes. Her findings reveal that the Gumbel distribution from the GEV family is appropriate for modeling annual maximum daily rainfall; and an increase in return periods leads to a corresponding increase in return levels for the extreme rainfall and maximum temperature in the three stations studied.
After graduating from AIMS Cameroon among the 2019-2020 cohort, Comfort became a scholar of the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange. As a beneficiary of the Ignacy Łukasiewicz Scholarship, she took a Master’s degree course in Mathematics with a specialization in Data Engineering, at Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. She currently work as Financial Analysts in a Financial Institution in Poland.
Far away in Poland, Comfort still keeps memories of AIMS Cameroon as a place where men and women are equipped to solve real-life problems with mathematics-related concepts. “The vision of AIMS is to lead the transformation of Africa through innovative scientific training, technical advances and breakthrough discoveries which benefit the whole society. My greatest aspiration is to help contribute towards ensuring sustainable development. AIMS has equipped me with the necessary tools needed for that and as such, my thesis at AIMS focused on Statistical Analysis of Climate Extremes and their implications on the environment,” she explains.
As a creative thinker and a problem solver today, Comfort says she draws a lot of energy from challenging environments, especially those that give her opportunities to explore her potentials and abilities. “I am passionately driven towards motivating, mentoring, and coaching younger generations to attain the best version of themselves. I am an advocate of gender equality in STEM. Thanks to AIMS, I belong to the Women in Tech Society, whose primary vision is to close the gender gap in STEM,” she says.
Comfort’s mission as an advocate for gender equality in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) was also inspired by memories of her high school days which ignited her interest in Mathematics. “Like most people, my interest in Mathematics was inspired by my high school teacher. Though, not because he inspired me positively, but more because I chose to prove him wrong that Mathematics is not gender-inclined as he often portrayed it. This has influenced my actions and inactions to date. Consequently, my resolution propelled me to study Statistics at the University of Jos, Nigeria, where I emerged as the first-ever female first-class graduate in the history of my department and the overall best student. The drive to attain more knowledge, and further achieve my long-coveted goal of being a Mathematician, regardless of my gender, further inspired me, and consequently earned me a postgraduate scholarship (Master’s) at the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), where I studied Applied Mathematics and graduated as one of the best students.”