Research careers in fragile contexts - The effects and potentials of doctoral education
Short description
How can doctoral students in North-South development aid partnerships best be supported in their transition to independent researchers? This project examines the career development of participants in doctoral education programs organized between universities in Sweden and five African countries. Through a comprehensive study involving surveys, interviews, and in-depth analysis, the project maps how these programs contribute to building strong networks and research competencies that are relevant to local needs.
The purpose of this research is to provide knowledge for PhD programs in North-South development aid partnerships on how to support graduates’ transitions to independent researchers, with solid networks, and potential to conduct research of good quality. This project will define the conditions necessary to develop future successful researchers by investigating the early careers of graduates from PhD programs organized between universities in Sweden and five African countries:
- Ethiopia
- Mozambique
- Rwanda
- Tanzania
- Uganda.
Following calls from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) for Research Training Partnership Programs between Swedish universities and universities in select low-income countries, 43 PhD programs have been supported in the five African countries since 2015. For this project, all graduates from these programs (ca. 592 students) will be invited to participate.
Undertaken over four years, this project will use a mixed methods design, where data will be collected via a questionnaire and interviews at two time points. This will be complemented by an in-depth analysis of how the programs support students in developing knowledge that is relevant for researching their local contexts. The project is unique because a multi-country study focusing on this population has not been done before.
Project members
- Aimee Haley, Assistant Professor, University of Gothenburg
- Alebachew Kemisso Haybano, Associate Professor, Addis Ababa University
- Gun-Britt Wärvik, Professor, University of Gothenburg
International Advisory Group
- Dr. Bengt Ove Turesson, Director at the International Science Programme, Uppsala University
- Prof Brook Lemma, Director for Sida Projects, Addis Ababa University
- Prof. Buyinza Mukadasi, Director of Research and Graduate Training, Makerere University
- Prof John Mango, Makerere University
- Dr. Lars Hartvigson, Former Director of International Development Collaboration, Jönköping University
- Dr. Olle Terenius, Project Coordinator at the International Science Programme, Uppsala University
- Dr. Peter Sundin, Former Director at the International Science Programme, Uppsala University
- Dr. Raymond Ndikumana, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Strategic Planning & Administration, University of Rwanda
- Mr. Vasco Manjate, Administrator at the Cooperation Office, Eduardo Mondlane University
