The University of Nairobi (UoN) hosted its annual Research and Innovation Week, from October 21 to October 24, 2025. It’s a crucial annual forum for researchers, academicians, industry players, and students to converge and share ground-breaking research findings and innovations. Part of this week were the Early Career Researcher Mentorship and Training Workshops. These align with UoN’s mission of strengthening research capacity, mentorship, and innovation among early-career researchers and PhD students.
This year, the timing and location of the EDE meeting were particularly meaningful. By aligning the EDE Discourse Analysis with the Research Week, EDE participants were able to contribute directly to national conversations on research and postgraduate training while also advancing the project’s internal goals.
EDE partners led and contributed to multiple Training Workshop sessions on topics such as EU funding opportunities, research ethics, PhD supervision models, the opportunities and challenges of PhD education in the Netherlands, and productive and responsible uses of AI in research. These sessions not only enriched the local research community but also created invaluable opportunities for mutual learning and collaboration among the EDE partners.
The alignment of the EDE workshop with the Research Week exemplified the project’s commitment to meaningful engagement with national higher education ecosystems. By sharing international expertise and local perspectives in one forum, the collaboration created momentum for sustainable improvements in doctoral education across the region.
Colette Gerards – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Saskia Hartog – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
prof Meshach Aziakpono – Rhodes University
Prof Liezel Frick – Stellenbosch University
