Supporting West Africa’s health workforce – Rising Scholars empowers Nigerian doctor to earn surgery fellowship
West Africa’s healthcare system faces significant challenges: under-resourced infrastructure, a shortage of healthcare professionals and a high burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Despite increased investment in the area, working in the medical field can still be particularly challenging in countries like Nigeria, where limited resources, institutional barriers, and lack of access to mentorship can hold talented medical professionals back as they seek to progress their careers. Through the Rising Scholars platform, INASP provides researchers with the training, tools and networks needed to make significant contributions to global and local healthcare systems.
For medical surgeon, Dr Suleiman T. Olorukooba, Rising Scholars offered technical support and expert guidance to turn his practical knowledge in the operating theatre into research expertise so he could earn his fellowship in orthopaedic surgery.
“Looking back, Rising Scholars was the turning point in my dissertation journey. It transformed my work from a patchwork of honest effort into a coherent, defensible, and scholarly product. It wasn’t just about getting feedback—it was about learning how to think like a researcher.”
Suleiman felt confident in the operating theatre, but to advance his career, he was required to write a research dissertation. As he moved into the field of research, with so many administrative and ethical approvals, he was quickly overwhelmed by how difficult it was to navigate research methodology. Suleiman found himself lacking in support and guidance, often having to piece information together from various informal sources.
“As I began writing the results and discussion chapters, I hit another wall. I wrote what I thought was a solid draft, but deep down, I felt unsure about whether it truly reflected scientific rigour.”
When researchers find themselves struggling, Rising Scholars offers the support they need to gain technical expertise, build connections and spark new ideas and solutions to whatever challenge they may be facing. For Suleiman, the solution was a dissertation review, offered as part of one of Rising Scholars’ journal clubs, where researchers present their work for constructive feedback from subject-matter experts and experienced mentors. These clubs are completely organised and run by community members.
“The feedback I received that day was beyond anything I could have imagined. The presentation was attended by a diverse panel of reviewers – an orthopaedic consultant, a research methodology specialist, and even an examiner from the West Africa College of Surgeons […]. I also received invaluable guidance from seasoned experts in research methodology and statistics […].
Even more invaluable was the post-session mentorship. I was allowed to follow up with the reviewers directly, which gave me the space to ask specific questions I’d been struggling with silently – like how to phrase limitations without weakening my argument, and how to structure the conclusion so it flowed logically from the data.”
Driven for and by researchers, the Rising Scholars platform provides free-to-access, high quality digital learning and spaces for early-career researchers to connect and share expertise, equipping them with the knowledge, skills and support needed to drive change. With over 14,000 members spanning Africa, Asia and Latin America, Rising Scholars offers the support of a global community across a range of subject-specific areas, including healthcare, climate, agriculture, energy, youth and education – as well as many others.
“To those pursuing postgraduate research – particularly in low-resource settings – you are not alone. Platforms like Rising Scholars exist to support you. What they offer is not just critique, but community, mentorship, and growth. If you’re unsure, sceptical, or stuck—like I once was—just try. The help you need might be just one presentation away.”
Impact through Rising Scholars
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Enabling young scholars to put critical research into practice where it’s needed the most. Over the last three years, INASP 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 today’s global challenges.
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Supporting a generation of healthcare researchers to transform health systems for the better. Rising Scholars, as a platform, has an 18-year history of finding new ways to bridge the learning gap for early career scholars so they can be a part of leading global health research forward.
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Increased knowledge of healthcare and medical challenges in the Global South. Through the Rising Scholars platform, INASP provides a flexible programme of online resources that enables researchers like Dr Suleiman T. Olorukooba to strengthen their skills, deepen their expertise and forge new collaborations, inspiring new thinking and new solutions to health-related challenges.
Featured image: Unsplash
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