How to address structural challenges faced by African researchers

How to address structural challenges faced by African researchers

Wondering how to address structural challenges faced by African researchers? You came to the right place!

In a previous article, I looked at some structural challenges facing African researchers in building careers on the continent. These challenges can hinder students’ progress, in many cases delaying completion of programmes and in others, causing students to drop out altogether. 

Today, I offer some ways in which institutions and individuals can address these challenges:

How to address structural challenges faced by African researchers – 5 Practical ways

Mentorship programmes, peer-learning and community-building

Establishing mentorship programs can provide young researchers with the guidance they need. Such programmes are very useful in building the students’ capacity.

They can take the form of structured mentorship organized by the University or even peer-to-peer mentorship groups where students support each other and share skills.

Creating a supportive and motivating research community can help researchers feel less isolated and more motivated. 

Funding

Increasing funding for research is crucial to address challenges facing African researchers.

This could involve lobbying governments for more research funding, seeking grants from international organizations, or exploring private sector partnerships.

There are currently many organizations offering scholarships for African students at Masters and PhD level. Linkedin is a great resource to find such opportunities. 

Training

Offering workshops and training programs on research methodologies and academic writing can help improve the quality of research.

Again, there are more and more organizations offering workshops, fellowships and other form of training to support African researchers. 

Policy and Public Engagement

Scientists need to engage more with policymakers to highlight the importance of their work and influence policy decisions. This requires training for researchers in science communication to help them craft their message for a policy and public audience. 

Collaborations

Establishing collaborations within the African continent and with the rest of the world is vital to expand research and innovation capacities.

Collaborations between African and institutions from the rest of the world are important and readily available, though they can face challenges such as power imbalances and hijacking of the research agenda by non-African institutions.

Collaborations between African institutions are of particular value and should be embraced as much as possible. 

Conclusion

Overall, the challenges facing African researchers can be faced with an investment of time and money in improving the research environment. Initiatives can be done at a larger scale by government and institutions, but individuals can also play their own part by reaching out to their peers and mentors to work with. 

Are you a part of any initiatives to address the challenges discussed? We’d love to hear from you! 

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