Table 2 Doctoral students’ discussions on mentoring through doctoral training at Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Thematic questions | Responses |
|---|---|
What is going well? | ● Peer support received from the increasing number of doctoral candidates in the various disciplines. |
● Available guidelines for doctoral supervision and mentoring. | |
● Increasing numbers of supervisors and their commitment to mentor doctoral candidates. | |
● PhD forum where students have opportunities to present their research projects. | |
What is not going well? | |
Physical space | ● Limited physical space for doctoral students in their respective departments. |
● Limited physical space for the mentors in their respective departments. | |
Procurement | ● Unexplained delays in the procurement processes which, in many cases, delay the students’ progress. |
Registration processes | ● Lengthy registration processes including delays in appointing doctoral supervisors. |
Biomedical sciences | ● Limited number of mentors with the skills to supervise and mentor doctoral students. |
● Limited laboratory infrastructure for biomedical research so that most students have to ship samples abroad. | |
Proposed solutions | |
Infrastructure development | ● Improvement of laboratory infrastructure to support doctoral students’ projects locally. |
● Infrastructure development to create office space for doctoral students during their doctoral period. | |
● Create office space for post-doctoral and faculty involved in mentoring doctoral students and junior faculty. | |
Procurement processes | ● Improve the procurement systems to meet the needs of doctoral students and other scientists in biomedical research at Makerere University. |
Registration processes | ● Induction courses for doctoral students and their mentors, including a mandatory course on PhD supervision. |
● A catalogue of frequently asked questions (FAQs) for doctoral Students and mentors should be compiled and uploaded on the institutional website. | |
● Regular PhD forum meetings and seminars. | |
Communication | ● Communication skills’ training for both mentors and mentees including skills in conflict resolution. |
Others | ● Facilitate more seminars between mentors and doctoral students for inspiration and encouragement through the doctoral training experience. |