Abstract
Sustainable research capacity building requires training individuals at multiple levels within a supportive institutional infrastructure to develop a critical mass of independent researchers. At many African medical institutions, a PhD is important for academic promotion and is, therefore, an important focal area for capacity building programs. We examine the training at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) as a model for in-country training based on systems capacity building and attention to the academic environment. PhD training in Africa should provide a strong research foundation for individuals to perform independent, original research and to mentor others. Training the next generation of researchers within excellent indigenous academic centers of excellence with strong institutional infrastructure will empower trainees to ask regionally relevant research questions that will benefit Africans.
Highlights
Sustainable research capacity building requires training individuals at multiple levels within a supportive institutional infrastructure to develop a critical mass of independent researchers
Research capacity building has been highlighted as an important strategy to improving health, alleviating poverty, and achieving the Millennium Development Goals in developing countries [1]
We examine the training at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) as a model for in-country training based on systems capacity building and attention to the academic environment
Summary
PhD programs that are fully funded are still rare and lead to trainees choosing research areas opportunistically based on the funding rather than strategically according to their interests This may be advantageous initially to develop a strong research foundation, but research-training success should be measured by trainees’ pursuit of their own research interests driven by local needs. Because the environment is less mature in terms of research methods courses and formal training of supervisors to mentor, the process cannot be wholly Darwinian for PhD students, but some success has to be guaranteed This has to be balanced against the requirement for trainees to take responsibility for their own success; being chosen for a particular PhD opportunity cannot be synonymous with success. Centers of Excellence such as the IDI can provide a research environment that can contribute to training a large group of researchers who may not have secured
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