CALL FOR TRAINERS: Yebo! Project Workshop

26 April 2019

Deadline: 17 May 2019

As part of the Yebo! project on the internationalization of doctoral studies, EUA is opening a call for trainers for the 3^rd Yebo! training on “Developing a toolbox for managing international collaborative Phd programmes”. The training session will be hosted by the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch from 24 to 28 June 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.

About the project

Yebo! is the an Erasmus+ capacity building project that involves 7 South African Universities and 5 European Universities and is coordinated by the University of Montpellier.

The project focuses on the internationalisation of doctoral studies, the promotion of the Internationalisation of doctoral studies in South Africa and Europe, increasing the number of doctoral candidates and staff trained in the Internationalisation of doctoral studies as well as the facilitation of access to information relating to funding, mobility and administrative procedure.Three main approaches were identified in response to the needed development of capacities in South African universities:

the evaluation of partners’ internationalization rate
the creation of a PhD portal
the organization of conferences and training sessions.

About the training

The student-supervisor interaction taking place across borders, nationalities and cultures is central for the internationalisation of doctoral studies. Given these diverse contexts, participation in the higher education system of different countries can sometimes mean that conflicting norms, legislative frameworks and educational traditions come into play.

This consideration is also true at an inter-institutional level within South Africa.

In the light of this analysis, this training workshop will look at international doctoral engagement through the mode of joint doctorates at different partner institutions. It will seek to map the elements that need attention when contemplating enrolling doctoral candidates in this way and aim to provide a template for South African partners to use. The training workshop will also look at some specific challenges that impact in the different contexts, from the macro to the micro level. Lastly, this workshop will also allow for some alternative models of supervisory training to be shared since adequate supervisory capacity development in this country is a particular challenge.

Training programme

24 June	Arrival dinner and networking opportunity
25 June	Setting the scene: Morning session Where are we in terms of handling international collaborative doctoral programmes at institutional level in South Africa? (Each institution to present its status, needs and challenges) Afternoon session SA Council for Higher Education (CHE) birds’ eye view. Present results of CHE survey and present the challenges related to collaborative doctoral programmes – Dr Amani Saidi (Director, Quality Assurance and Promotion Coordination; TBC).
26 June	Morning session How does the South Africa’ national structure look like? What must be taken into consideration when setting up policies and partnerships involving international collaborative doctoral programmes. This would include an overview of frameworks that define collaborative degrees, legal frameworks, academic frameworks, including examination, institutional approval structures, matching outcomes across systems. Supervisory capacity is an additional challenge in the South African Higher Education context. Some work has examined the potential of joint degrees to increase supervisory capacity. The European trainers can share their experience on this topic. Afternoon session How to compile a joint collaborative PhD framework agreement. Setting up an actual agreement with input from presenters who have grappled with matching of systems, processes, etc. to arrive at an example of a joint collaborative PhD framework agreement that can be used as a template for the YEBO! partners who are seeking to enter into these types of arrangements.
27 June	Morning session Implementing individual student agreements. SU and UCT will recruit doctoral candidates, supervisors and administrators to share real-life experiences of what worked, what was challenging and what to look out for when implementing individual student agreements. Afternoon session Novel approaches to increase supervisory capacity in international contexts Model 1: Professor Jan Botha (Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science and Technology – CREST) to present on ‘Building doctoral supervisory capacity at African universities through a fully online course’. Professor Botha has developed and delivered this course and will share his experiences about the online training mode, how it works, demonstrate how it looks as well as share an analysis of the feedback and essays from the first round of this course, launched in November 2018.
28 June	Wrap-up and feedback from participants on lessons learnt and further implementation Lunch

Role of the trainer

Trainers are expected to:

Attend the entire workshop

Develop and facilitate on-site training, 2 full days. The first part of the training will be dedicated to the presentation of challenges related to collaborative doctoral programmes in South Africa. The second part will focus on strengthening the participants’ knowledge related to supervision and collaborative PhD framework agreements. On June 27, trainers are requested to propose new approaches to increase the supervisory capacity in international contexts.

Profile of trainer

In order to be considered for this position, trainers are expected to meet the following requirements:

relevant experience in the field of doctoral education and as a supervisor
experience of developing and delivering trainings for doctoral candidates and supervisors
preferably knowledge about the South African Higher Education context
proficiency in English

Support

EUA is responsible for the following:

providing guidance on the structure of the training
covering the expenses for travel and accommodation for the on-site training workshop in Cape Town

Application

To apply for the trainer position, please submit the following information to Ana-Maria at info@eua-cde.org:

A cover letter detailing your experience with joint degrees and with facilitating trainings on the topic of supervisory capacity in international contexts
Your CV (maximum of 2 pages)

The deadline for submitting your application is Friday, May 17, 2019.