Introduction
The MIRIKA PhD Mentorship and Coaching Program (PhD-MCP) is the Foundation’s flagship and inaugural programme. It is designed to transform and demystify doctoral education. It creates and supports a pipeline of PhD researchers capable of navigating their local and/or international academic landscapes to produce relevant outputs with clarity and timeliness amidst academic volatility and complexity. The world is a knowledge society that requires evidence-based planning and policy formulation in all sectors; the more PhD outputs the faster we can transform our societies and drive development and innovation. This demands an accelerated production of practical and relevant research outputs. Yet- Uganda has only 1,197 PhDs awarded between 1970-2020, with only 34% being women. Only 15% of PhD researchers complete their studies in less than five years, 49% experience extended candidature and 36% withdrew from their programmes. Within the confines of their university prerequisites, PhD-MCP supports researchers to progress on their projects with clarity, precision, timeliness amidst volatility and academic complexity. A fusion of comprehensive problem analysis, lived experiences, academic rigour, professional mentoring and coaching, it has been purposefully designed to grow into a highly respected and sought-after research powering program in the academic ecosystem.
PhD-MCP is the multi sector, peer reviewed and copyright registered crucible, where researchers are supported to effectively navigate their local and/or international research landscapes to produce quality and relevant outputs within the recommended completion time. Researchers are mentored and/or coached, not taught. It fuses Academic and Non-Academic support into one safety net within which every researcher can thrive.
Phased hybrid modules staggered across seven months to fit research-employee scheduling demands. Schedules are broken into two to four-hour sessions, blending Academic and Non-Academic simulations, real-world research case studies, self-reflection, researcher feedback and mock presentations. Powering research outputs through quality mentoring, coaching, networking, reflecting, and transforming.
This includes individuals who are: i.) Employed and are planning to start their PhDs; ii.) Employed and are already pursing their PhDs and iii) Unemployed and pursuing their PhDs. These can be Executive Directors, General Managers, Directors, Commissioners, C-suite Executives, Managing Directors, Department heads etc.
Modules are facilitated by published stellar academicians actively teaching and/or working in industry. Subject matter experts are woven into the mentoring and coaching to enhance/impart particular skills that are intrinsic in the fundamentals of PhD research. Mentoring and Coaching is primarily grounded in lived experience and not lecture notes.
PhD-MCP is not a course, it is a movement designed to power exponential growth in PhD research outputs. Mentoring and Coaching will fill the vacuum that has eluded the existing generic and strained supervisory system and student awareness, thus propelling more researchers to recommended completion.
Associate your organization with the already existing value proposition |Become a thought leader in intellectual capital and Sustainable Development Goals alignment| Enjoy comprehensive branding| Bi-annual update reports (CSR/ECG data) | Professional photo/video| Scholar testimonials | Cohort evaluation report | Recognition in academic and news publications.
Employers- Nominate and fund your employees pursuing their PhDs or those who intended to start as an investment in institutional continuity, strategic renewal, and technical skills enhancement. Corporate Partners nominate and fund students carrying out research that aligns with your internal strategic frameworks OR provide an open grant to PhD-CMP through your Education support, Marketing, Social Corporate Responsibility (CSR) or Environmental, Social and Governance (ECG) agendas.
PhD Research funding bodies, Research Councils and Sponsors enroll researchers. Universities and different institutions can request for abridged workshop versions of PhD-MCP.
Module costs are defined based on the student/s academic needs once interest is expressed.