PERKA-2 Project Meeting Kicks Off at the NRF Corporate Office, Pretoria

This article was originally published on the NRF website on 4 Febraury 2025. 

On 04 February 2025, the Peer-Learning for Emerging Researchers’ Knowledge and Advancement (PERKA-2) project meeting officially kicked off at the National Research Foundation (NRF) in Pretoria, South Africa. The one-and-a-half-day event was a critical milestone in the ongoing effort to strengthen postdoctoral support for early career researchers across Africa.

The meeting brought together key stakeholders, including postdoctoral Fellows, research institutions, and funding agencies, to share insights and discuss strategies for improving post-PhD training models. The event built on the successful outcomes of PERKA Phase I, a project supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, which documented and analysed postdoctoral support programs across Africa. PERKA-2’s primary goal is to deepen regional collaboration and engage African institutions and funders in taking ownership of postdoctoral support. The meeting focused on the consolidation of lessons learned from Phase I, as well as discussions on new strategies to enhance sustainability and long-term support for early career researchers.

With a strong emphasis on collaborative learning, the event helped shape the next steps for strengthening Africa’s research ecosystem. By fostering strategic engagement among institutions and stakeholders, the convening created actionable frameworks for developing and investing in the continent’s research talent.

Dr Thandi Mgwebi, Group Executive: Business Advancement at the NRF, said “The ability to harness the power of a highly skilled science and innovation workforce is critical if we are to drive sustainable development intentionally – and ensure that our continent remains competitive in the global research and innovation landscape.”

Professor Frans Swanepoel, PERKA Principal Investigator (PI), University of Pretoria, added “This kick off convening is strategic and key to align PERKA 1 outcomes to PERKA 2 moving forward and that the key outcomes include a comparative literature review on global post-PhD support programs with a focus on Africa, guidelines for designing impactful programs, and a post-PhD survey report.”

Meeting participants engaged in meaningful discussions about improving the research environment for emerging scholars in Africa, ultimately contributing to the long-term growth of the African research community.