From uncertainty to leadership – Rising Scholars supports social researcher to lead peer-learning with confidence

Understanding the challenge

Global health equity is shaped not only by hospitals, clinics and health services, but also by the everyday circumstances people live in, such as family life, education, income, and community support. However, researchers studying these lived experiences often lack the networks, confidence, and institutional guidance to share their findings widely. This gap in capacity and support not only slows progress towards global health goals but also risks silencing vital perspectives from those closest to the challenges. To narrow this gap, the Rising Scholars platform provides early career researchers with the training, tools, and support needed to build both knowledge and self-belief.

For Nigerian social researcher Ugochi Felicitas Oputa-Uzoukwu (Ugo), being part of the Rising Scholars community helped her move from uncertainty to confidence, giving her the foundation needed to lead peer-learning activities and contribute to the wider community of researchers.

Having trained at Nigerian institutions, Ugo completed an MSc in Social Research at the University of Hull in the UK in 2023, but like many of her peers, she struggled with imposter syndrome. As an early career researcher, she found it difficult to analyse and communicate her research clearly in English for broader audiences – a challenge widely shared among early career researchers from the Global South, where differences in training and working in English can add extra hurdles.

“The challenges in communicating research or sharing findings were not limited to my specific area of research. They extend to broader aspects of research, including identifying appropriate methods, analysing data, and writing reports or discussing findings.”

Finding support through Rising Scholars

This is where Rising Scholars can provide vital support. Ugo joined the community in 2024, after seeing an open call for Rising Scholars’ Getting Started with Writing and Publishing Your Research, and through its MOOCs, Q&A sessions, and webinar recordings, she gained the tools and self-belief needed to share her MSc dissertation as a preprint, now under peer review.

“Rising Scholars is instrumental in supporting members and participants, particularly those from the Global South, to navigate these complexities, helping to demystify terms and ensure that important perspectives and findings are effectively communicated. Being a part of Rising Scholars expanded my confidence in reaching out to potential collaborators and mentors, turning loose connections into practical support.”

Ugo doing an integrative review and synthesising the findings

Building confidence and new skills

Publishing her dissertation was just the beginning for Ugo. Rising Scholars resources also gave her practical skills to navigate the wider world of academic publishing more strategically. She learned to identify high-impact journals in her field, access discounts on article processing charges, and align funding opportunities with realistic project contexts.

“Reading the Rising Scholars blogs and engaging in online communities helped me overcome imposter syndrome, write blogs and develop a more reflexive, analytical voice for writing, research, and reports.”

These insights opened new doors for Ugo’s work and planted the seed of a bigger ambition: helping others to do the same. As part of one of the Rising Scholars online discussion groups, Ugo noticed frequent demand for support with qualitative research – something she was familiar with. She decided to take the initiative and organise a webinar series all about qualitative research for her Rising Scholars peers. She recruited speakers, set up the Zoom links, created the posters and then offered to run it for anyone who signed up. What began as a seed of an idea soon became a regular Rising Scholars webinar series, with participants worldwide.

“Facilitating and managing online events improved my practice in running interactive sessions, working with diverse global audiences, and recruiting participants for webinars and research projects. Together, these opportunities have sharpened my academic abilities and helped me grow in confidence as both a researcher and a community builder.”

Ugo’s growing impact

Ugo’s success led to a new opportunity, and she is helping to organise a series of learning events on soft skills for researchers. At the same time, she is looking ahead, planning to leverage her networks to form project teams, secure fellowships and grants, and expand initiatives that support Global South researchers.

“I plan to keep using the skills and networks I have developed to build stronger collaborations, form project teams, and pursue fellowships, grants, and leadership opportunities. At the same time, I hope to expand initiatives that support Global South researchers and help bridge gaps in understanding key concepts as well as in applying methodological and analytical skills.”

Rising Scholars provided Ugo with the knowledge and skills she needed to publish her research on maternal and child health. It also gave her the confidence to expand her professional reach into capacity building for young people and early career researchers. This transformation – from independent researcher struggling to publish, to community organiser helping others succeed – captures the very essence of Rising Scholars. Ugo is now a central contributor, helping other early career researchers overcome the same challenges she once faced.

“Rising Scholars has guided me from uncertainty to confidence, giving me direction and the courage to create opportunities not only for myself but also for others.”

Impact through Rising Scholars

• Expanding global research capacity. Over the last three years, Rising Scholars has enabled 23,000 researchers to gain new knowledge and strengthen their skills so that they can create relevant and rigorous knowledge to tackle the growing complexity of global challenges. Ugochi Felicitas Oputa-Uzoukwu (Ugo) launched the Qualitative Research Series (TQRS), a peer network of 200+ researchers offering webinars and mentorship, further expanding this knowledge community.
• Contributing to more resilient global health research. Rising Scholars offers training to support early career researchers share and distribute their research, ensuring vital perspectives from the Global South are included in international debates. Making social research on global health issues – like Ugo’s – internationally available benefits communities around the world.
• Equipping young scholars to put critical research into practice where it’s needed the most. INASP has been working in partnership with universities, research institutions and their staff for over 30 years, building specialised expertise in the Global South. With this support, researchers like Ugo find the resources, support and confidence needed to share their research data with a global audience.