MRC Unit The Gambia (MRCG) continues to place the highest priority on staff training and development as the key means of securing skills and knowledge to underpin internationally competitive science. The training of researchers and supporting career development are integral in achieving the mission of MRCG for the production of highest quality science that will have a significant regional and international impact in attracting and retaining staff talents.
The Research Training and Career Development department therefore engages in regional and international collaboration to support training and research career paths for MRCG staff and young scientists from international collaborating institutions. The provision of such training is being carried out through four strategic approaches namely: Retention Program; Technical and Research Support; Competency Program; Research Leadership and Development Program; and Creating partnerships between institutions with different strengths but a shared vision. The varied training programs for professional development lead to a wide array of qualifications including Diploma, BSc, MSc and PhD degrees.

The Unit Leadership commits about £0.5 million annually to enable the support of staff, academic and professional development courses including placements for learning and professional enrichment. The Unit has strengthened the strategic direction of training and career development of staff with the appointment in March 2016 of a dedicated training professional, Dr Assan Jaye, who by his own right has vast experience in scientific
research and capacity building.

The MRCG research training strategy is aligned to the research requirements of The Unit with the aim to build the needed human capital for advancement of scientific health research in The Gambia and the sub-region.

The Research Training Department has become a regional health research training hub, which continues to forge strong local, regional and international links for the production of high quality science at the highest level. One key emphasis is to support the continuing professional development of our senior scientists to undertake ground breaking research; but also a strong focus to identify and develop talents in order to grow tomorrow’s
scientists.

Over the years, The Unit has produced a large number of on-the-job PhDs and continues
to do so. In 2015-16, there are a total of 181 individuals (Figure 2) of different nationalities that benefitted from MRCG training support: 26 Foundation Science course for
BSc; 32 BSc; 41 MSc/MPhil; 38 PhD and 44 other professional trainings (including research fieldwork methodology; short term scientific specialised courses; logistics and purchasing, facility management, Good Clinical Laboratory Practice and Quality Management, Information Communication Technology
and database etc.)

In addition, 265 Gambians, 26 other African nationalities and 57 EU, UK and USA citizens had or are currently on laboratory or clinical internship placements. MRCG trainees undertake distance learning with practical work at The Unit or undergo University placements as they carry out research on MRCG projects. The collaborating universities include Open University (of which MRCG is an affiliated research centre), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (Belgium), University of Westminster, Manchester University, University of Aberdeen and other research-intensive Universities overseas.

Under the leadership of Dr Assan Jaye, The Unit continues to offer excellent opportunities for staff to pursue professional development at various levels. The Research Training and Career Development department is strengthening its sub-regional training collaborations by its engagement with the recent Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training and Science (DELTAS) programs in West Africa (Malaria Research Capacity Development, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens and Developing Excellence in Leadership and Genetic Training for Malaria Elimination in Sub-Saharan Africa) and has recently added a Senior Project Manager to its staff to work closely with the Staff Development Manager for managing the international training programs and leadership development.

When asked to comment Professor Umberto D’Alessandro said “Capacity
building is essential to reach our objective of improving health in sub-Saharan Africa. Importantly, there is the need of training young African scientists until they become independent researchers able to compete for research funds. This is a medium to long-term commitment and requires offering fair competition for good training opportunities. International health research is an extremely competitive field and our aim is to identify, support and mentor the best researchers.”