ICTP Director K.R. Sreenivasan participated in a roundtable discussion at the opening ceremony of the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), located in the South African coastal resort of Muizenberg near Cape Town. The meeting took place on 18-19 September. AIMS, the brainchild of the world renowned cosmologist Neil Turok, is modelled after ICTP's Diploma Course programme. Students will visit the institute for one year to study the mathematical aspects of a wide range of subjects, including computational science, demographics, ecology and economics. The first postgraduate "diploma" class, which will begin its studies this month, consists of 30 students from 15 African countries. Volunteer lecturers from around the world will serve as teachers. Thus far, more than 100 academics have agreed to participate.