Training: teaching and individual support
The IRD’s contribution to training includes formal teaching, supervising doctoral students and provision of grants for doctoral students and fellowships for researchers pursuing in-service training.
IRD scientists’ contribution to academic teaching has been growing steadily for some years. It now amounts to nearly 7400 hours of teaching a year, one-third of these in Southern establishments and mainly for Master’s degree students. Africa accounts for 45% of teaching hours in the South, and over half of that is in West Africa. Latin America accounts for 39% and the Asia-Pacific region for 16%. Most of the teaching in France is at the Île-de-France and Montpellier centres.
The Institute’s role in training young researchers is increasing. In 2009 IRD scientists supervised 816 doctoral theses. More than 470 of these were from Southern countries and some hundred submitted their theses. The total number of thesis submissions was up from 100 to 160. Investment in in-service training continues: in 2009 it
amounted to 2270 hours, more than half of this in countries of Africa, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
With regard to individual support, 160 Southern scientists benefitted from the Institute’s two capacity-building programmes in 2009. Forty-six new thesis grants and 18 new science and technology exchange fellowships were awarded. The purpose of these fellowships is to promote continuing education for researchers and non-research staff from Southern countries by enabling them to work and train in research structures linked to the IRD and located outside their country of residence. Other recently-qualified Southern scientists were able to get to know the different facets of a researcher’s job through a special doctoral training module on the occupational
skills of science research.
