Experiences of doctoral students enrolled in a research fellowship program to support doctoral training in Africa (2014 to 2018): The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa odyssey
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Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
PLoS ONE
Abstract
The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) aims to transform
higher education in Africa. One of its main thrusts is supporting promising university faculty
(fellows) to obtain high quality doctoral training. CARTA offers fellows robust support which
includes funding of their attendance at Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes) throughout the
doctoral training period. An evaluation is critical in improving program outcomes. In this
study; we, CARTA fellows who attended the fourth JAS in 2018, appraised the CARTA program from our perspective, specifically focusing on the organization of the program and
its influence on the fellows’ individual and institutional development.
Methods
Exploratory Qualitative Study Design was used and data was obtained from three focus
group discussions among the fellows in March 2018. The data were analyzed using thematic
approach within the framework of good practice elements in doctoral training–Formal
Research Training, Activities Driven by Doctoral Candidates, Career Development as well
as Concepts and Structures.
Results
In all, 21 fellows from six African countries participated and all had been in the CARTA program
for at least three years. The fellowship has increased fellows research skills and
expanded our research capacities. This tremendously improved the quality of our doctoral
research and it was also evident in our research outputs, including the number of peerreviewed
publications. The CARTA experience inculcated a multidisciplinary approach to
our research and enabled significant improvement in our organizational, teaching, and leadership
skills. All these were achieved through the well-organized structures of CARTA and
these have transformed us to change agents who are already taking on research and
administrative responsibilities in our various home institutions. Unfortunately, during the
long break between the second and the third JAS, there was a gap in communication
between CARTA and her fellows, which resulted in some transient loss of focus by a few
fellows.
Conclusion
The CARTA model which builds the research capacity of doctoral fellows through robust
support, including intermittent strategic Joint Advanced Seminars has had effective and
transformative impacts on our doctoral odyssey. However, there is a need to maintain the
momentum through continuous communication between CARTA and the fellows all through
this journey.
Description
Keywords
Doctoral students, Research fellowship program, Doctoral training, The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa odyssey
Citation
Balogun FM, Malele-Kolisa Y, Nieuwoudt SJ, Jepngetich H, Kiplagat J, Morakinyo OM, et al. (2021) Experiences of doctoral students enrolled in a research fellowship program to support doctoral training in Africa (2014 to 2018): The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa odyssey. PLoS ONE 16(6): e0252863. https://doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.0252863