Q & A with Dr. Angeline Wairegi, an E-Learning Specialist, on the Mawazo Learning Exchange
Dr. Angeline Wairegi
Author: Naliaka Odera & Angeline Wairegi
As we launch the Mawazo Learning Exchange (MLEx), our new online training program and resource center for early-career African researchers, we interviewed Dr. Angeline R. Wairegi, Mawazo’s e-learning and training specialist, about her work developing MLEx.
Dr. Wairegi is a Physical Chemist, proficient in developing, executing, and evaluating educational programmes. In our conversation, she emphasized the importance of African researchers having access to tools and resources that allow them to compete on the global stage.
Q. Tell us about your background and its influence on your current work at Mawazo.
I have a doctorate in Chemistry and taught a spectrum of Chemistry courses in the US for three years. Some of these courses, primarily the introductory Chemistry courses, were online. I acquired experience on how to design and modify lessons and select delivery formats to effectively instruct students in an online platform.
Data collected by various organizations indicate that there are relatively few female scientists on the continent, especially compared to the numbers in the Global North. This is not because women in Africa aren’t interested in careers in scientific fields, rather because there are so many obstacles that hinder their progress in achieving this goal. Platforms like the MLEx programme offer a means to even the playing field for early – career female researchers and, eventually, redress this disparity.
Q. What is the Mawazo Learning Exchange?
It is an online training programme for female doctoral candidates. We offer professional development courses that will give them the technical skills, knowledge base and critical thinking strategies that will make them effective researchers. We offer a broad base of courses – providing instruction on topics that can be utilized by scholars in any number of fields. A brief sampling of the courses we expect to offer include: ‘How to write an effective research paper’, ‘How to create a research budget’, and ‘How to submit a paper to a publication house.’ In addition to rigorous scholarship, the MLEx training program also facilitates networking and mentorship opportunities between its scholars and academic or industry experts. The scholars are also encouraged and offered spaces to create communities of like – minded peoples that will be a support system to them as they progress in their academic and professional journeys.
Q. What is your hope for MLEx, and why is it important?
My hope for the platform mirrors that of the organization as a whole - we hope to make a positive impact in the lives and fortunes of female researchers on the continent. We would like to be at the forefront of educating and supporting a generation of highly qualified and capable female researchers, well - versed not only in the workings of their field of expertise but also adept at navigating the worlds of academia, industry and government, who will be instrumental in creating policies that govern their respective countries.
As for why the MLEx is important: the platform is one of the ways in which the Mawazo Institute is addressing the infrastructural gaps that exist in the higher – educational system in the country. Local research programmes are severely underfunded. The type of research that can be done is limited by funding availability, which is sometimes tied to the biases and agendas of international organisations. Additionally, socio-cultural mores and attitudes have a dampening effect on the number of women who enroll in scientific courses and, ultimately, pursue careers in the scientific field. Due to these, and many other issues I haven’t addressed here, we see significant gender disparity in the research sphere, both in academia and in industry. African female researchers in all academic fields and work sectors are woefully underrepresented locally, regionally, continentally, and on a global scale. With the MLEx programme, we have a chance to address some of the core challenges these researchers face, such as lack of training.
Q. What has been the most challenging part of putting the programme together?
Creating content that is fresh, engaging, and effective and choosing modes of delivery that ensure accessibility of that content to the widest audience possible - taking into account that internet connectivity and access to the necessary technological devices is not a given for many individuals on the continent. Ultimately, we wish for the MLEx to have a significant positive impact on the trainees’ academic and professional careers. To this end, we designed a program that is sympathetic to the constraints of time placed on and the many roles that our scholars play.
Q. What are you most excited about?
I’m excited for the first cohort of MLEx Fellows to complete the training programme. The first cycle of the program will begin in early 2021. I’m interested in receiving their feedback and identifying the impact for the program has on them in the short and long term. This whole process began in October of last year and it has been a real labor of love for the whole Mawazo team.
To find out more about MLEx and the MLEx Fellowship Programme, read our press statement here. To be kept up-to-date on MLEx and other Mawazo news, sign up for our newsletter.