Early- and mid-career transitions to research leadership in Africa

Linda Mtwisha, Jose Jackson, Alison Mitchel, Ama de-Graft Aikins, Harriet Kebirungi, Karim Outtara, Clare Viney

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article examines the early-and mid-career transition to research leadership in Africa. Much of the available African literature on research leadership indicate several challenges related to poor conceptualisations of career transitions and gaps in the availability of research training. Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews (n=24) and focus groups (n=27) to identify key transition points of early career researchers (ECRs) and mid-career researchers (MCRs) in selected African countries. The qualitative data was complemented with quantitative survey questionnaires (n=250) and a triangulation approach was adopted to analyse the results. The findings were themed into different categories describing the common career paths, stages and challenges of research leaders. The latter part of the findings present a discussion on development approaches to attract and retain researchers in African universities. By focusing on the African continent, this study contributes to the current body of literature on research leadership in the Global South.

Original languageEnglish
Article number74
JournalWellcome Open Research
Volume6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Africa
  • Early career researchers
  • Mid-career researchers
  • Professional development
  • Research leadership
  • Transition

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