The ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship: Christopher Kanyesigye and Sara Marks share their experience
Christopher Kanyesigye participated in the ETH4D Doctoral Mentorship Programme where he collaborated with Dr. Sara Marks (Eawag-Sandec). His research focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of water safety plan implementation in small towns in Uganda. In this interview, Christopher and Sara talk about their experience and reflect on their takeaways from the programme.
external page Christopher Kanyesigye is currently finishing his PhD at Makerere University while simultaneoulsy managing research and development at the external page National Water & Sewerage Corporation (NWSC).
What impact do you aim to have with your research?
The findings of my research will be useful for improving the operations of my institution, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), in terms of control measures in treatment and distribution of drinking water. On a wide scale, my recommendations will be packed into policy briefs that can be applied in the water sector in Uganda and the world over.
What was your biggest takeaway from the mentorship programme and your stay at ETH?
My stay at ETH/Eawag and the mentorship programme helped me focus better on writing my manuscripts which are lined up for peer-review journal publishing. My exposure and interaction with fellow researchers and the available facilities helped to gain more skills in professional scientific writing and presentation.
Since completing your ETH4D mentorship, you have returned to Makerere University in Uganda. What plans do you hold for the future?
I am working hard to publicise my research papers according to my PhD proposal and to complete my PhD. As a head of Research and Development at the NWSC-Uganda, I am in a better position to coordinate demand driven research into our operational challenges. I will do this with internal staff capacity and through linkage with external collaborative partners.
external page Dr. Sara Marks is an experienced researcher in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene and leads the external page Water Supply and Treatement Group at external page Eawag.
You mentored Christopher for a year of his PhD and hosted him for three months in Zurich at Eawag (Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.) What is something you learned from your mentee during your partnership?
Christopher has many years of experience working in the water sector, including in his current role at Uganda’s national utility. He wears both hats - research and practice – and this perspective makes him very good at communicating to both sides. I’ve learned a lot from Christopher about how research can be framed to more effectively bridge the science-to-practice divide.
What potential do you see in initiatives such as the doctoral mentorship for the mentee as well as the ETH?
There are many synergistic benefits of the doctoral mentorship experience. The mentor and mentee are able to work side by side in a more intensive way than a remote advising arrangement generally allows, this can have a big benefit for the project. The mentee is also able to step away from their duties at their home institution and spend focused time on specialized training or accelerating progress on their PhD. And ETH benefits too by expanding its international network and building a culture of mutual exchange and learning.
What would you say to other ETH researchers who are considering taking part in the ETH4D mentorship programme?
In my experience the best mentorship arrangements have come through projects that were carefully co-developed and aimed at shared learning. Starting conversations early with research partners to be sure incentives are properly aligned is extremely important. Reach out, identify areas of common interest, do more listening than talking. Following the KFPE Principles is a good place to start for building fair and equal research partnerships.
If you are an ETH professor or senior scientist interested in hosting a doctoral researcher from a low- or lower-middle income country, please see our Doctoral Mentorship Programme. There are four application deadlines per year: 31 January, 30 April, 30 June and 31 October.
Next application deadline is 31 January, 2024.