A five-day training workshop on Introduction Course to Grant Proposal Writing and Scientific Writing was held at the NMIMR from 5th – 9th December, 2022 with funding support from the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) Capacity building unit and ACE Partner program.
The training workshop brought together 13 PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and young researchers who shared common scientific interest from 10 different universities and research institutes from West Africa which included:
Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Ghana
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
ACECoR, Ghana,
WACCBIP, Ghana,
WANIDA, Ghana
CERFIG, Guinea,
University of Science and Technology of Bamako, Mali,
Abdou Moumouni University, Niger,
IPAR, Senegal,
Assane Seck Ziguinchor University, Senegal,
Cheikh Anta Diop University, Senegal.
Majority of the participants have a link with with IRD through programs such as “Junior Teams Associated (JEAI), the “International Joint Laboratories” (LMI), International Scientific Coordination Network – South (IRN) and African Centers of Excellence:
ACE Partner scholarships program
IRN FAD-M-PH
JEAI COASTS UNDER CONTROL
JEAI STIMULI
LMI CONS-HELM
LMI DynPathos
LMI ECLAIRS
LMI MOVIDA
LMI RESPIRE
Skills development
The IRD Capacity building unit is in charge of organizing transversal training workshops to respond directly and concretely to the needs of training that is necessary for the daily researcher practice.
Research grant proposal writing is a priority in the world of research. The first session of the training was to introduce participants to the means of identifying funding sources and tools for responding to calls for projects. This first session was led by Dr. Susan Waiyego Mwangi, researcher and lecturer at the Department of History, Archaeology and Political Science at the Kenyatta University and Dr. Gustave SIMO, Director at the Department of Molecular Parasitology and Entomology at the Dschang University. In 2021, both speakers took part in a training titled “Training of Trainers (F2F)” workshop organized by the IRD Capacity Building Unit.
Participants interacting at the breakout session
The second session which focused on scientific writing with the need for participants to publish their papers in international journals was led by Pr. Oumarou Malam Issa, Director of Research of IRD at the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences in Paris. The participants were able to strengthen their methodology and improve their skills and also demonstrated their commitment and team spirit.
Facilitator Pr. Oumarou Malam Issa taking participants through research article structure
This workshop was facilitated by Rev.Mrs. Gloria Lakwor Obeng-Benefo, NMIMR Public relations officer and coordinated by M. Nabil El Kente and Ms. Sophia-Nicée Samba, IRD Capacity building unit Project officers in close collaboration with Dr. David Courtin, IRD representative in Ghana and invited researcher at the NMIMR.
Facilitator and participants engage in question and answer session
At the end of the training, participants appreciated the guidance and expertise and the new knowledge gained to strengthen their skills while developing their network.