Mogaji Hammed Oladeji, Itinah Akan, Fadiji Oyinkansola Suliat, Omitola Olamide Olaitan, Mogaji Tawkalitu Eniola, Keshinro Olajide Murtala, Mogaji Falilat Eniola, Ali Mahmud Umar, Aikins Moses, Glozah Franklin N, Phyllis Dako-Gyeke, Ekpo Uwem Friday
Steering Committee, Top-Bottom Open Mentorship (T-BOM) model, Nigeria.
Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria.
Parasite Epidemiol Control. 2024 Nov 20;27:e00393. doi: 10.1016/j.parepi.2024.e00393. eCollection 2024 Nov.
Research mentorship plays a crucial role in advancing science. However, there are limited virtual platforms for cultivating mentorship among early career infectious diseases researchers in resource challenged settings. This study reports the findings from the utilization of a recently developed virtual mentorship platform, including its achievements, challenges and needs.
We developed a web-based application called Top-Bottom Open Mentorship (TBOM) freely accessible at www.tbommodel.com. The platform hosts mentors and allows mentees to send connection requests. In this paper, we present the utilization of this platform, including the opportunities and challenges encountered during the first year of implementation. Utilization data was generated monthly, while opportunities and challenges were captured using a users' perception survey. Data were analyzed in R software and summarized thematically as appropriate.
Between October 2022 and November 2023, the platform registered 81 users, comprising 63 mentees [54.3 % males, 75 % graduate students] from five countries [Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Sudan, and Ghana], and 18 mentors [78 % males] from six countries [Nigeria, USA, Cameroon, Kenya, Brazil, and Tanzania]. Platform engagement increased from 19.4 % (7 users out of 36 who registered) to 51 % (41 users out of 81 who registered) over the year. Also, a total of 16 mentorship cycles were completed, with 9 currently running. Mentees reported having access to job opportunities, enhanced skills in writing, time management, and grant sourcing, and improved research prospects. However, challenges identified include time zone differences, limited number of mentors, mentee's readiness, and associated internet connection issues.
The achievements of T-BOM over a period of one-year are challenged by intrinsic factors from both mentees and mentors, as well as erratic internet services in resource-limited settings. While the platform offers significant opportunities for improving research mentorship, these challenges need to be carefully addressed.
研究指导在推动科学发展方面发挥着关键作用。然而，在资源匮乏地区，早期职业传染病研究人员之间培养指导关系的虚拟平台有限。本研究报告了最近开发的一个虚拟指导平台的使用情况，包括其成就、挑战和需求。
我们开发了一个名为“自上而下开放式指导”（TBOM）的基于网络的应用程序，可在www.tbommodel.com上免费访问。该平台有导师入驻，并允许学员发送连接请求。在本文中，我们介绍了该平台的使用情况，包括实施第一年遇到的机遇和挑战。每月生成使用数据，同时通过用户感知调查收集机遇和挑战。在R软件中对数据进行分析，并进行适当的主题总结。
在2022年10月至2023年11月期间，该平台注册了81名用户，其中包括来自五个国家（尼日利亚、喀麦隆、巴西、苏丹和加纳）的63名学员（54.3%为男性，75%为研究生），以及来自六个国家（尼日利亚、美国、喀麦隆、肯尼亚、巴西和坦桑尼亚）的18名导师（78%为男性）。一年来，平台参与度从19.4%（36名注册用户中的7名）提高到了51%（81名注册用户中的41名）。此外，共完成了16个指导周期，目前有9个正在进行。学员们报告说获得了工作机会，写作、时间管理和资金申请技能得到了提高，研究前景也有所改善。然而，发现的挑战包括时区差异、导师数量有限、学员准备情况以及相关的网络连接问题。
TBOM在一年时间内取得的成就受到学员和导师的内在因素以及资源有限环境中不稳定的互联网服务的挑战。虽然该平台为改善研究指导提供了重大机遇，但这些挑战需要谨慎应对。
