Researcher Capacity Building Workshop: South Africa

The UK Academy of Medical Sciences and the Academy of Science of South Africa are hosting a joint researcher capacity building workshop on 22 November 2022. 

This is the first event in our series of researcher capacity building workshops which are designed to help researchers thrive in their careers as an important step towards building the capacity of the research systems globally.

This half-day workshop will accompany a policy workshop on mental health, organised by the Academy's International Policy Team, and is part of our series of researcher capacity building workshops. 

It will provide a platform for researchers accross career levels, and career development experts from different African countries to:

• Share experiences, challenges, and successes in establishing their careers
• Discuss models of mentoring, coaching, and regional networks that offer learning and support opportunities, and are available to researchers based in African countries

Participants at the workshop will include the Academy's Global Challenges Research Fund award holders, and Newton International and Advanced Fellows.

Outputs

This workshop was followed by the publication of a report that summarises the main points arising from the workshop discussions. 

This event is by invitation only.

Steering Committee

Both the early scoping work and development of the workshop was informed by a wide range of experts from different countries and sectors. 

• Co-chair Prof Louise Arseneault FMedsci, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Mental Health Leadership, Kings College London, UK
• Co-chair Prof Tholene Sodi, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Limpopo, South Africa 
• Action Amos, Pan African Network of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities, Malawi
• Dr Rochelle Burgess, Associate Professor in Global Health and Deputy Director, UCL Centre for Global Non-Communicable Diseases, Institute for Global Health, University College London, UK
• Prof Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work, University of Oxford, South Africa
• Prof Charlotte Hanlon, Professor in Global Mental Health, King’s College London, Co-director of the WHO collaborating centre for mental health research and training, King’s College London, Department of Psychiatry and the Centre for Innovative Drug Development and Therapeutic Trials for Africa at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
• Dr Victoria Mutiso, Clinical Psychologist and head of research at the Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation (AMHRTF), Kenya
• Prof Sarah Skeen, Co-Director and Associate Professor, Institute for Life Course Health Research, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
• Prof Mark Solms, Professor in Neuropsychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Prof Leslie Swartz, Professor of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa