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Helping Seal The 'Leaking Pipeline'
Dumfries-based, SAC dairy systems researcher, Mizec Chagunda, has been in Zambia where he contributed to a programme seeking to help more African women reach the top in the academic and corporate worlds.
Globally the number of women entering graduate and professional schools has been rising, but the number of those reaching the top rung has remained relatively stagnant. In sub-Saharan Africa this “leaking pipeline” is similar if not worse.
Having realised this, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) through its Gender and Diversity, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) programme introduced specially tailored two-year career development fellowships. The fellowship aims at strengthening skills among female agricultural scientists working on research and development. It is available at three levels: post-Bachelors, post-Masters and post-doctorate.
Among other initiatives, the fellows attend short courses and training workshops in science writing or proposal writing organised by the International Foundation for Science ( IFS). Mizeck was one of the trainers on the first Workshops for AWARD fellows in agricultural research which was hosted by the Department of Animal Sciences & Human Nutrition, University of Zambia.
During the training, Mizeck taught and led discussion on how to develop a successful research proposal, identify a research question and hypothesis; and how to develop a research proposal title. Other topics included, organising the research plan, study design and data management, developing a logical framework, and channelling research evidence to inform policy and development.
The training workshop, which was officially opened by the Zambian Minister of Science, Technology and Vocational Training, attracted 24 participants from universities, colleges and research institutions from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Malawi, Nigeria, Ghana, and Zambia. It is hoped the series will generate critical courses for academic training that universities can incorporate or emulate.