Seed Grants of Change: Building Thriving Networks among Female Geotechnical Faculty Members

Experiences of Female Scientists in Research Networks in STEM fields in Public Universities in Uganda

“…Participants further shared that they had encountered experiences related to attending conferences to cultivate project management abilities, preparing grant proposals, conducting joint research, and writing joint scholarly publications. In support, scholars emphasised that researchers in international networks encountered experiences related to sharing resources and costs between institutions (Abramo et al, 2019;Bogle, 2020;Niederkrotenthaler et al, 2020).This finding resonates with debates raised by several scholars (Abramo et al, 2019a;Ovseiko et al, 2017;Bhatia et al, 2021) who affirm that younger female scientists received soft skills in paper writing, communication skills, grant proposal writing, career proposals added value and research goals as the most useful for their capacity development. These findings collectively emphasise the synergy of capacity development programs, urging research networks in public universities in Uganda to integrate formal training initiatives to contribute valuable insights for universities that are aiming to enhance adaptive capacities among female scientists in an everevolving landscape.…”

“…Scholars (Abramo et al, 2019ª;Bhatia et al, 2021) indicated that young female academics received soft skills in paper writing, communication skills, grant proposal writing, and career proposals which added value to research and capacity development. Women scientists in research networks in STEM fields interacted with their colleagues locally and in the broader field (Bhatia et al, 2021).…”

“…Scholars (Abramo et al, 2019ª;Bhatia et al, 2021) indicated that young female academics received soft skills in paper writing, communication skills, grant proposal writing, and career proposals which added value to research and capacity development. Women scientists in research networks in STEM fields interacted with their colleagues locally and in the broader field (Bhatia et al, 2021). A key aspect to note was that the Geotechnical Engineering Women Faculty provided opportunities for connections with female scientists across the nation with opportunities for interacting with peers, collaborators and mentors.…”