© Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa( CARTA) & University of Nairobi( UoN)
through the interviews. Looking closer, their research methods were weak and their proposals had numerous gaps.
In 2006, as part of a consultation with University of Colorado, APHRC strived to understand what was happening to doctorate training in Africa and tried to rethink on how doctorate programs were being implemented in Africa. In mid 2000s, there were growing concerns about the future of African academy and unique challenges emerged on doctoral training in Africa. The need for a new orientation led to the birth of CARTA.
As part of sharing of lessons learnt and successes since 2005 as CARTA, Prof. Ezeh indicated that the curriculum that CARTA uses was developed by African Universities.
Where we began in retrospect
With the growing concerns about future of African academy and unique challenges of doctoral training, CARTA set off to offer solutions for improving the quality of doctoral training. Specific challenges that doctoral training faced included the structure of the training and the way training was done. The time it took to complete a PhD was on average 10 years. This brought about the need for a new orientation. There was a window of opportunity to reevaluate how African postdoctoral training was done. The question was that even under the leadership of globally trained academics, what would happen if African leadership took charge?
As part of rethinking the African reality, Prof. Ezeh indicated that there was need for belief in the African Academy to produce globally competitive scholars and recognition of the need to transform. Individually, despite how well-endowed a university was or is; it does not have the capacity to produce quality graduates. This called for training of the next generation of researchers to become research leaders and adjust the different levels of the training system to suit African needs. Dr. Ezeh indicated that University transformation can only come from within. Universities must therefore understand that training of PhD is not enough.
To create change, Prof. Ezeh specified that there is therefore the need for change of mindsets, attitudes and hierarchies in African universities. This calls for building of core research competencies including both soft( negotiation, networking, fundraising skills) and hard skills( ability to analyze data, interpret and communicate). The standard of excellence should however be on the level of international standards for the scholars to fit in the global market and compete internationally.
This brought about the need for an African academy that offers effective researchers and leaders. Focus should also be on reaching out to the wider university community( engagement of administrative staff, governance)
Through an independent evaluation carried out in 2015, CARTA knew that it was on the right track. An external independent body undertook to evaluate the CARTA model for doctoral training in low and middle level Universities. The following was highlighted:
1. Relevance – CARTA offered a unique niche, providing fellows with a breadth and richness that is absent in other programmes locally and in the African region.
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CARTA’ s 2 nd Vice Chancellor’ s Meeting – Report of meeting proceedings – July 10-11, 2017