Nigerian prodigy demystifying mathematics, science

She wasn’t just a child prodigy, even as a young adult, she continues to break records and set new ones – and now commits to helping women and girls to overcome their phobia for science and mathematics. Meet British-born Nigerian phenomenon, Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE.

She has been listed as a ‘person to watch’ by numerous major publications, including the Guardian, which named her one of 10 women in ‘tech you need to meet’.

Anne-Marie Osawemwense Ore-Ofe Imafidon, the oldest of the Nigerian family of prodigies dubbed the ‘smartest family in Britain’, is a computing, mathematics and language prodigy.

For her exceptional excellence and outstanding service to young women and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) industries, Anne-Marie was named on the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) Honours List 2017, and on May 19 this year, she was decorated by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

At 27, she is the youngest scientist to get royal recognition since 1890.

Anne-Marie was born in England in 1990 to Edo parents, Chris (an ophthalmologist who emigrated to London) and Ann Imafidon.

She is one of the youngest to have passed two GCSE Examinations in two different subjects (in Mathematics and Information Technology) while in primary school at the age of 11.

Ms Imafidon began school at St Saviour Church of England Primary School in Walthamstowe, London, and could speak six languages by the age of 10.

She studied at the Lyceum Institute of Technology in East Ham, London, where she became the youngest person ever to obtain a qualification in Information Technology.

At 13, in 2003, she received a British scholarship to study mathematics at the Johns Hopkins University, and at 15, in 2005, she was admitted to a degree programme by the University of Oxford.

At 17, she started a master’s degree at Oxford University and, at 19 in June 2010, she became the youngest ever graduate with a master’s degree.

Imafidon worked briefly for Goldman Sachs, Hewlett Packard, and Deutschebank before founding Stemettes, a social enterprise promoting women in STEM careers, in 2013. She has also co-founded Outbox Incubator, the world’s first tech incubator for teenage girls.

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Career

Anne-Marie has committed herself, through Stemettes, to promoting women and girls who are considering careers in STEM. Through sessions and ‘hackathons’ (coding sessions for girls), Ms Imafidon promotes confidence in girls who show interest in STEM.

In April 2014, she was the keynote speaker at the BCS Women Lovelace Colloquium.

Ms Imafidon discovered the poor number of women in STEM-related careers after she completed her master’s degree and was invited to speak on women in computing in the US.

“You’re allowed to say you’re not good at maths in public and joke about it, but you’d never dream of saying you’re not great at English or can’t read. People ascribe maths to a genius and all the stereotypes that come with that: crazy hair, smelling, liking cats, drinking coffee and working in the dark,” she said.

She believes it is a fear of failure that holds many women back from pursuing STEM careers, and she is determined to change that.

“If you’re a parent and pro-maths, you’re seen as a tiger mum. Though trying to understand maths means we have a better chance of survival – whole global systems run from it,” she says.

Ann-Marie says if she becomes a mother, she doesn’t want her kids to see her as an oddity or feel that their parent works in a shrinking sector for women.

“On a macro level, I know tech is driving so much of our GDP. There’s a shortage of people in those careers, why don’t we have more girls in this industry for our own sakes?

“There’s a difference between men and women’s confidence in their own abilities: if you have a job description, and it has 10 points on it, a woman might have eight of them but won’t apply. A man may only have three, but will apply for it anyway and wing it from there,” she says.

Imafidon has worked with around 15,000 girls directly, giving the Stemettes an insight into what works at a grassroots level, normalising maths, and making it fun for girls to succeed in.

Over 7000 young women from across the UK, Ireland, and Europe in general have had the Stemettes experience, through workshops, public events, and incubators designed to introduce young women to STEM concepts, and careers.

Honors/Awards

Among her numerous awards and recognition are the UK IT Industry and the BCS (British Computer Society) Young IT Professional of the Year, 2013; Red Magazine’s ‘Woman of the Year Award, 2014; Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award, 2014; the 8th Most Influential Woman in IT in 2016, Evening Standard’s list of ‘25 under 25s’ and one of Guardian’s ‘Top 10 women in Tech You Need to Know’, and MBE, 2016, “For services to young women within STEM careers.”