THE UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI CASESUPERVISOR TRAINING: HOW WE STARTED AND HOW WE ARE DOING IT.

Prof R.G. Wahome

University reorganization Internal evaluation – self assessment Strategic planning Performance contracting New structures

Initiation (time of proposal writing)

College ambition to excel in PhD training Increase the number Shorten the completion period Increase the number of publications

Problem statement and data collected to write proposal

Conception: Effects of inefficient PhD training systems

Poor teaching capacity

Inefficient PhD training systems

Few publications

Low quality of academic staff

Prolonged period from admission to completion

Low quality of PhD training

LowreputationBest candidates go elsewhereLower no. of PhD applicants

1.Insufficient skills for job markets

2.Lower capacity to solve society problems

3. Retarded development

Prof. R.G. Wahome, rgwahome@uonbi.ac.ke,rgwahomegmail.com

Inconsistent supervision

Inefficient PhDTraining

Poor supervision

Poorly prepared students

Inadequate supervision

Poor research

methodology

Poor writing skills

Lack of clear guidelines

Low motivation/ Low benefits

Inadequate preparation at MSc level

Low access to

information

Low competence

of supervisors

Too few supervisors

Poor analytical

skills

No experience in proposal

writing

Prof. R.G. Wahome, rgwahome@uonbi.ac.ke,rgwahomegmail.com

Guidelines are not clear

Inconsistent PhD

programs

Inflexible PhD format

Unclear PhD format

Guidelines are not broadly known

Ineffective mechanisms to track student

progress

Prof. R.G. Wahome, rgwahome@uonbi.ac.ke,rgwahomegmail.com

Not reward/penalty

Inadequate PhD

AdministrationPoor discipline of

PhD supervisors/examin

ers

Slow liaison procedures

External thesis examination too

slow

Poor follow up on progress/ No mechanism

Low motivation

Prof. R.G. Wahome, rgwahome@uonbi.ac.ke,rgwahomegmail.com

Problems beyond the scope of this project Poor Research Support Facilities

Inadequate Infrastructure, Poor maintenance, Lack of funds, Poor culture of maintenance,

Low/expired training, Difficulty to maintain qualified staff, Poor quality support staff

Insecure Finance: Low public Scholarship, Most PhDs are donor funded,

Staff Promotion based on PhD is under funded

The university hierarchy – anchoring activity at the top Senior management (VC- Deputies-

Principals) College administration (Principal-Deans-

Chairmen) Faculty administration (Deans-

Chairmen) Department administration (Chairmen) Members of academic staff

Baseline survey results

32.9

67.1

Have you been engaged in any programmes to improve PhD training at this university?

13.6

37.137.1

12.1

1=Strongly disagree2=Disagree3=Agree4=Strongly agree

Appointment of supervisors is a transparent process

College academic board briefing

Can we work together?

What you do is so important for the success of my work

We can do this if: Support for the trainers in supervision is

sustained A significant proportion of the supervisors

are trained in supervision. The remaining supervisors gets training

and information during the coming years.

Current Characteristics of supervisors a very diversified group. Many have had to take part or all of their education abroad Lack enough authority to foster the changes that are now

needed Too busy or are inadequately motivated to devote time to

supervision excellence Unaware of or lack clear appreciation of rules and

guidelines on supervision modalities, frequency, deadlines, milestones and examination

The results Inconsistency due to lack of effective quality

assurance. Poor or no supervision delays, prolonged studies and, at times,

avoidable failures. Waste of both human and financial resources. Additional delays from examiners

Observations and Implications Supervisors are the primary target group Most supervisors have never received any formal training in

supervision, but rely on a mixture of experience, routine and flair.

Many tend to supervise the way their own supervisor or mentor supervised them.

Some supervisors are gifted and brilliant supervisors, others are not.

Outstanding students might perform regardless of the quality of the supervision they get but many do not

The Goal of the training is to Raise standards for Ph.D. education at UoN

and that are internationally competitive Make the University an attractive study

environment for researchers from the Region Attract donor-funded Ph.D. scholarships to

the university rather than at other universities

The Objectives of this training are to Enhance PhD training supervision to

produce more consistent and quality thesis produced on time.

Minimize delays, prolonged studies, avoidable failures and waste of both human and financial resources.

The order of this training We present some information on learning techniques at

PhD level We upgrade our comprehension on rules and regulations

governing PhD training We deliberate on tools and techniques for supervision We find ways to boost flagging morale for supervision We consider some ethical issues regarding supervision We do this through plenty of brainstorming and

discussing and learning together

Re-awakening of the rules Existing rules found to be generally good. Only minor touches/adjustments required Majority of supervisors discovered that they had

a most superficial knowledge of the rules and their importance

AWAKENED INTEREST TO LEARN THE RULES AND TO APPLY THEM

Initial trainings Opening

/closing/ceremonies: VC/DVC/Principals/director BPS

Speech content Follow-up on

promises made on speech

Where to get funding and how much? Venue costs Conference package Facilitator costs

Driving on to other colleges

Ownership of the project

The Universities’ commitment manifested in continuous injections of cash to supplement project funds and for staff to attend joint meetings in East Africa.

Project outputs taken up by administration: key is review of statutes, tracking of student performance and training in supervision

The European partner LIFE-UC

anchored at the Vice-Chancellors

office In EA U

best practice’ model for KU

co-financing commitment to continue the programme

Why the university took to the project

Timeliness of the project: there was general committment to enhance performance in PhD training

Anchoring the project at TOP university administration

Continuous participation of TOP university management in implementation

STRAPA: cooperation of TOP university managers in annual review and planning meetings

SHUKRANI