Building a vibrant multidisciplinary African Academy that leads world-class research
The Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) was formed in 2008 to support the development of a vibrant African academy that lead world-class multidisciplinary research with positive impact on public and population health. CARTA offers a well thought out approach to rebuild and strengthen the capacity of African researchers and universities to produce world-class researchers, research leaders, and scholars. The collaborative initiative enhances the capacity of African universities to create conducive research environments by supporting junior faculty members to undertake their doctoral training locally and to become internationally recognized research leaders. CARTA is a consortium of eight African partner universities, four research institutions, and eight non-African partner institutions, jointly led by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya, and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa.
Maintaining a Pipeline of High-Quality Early Career Researchers (ECRs)
CARTA will maintain a pipeline of ECRs by offering: doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships; Joint Advanced Seminars (JASes) to equip doctoral fellows with transferable research skills; and training to nudge ECRs into research leadership.
Creation of Research Hubs in Partner Institutions
CARTA will create multidisciplinary, cross-institutional research hubs in partner universities. We will ensure research teams incorporate early career researchers; promote co-design of the research agenda so that researchers engage with end-users of the research; and support research hubs to develop large-scale competitive grant proposals, embedding PhD and postdoctoral training.
Mainstream CARTA Interventions at partner institutions
CARTA will support the creation of research-supportive environments in African partner institutions. We enhance supervisors’ understanding of and commitment to the goals of doctoral supervision, exposing them to best practices in doctoral supervision and mentorship.
Engagement of the CARTA Community with Society
CARTA will enhance the engagement of the CARTA community with society. We will facilitate partnerships between research hubs and policy actors through co-design of research, strengthen CARTA early career researchers’ competencies in science communication, policy engagement and knowledge translation and support knowledge of research products from early career researchers through publications, conferences, and different forms of media.
P.O. Box 10787 – 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
cartaenquiries@aphrc.org
+254 (20) 400 1000, 266 2244, 266 2255
Deadline for submission of initial application materials | April 15, 2024
As part of its innovations, CARTA offers a collaborative doctoral training program in public and population health. This program has been developed in response to the great challenges faced by Africa’s institutions of higher education in addressing the training and retention of the next generation of academics in the region. Specifically, CARTA seeks to fund candidates who will be future leaders in their institutions. That is, young, capable, and committed individuals who, in time, will ensure that their universities will be the institutions of choice for future generations of academics and university administrators wishing to make a positive impact on public and population health in Africa.