Building on the experience gained in previous joint projects, capacity strengthening is a central element in the TriageTB work plan and one of the project’s key objectives. Specifically, the consortium aims to strengthen the capacity of African scientists in clinical trial and assay development procedures and to support the personal development of staff working on TriageTB (both young and senior members).
To support the first objective, several hands on training workshops have been planned and will be implemented in connection to consortium meetings. Furthermore, the group wants to encourage and enable inparticular the African researchers, students and clinical staff working on theTriageTB project to realize their full potential and take ownership ofdeveloping their careers. To that end, a tailor-made mentorship programme will providea structured framework to develop individual career plans and Personal Development Plans, with dedicated interaction time for mentors and mentees at consortium meetings. Access to online resources and training sessions at the consortium meetings will be provided and promoted, and MSc and PhD students from participating institutions who work on projects that are thematically linked to TriageTB will be included in mentoring and training opportunities, and encouragedto present their work at consortium meetings and at international conferences.
The project kickoff meeting which took place in Cape Town South Africa onNovember 14 and 15, 2019, was a great opportunity to welcome many new students to the scheme and introduce them to the different elements of theTriageTB capacity building bundle. A dedicated session created room for them to present their work to the senior scientists of the consortium, discuss it in subsequent Q&A sessions, and take part in meetings with newly found mentors.
A summary of what we have learnt from the mentoring programme in TriageTB and some recommendations for establishing successful mentoring programmes
