Mentors from Ethiopia and the UK are sought for a new mentoring scheme for Early Career Researchers and Phd students, funded by the British Academy.

The mentor programme is part of a wider initiative called Working in Solidarity with Ethiopian Universities, with the University of East London. DSA member Dr Susannah Pickering-Saqqa, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Development and NGO Management in the School of Education and Communities, is one of the instigators of the programme.

The purpose of the mentoring programme is to build capacity for academic staff and Phd students at the 8 Ethiopian research universities to publish high quality research outputs in the fields of political and social sciences, languages, development studies, history.

Expressions of interest by all interested mentors need to be made by 30 August 2024.

Email your full CV; evidence of experience in mentoring or coaching; evidence of Phd research supervision; track record of research publications in academic journals to [email protected].

For full details download the terms of reference.

Over the last three decades, Ethiopia’s higher education system has undergone significant expansion, with the number of public HE institutions rising from one to 45 universities.

This expansion has widened access to higher education, but has also resulted in limitations of educational standards. In response, the Ethiopian government has shifted focus to enhancing the quality of education and research and, in 2020, categorised eight universities as “Research Universities” . These institutions now have a greater emphasis on research and publication in reputable journals.

The “Working in Solidarity with Ethiopian Universities programme” is designed to strengthen the academic publishing skills within the eight research universitis and the mentoring scheme for academics is the next steps in this.

Visit the UEL website for more information about the programme.