UKZN Part of Doctoral School Launched in Madagascar

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A new regional doctoral school in Social Sciences and Humanities, titled “Languages, Plurality and Development or Prélude”, has been launched in Antananarivo, Madagascar, as a project of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF).

Following a call for applications and a comprehensive selection process, 10 PhD students from five countries in the Indian Ocean/Southern Africa region - Madagascar, the Comoros, Mozambique, India and South Africa - were selected for participation.

These students met in Madagascar for the official launch of the school and for an initial two-day training programme. UKZN student Ms Alexandra Stewart, who started her PhD in the Discipline of French at the beginning of the year, is one of the selected candidates.  

The AUF, of which UKZN is an associate member, established the doctoral school to ensure that participating students obtained their PhD within three years in order to address the shortage of well-trained young graduates in the region.

This goal will be achieved through a combination of online training programmes which can be accessed by other PhD students in the region, cohort teaching and a research internship of two to three months in a partner university with a co-supervisor. Candidates will also set up their own colloquium next year.

The project leader, Professor Bernard De Meyer of  UKZN’s School of Arts in Pietermaritzburg, said  at the launch of the School - which has a budget of 80 000 euros a year for its various activities - that regional co-operation was the way to go. ‘It opens horizons. To be part of an international cohort allows one to relate, but will also give that extra motivation. The AUF is to be applauded for its support for this initiative,’ he said.

At the end of the first training session, Stewart said: ‘We’ve been provided with a truly exciting opportunity to be part of an international, and inter-disciplinary, academic community. Furthermore, I think this school highlights the importance of the French language, particularly in an African context, but given that we have students participating from India and globally as well.’

One of the 10 selected candidates, Ms Jyothsana Narasimhan of the University of Mumbai in India, has chosen UKZN for her internship where she will do research under the supervision of De Meyer.

Melissa Mungroo and Bernard De Meyer