Joint doctoral school programme expands into Ethiopia

Over the past two years, SU has partnered with universities in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Namibia, where successful joint schools were hosted. In August, this network was extended even further when the African Doctoral Academy (ADA) and the Africa Centre for Scholarship (ACS) hosted the first joint doctoral school in Ethiopia.

 The Ethiopian project started off with a funding proposal to the Flemish Interuniversity Council, which SU International submitted along with KU Leuven in Belgium and the three universities of Mekelle, Bahir Dar and Arba Minch in Ethiopia. With funding secured, the project will now run for three years, offering each Ethiopian university the opportunity to host a two-week joint doctoral summer school. This will be modelled on the ADA’s well-established and highly popular doctoral summer and winter schools hosted at Stellenbosch each year.

 The aims of the project are twofold. Firstly, current and prospective PhD candidates will receive high-impact capacity development training to prepare them for the PhD journey, both academically and methodologically. At a more personal level, however, the project also seeks to provide gender sensitivity training, helping the three host institutions to build a more gender-aware and inclusive culture.

 The first two-week school took place at the University of Mekelle North and was attended by 44 delegates from across a range of disciplines. With input from Mekelle, the programme was coordinated by Prof Veerle Draulans, a gender expert from KU Leuven, along with Corina du Toit, ADA programme manager. The first week featured lectures by ACS head Prof Sarah Howie on planning and preparing for a PhD. Delegates were introduced to project management principles, how to go about developing a research question and proposal, establishing the scope of the research project, and deciding on a suitable research design and methodology. SU’s Prof Leslie Swartz, extraordinary professor of Psychology, joined Corina, and elaborated on the qualitative research process and how to frame one’s research. The week culminated in delegates presenting posters of their research proposals to their peers for feedback and comment.

 In addition to the research-focused sessions, Prof Draulans shared with delegates the principles for adopting a gender-sensitive approach in their research groups and university. This, she pointed out, could even help them influence policy more broadly and ensure that women enjoy the same opportunities as men in the long term. Also in the second week of the school, Prof Wim van Petegem, a regular ADA presenter from KU Leuven, facilitated sessions on the use of digital technologies in the classroom, as well as academic writing.

 As the focus on enhancing postgraduate research and supervision capacity at African universities grows, the demand for training opportunities increases. The Joint Schools in Africa programme offers a valuable opportunity to delegates who would like to attend the winter or summer schools at Stellenbosch, but either lack the resources to travel to South Africa or cannot be accommodated due to capacity constraints. To SU International, in turn, the programme offers a chance to establish the diverse needs of students on the continent, the prevailing trends in their doctoral education systems, and the challenges they face. All of this helps the ADA and ACS create relevant training opportunities, while also ensuring that the programme keeps on evolving year on year.