Capacity-building is a cross-cutting task, involving all of the Institute’s scientific activities, based on the belief that development entails recognised scientific communities, open to social challenges.
The Capacity-Building Department (SRC) contributes to this by focusing on training support for higher education and research systems in the Global South, with two goals: to meet the requirements of partners in the South and to integrate its actions into French university site policies.
Launched in 2015, the Masters support programme supports IRD teams in their cooperation with universities and research centres in the Global South, to set up or strengthen initial training courses..
The aim is to improve the quality of training offers which lead to degrees, are strongly supported by research and are connected to the socio-professional sector, in order to boost relevance and appropriateness between training, employment and development, working closely with French and European universities.
By mobilising expertise and funding, IRD plays a central role in several initiatives. This strategy helps to increase IRD’s presence in funding programmes to support cooperation in higher education and more generally among development backers.
In addition to its role in supporting doctoral students in the South, IRD supports partner universities in the creation or consolidation of doctoral schools, generally in connection with partner research arrangements (IJLs, JEAIs, observatories). It therefore helps to shape the doctoral ecosystem in Global South countries.
The key objective of these short training cycles is to develop the research skills of students, researchers, research lecturers and engineers/technicians in the Global South. They focus on scientific and/or technical skills (software use, research methodologies, instrumentation, etc.).
Often supported by research arrangements, they are a tool for structuring a project team, generally as part of a multidisciplinary approach.
Complementing the research training schools, the cross-disciplinary workshops aim to support the improvement of skills among researchers and research lecturers in the Global South, in the area of cross-disciplinary skills for the research profession, such as seeking funding, team management or communication.
Moreover, these initiatives are a chance to build connections with partner researchers, to promote their profiles and work, and to involve them in different activities organised by IRD or in response to calls for tender from international organisations (World Bank, UN agencies, foundations, etc.).
