My path from Niger to my Ph.D. in France
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I’m glad to say that on September 17th, I successfully defended my Ph.D. thesis in computer science and machine learning and was awarded the title of doctor of Clermont Auvergne University. This is my path!
I’m 27 years old, from Niger, and I’m the firstborn of five sisters. My mother married at the age of 18 and dropped out of school. She was getting ready to start high school. In the 1980s, my father enlisted in the army. He also did not have the opportunity to attend university. My parents’ monthly incomes have been less than 800 EUR since I was born.
My father wanted me to become a medical doctor when I graduated from the Excellence High School of Niamey (a public high school that attracts the finest students from around the country) in 2012. However, I realized that this route would not suit me because my love has always been mathematics. I opted to choose the latter route. I received scholarships from the governments of Morocco and Niger based on my baccalaureate results (see Image 1, overall grade 15.5/20 with 20/20 in mathematics by solving all problems two hours over the fourth given) and went to Morroco to study mathematics, computer science, and physics for three years. During this curriculum, I encountered computer science programming for the first time and fell in love with it.
Despite having various advantages in Morocco (education and housing costs were nearly free), the social backdrop was tough because of my skin tone.
In 2015, I concentrated on applied mathematics with the goal of becoming an engineer. To that purpose, I applied to numerous engineering colleges in France and was accepted with no examinations. One of the institutions that accepted me (Sup Galilée) is in Paris, but I couldn’t afford to live there. I chose Polytech Clermont and graduated three years later as an applied mathematics engineer. During my last year of studies, I had the option to pursue a double curriculum in research master’s degree in computer science at lSIMA Clermont-Ferrand (I had classes from Monday to Wednesday at Polytech and the remaining days at ISIMA). I completed a research internship at LIMOS Lab to verify both degrees. With my degree results (engineering 15.5/20 and research master 14/20), I won first place in the Excellence prize presented by a Nigeriens group in France (see Image 2).
During my internship, I received Ph.D. support (105 000 EUR) from the French National Agency of Research for three years. Before the financing was confirmed, I submitted for a Ph.D. thesis offer from Université Laval with a yearly salary of $18,000 CAD and was chosen from among candidates from all over the world (see Image 3). I recall having 615 EUR in my bank account from my internship salary, but neither my parents nor my relatives were able to assist me in moving to Canada. Meanwhile, my Ph.D. funding in France had been approved, and I had the opportunity to conduct three years of incredible study in diverse disciplines.
During my second year of the thesis, my co-supervisor in Canada suggested a post-doctoral position for me to continue working with him once I had my Ph.D. At the same time, I received an offer from Prevision.io for a machine learning scientist. The latter corporation assured me that the post would be mine till I completed my Ph.D. I chose Prevision.io and will begin the position the following week.
My stay in France would not have been feasible without the French government’s housing support for international students, which is essentially free of charge at institutions. In addition, I was able to undertake food deliveries (sometimes 11 hours per day, despite the weather, see Image 4) to earn some money, which I used to pay my expenses and send some pieces to Niger to assist my family.
Before leaving my home, I had two primary goals: to always follow my passion and to teach my sisters and anybody else in my circumstance that no matter how difficult it is, especially when there are financial concerns, the hard effort would always pay off. My sister moved to France last year to study, and it’s satisfying for me to have accomplished both aims!
My mentality is to dream big and put in the effort to attain them! The universe, not the sky, is my limit! The Ph.D. is one step along the route I’ve chosen for myself, and the best is yet to come!
Image 1: Transcript of my baccalaureate degree.
Image 2: Certificate of Excellence obtained with double curriculum degrees results.
Image 3: Invitation letter for Ph.D. at University Laval.
Image 4: Me 3 years ago doing food deliveries for UberEats despite the weather conditions. Some days, especially weekends, I used to work from 11 am to 11 pm.
