© Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa ( CARTA ) & University of Nairobi ( UoN )
1 . To share the findings from discussions with Vice Chancellors of CARTA partner universities on Research funding landscape and doctoral training in Africa and provide opportunities for additional inputs to finalize the report for publication in a reputable journal ; 2 . To update on CARTA ’ s progress to-date and its future directions ; 3 . To update on CARTA ’ s engagement with each university and opportunities to strengthen these engagements ; and
4 . To deliberate on the best strategies for institutionalization of CARTA at partner universities , including the future of CARTA graduates and how best to support them to become research leaders and change agents in their universities .
The set outcomes of the meeting included :
1 . A manuscript for publication in a reputable journal on the Research funding landscape and doctoral training in Africa that will be used as a basis for engaging national , regional , continental , and donor stakeholders on the issue of strengthening research and doctoral training among higher education institutions in Africa .
2 . Learning from one another on how best to address the challenges that affect postgraduate and research training in African universities .
3 . Jointly developing workable formulae for post-doctoral trajectories for CARTA and other recent graduates and how they can be utilized effectively in teaching , research and management .
Discussions
With the growing concerns about the unique challenges facing doctoral training , CARTA set off to offer solutions for improving the quality of doctoral training in Kenya . The workshop discussions revolved around funding and differentiation , uncontrolled / rapid expansion ( massification ) of universities , internal accountability & governance and leadership and management capacity issues . From the discussions , it was apparent that African universities must find ways to resolve the resource constraint working against graduate training .
Despite the very critical challenges African universities face , there are still opportunities . The idea of forming consortia is critical to deal with the challenges faced but there has to be mutual respect and willingness to allow this happen . From the discussions , it was evident that PhD students should be assisted to publish on high impact journals . There is also need for major investments in universities with regards to research and development .
This two-day meeting also focused on reflections on CARTA and the role it is playing in PhD training . The consortium ’ s contribution to higher education in the continent cannot be over emphasised and its commitment to strengthen the capacity of partner institutions is to be commended too .
Outcome
From this two-day discussions , it emerged that there are specific challenges that doctoral training has faced over the past and this includes the structure of PhD training and the way training is done . In the past , 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 which led to the birth of CARTA .
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CARTA ’ s 2 nd Vice Chancellor ’ s Meeting – Report of meeting proceedings – July 10-11 , 2017