AFRICA
Masterclasses address knowledge gaps in doctoral training
Some of the most pertinent challenges young academics may face as they begin to build careers as teachers and scientists were tackled during three masterclasses offered by seasoned academics to 25 handpicked participants from across Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during 25-29 April.The masterclasses were part of the third Higher Education Forum for Africa, Asia and Latin America (HEFAALA III) symposium titled, ‘Academic collaboration in Africa, Asia and Latin America in the post-COVID world’.
It also coincided with the 20th international conference on private higher education titled, ‘Embracing new realities and paradigms: Africa’s higher education response’, hosted by St Mary’s University, a private institution located in Addis Ababa.
The early-career academics from across Africa were selected from about 400 applicants to participate in the masterclasses, which had the overarching aim of building a next generation of academic leaders.
Some of the delegates have recently graduated with PhDs while others are still busy with research on topics ranging from climate change to occupational therapy and malaria.
The number of applications – of which 100 were received in less than 24 hours after the call was published – suggested that the masterclasses were addressing a “massive” need experienced by early-career academics, said Professor Damtew Teferra, organiser of the masterclasses, which took place for a third time in 2022. St Mary's University, the International Network for Higher Education in Africa and the Mastercard Foundation supported the initiative.
Teferra is the director of research and academic planning at the Association of African Universities, the founding director of the International Network for Higher Education in Africa at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and a founder of HEFAALA.
The engagement of the early-career academics on the challenges of scholarly publishing, collaborating and co-construction of knowledge with other scientists, and requests for help with the writing of proposals and biosketches, highlighted some gaps in universities’ doctoral training, in particular, as Teferra described it, the need for “systematic mentoring”.
By the end of the week, the participants had begun to build networks, saying in a feedback session that they had set up WhatsApp groups to collaborate in specific fields such as climate change, but were also hoping to pursue transdisciplinary opportunities.
In addition to networking, presentation skills, self-branding and the communication of scientific knowledge to lay audiences also emerged as some of the professional soft skills needs that young academics would welcome as part of doctoral training.
Said one delegate in his feedback to the organisers: “We are sure that, whatever you have sown has an impact academically and socially. There is engagement already [on WhatsApp groups],” he said.
Gatekeepers and gate-openers
The title of the first masterclass on publishing was ‘Knocking at the gates of knowledge gatekeepers: The significance of collaboration’.
Experienced academics shared their practical experiences and tips as players in the ‘game of academic publishing’ with the group of young academics.
Discussion topics that were covered included the process of scholarly publishing, starting from the choice of journal, taking care to avoid predatory journals, referencing, plagiarism, dealing with rejection, resubmission and the benefits of publishing.
“We were empowered to strategise. The publishing world is political and geopolitical. In Africa, we do produce knowledge and get it out, but the masterclass shortened our journey to get our work out,” said one of the participants.
Guiding the discussions on publishing was Teferra, who is also the founding editor in chief of the International Journal of African Higher Education.
Other masterclass facilitators included Professor Abdoulaye Gueye from the University of Ottawa; Dr Gift Masaiti from the University of Zambia; Professor Ibrahim Oanda of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa at CODESRIA and Dr Moses Osiru from the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology, or PASET, which is an African-led initiative with the goal of strengthening skills in the applied sciences, engineering and technology to further socio-economic transformation.
Dr Ayenachew Woldegiyorgis, from Boston College, United States, and Dr Abebaw Yirga from the University of Addis Ababa also facilitated.
On the co-construction of knowledge, Dr Proscovia Namubiru-Ssentamu, from the Uganda Management Institute, spoke about the stakeholders and collaboration on the academic front, including through joint scholarly publishing.
A young academic from Ghana said he had benefited from the session. “It is the first time I learned about the importance of collaboration,” he said.
The lead facilitators in the workshop titled ‘Overcoming Marginality through Academic Collaboration’ were Dr Nangula Iipumbu of the University of Namibia and Dr Mthokozisi Ntuli of the Mangosuthu University of Technology, South Africa.
In a context of collaboration, the theme addressed some of the challenges that young academics may encounter and how to overcome them. The academics identified some of the glass ceilings in global, institutional and social contexts in academia.
Some of the challenges which may, for instance, contribute to inequity include language barriers; vaccine inequality, in which case the type of COVID vaccines required by the country visited may prevent academics from travelling; financial barriers for students from Africa who may want to access institutions in the Global North and a lack of qualification harmonisation.
Aspects such as limited technology infrastructure, power dynamics, race, gender, ethnicity, class and religion were also discussed as obstacles that could prevent academics from functioning optimally.
Effective leadership and policies at institutional and national level to address these challenges were mentioned as strategies to tackle some of the inequities.
The importance of mentorship
At the end of the week the academics who facilitated the masterclasses, some of them also early-career academics, said they all benefited from focused academic mentorship.
Said Ntuli: “I was mentored, so it challenged me to also mentor.”
Dr Fred Awaa, a lecturer at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, and another facilitator at the masterclasses, said he had also benefited from “strong mentorship”.
“Take every conversation [at networking events] seriously,” was his advice to the group.
Namubiru-Ssentamu challenged the group of young academics to expand their horizons, to get out of their comfort zones, to create ripple effects, to hunger for knowledge, to brand themselves – and to “be available” as a willingness to help can open up opportunities.
“Grow your niche,” she said, “otherwise you waste your time running around,” was another piece of advice she offered.
Speaking about the challenges facing women, Namubiru-Ssentamu said family support was important.
She also reminded the early-career academics that the higher education sector needs educators. “We do not need doctors and agriculturists only. We need educators in these fields,” said Namubiru-Ssentamu.