HIGHER Women Consortium equips female researchers on innovation, funding challenges.

It was organised under the theme: “Capacity Building for Young Female Researchers in Cameroon: Meeting the Challenges of Research Innovation”. The three-day meeting brought together mentors, protégées and institutional partners for intensive training, experience-sharing and networking.

The conference sought to address several challenges confronting women pursuing careers in science. Participants were trained in research methodology, curriculum vitae and scientific abstract writing, research ethics, funding and grant-seeking strategies, as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence to improve researchers’ productivity. 

The programme also featured discussions on ISO 9001 standards as a tool for strengthening the reliability of research laboratories and presentations of mini-research projects.

According to organisers, for the first time since its creation, the annual conference moved out of Yaounde, with the Littoral and South West Chapter taking the lead in organising this year’s edition. 

They noted that the relocation was intended to strengthen the network’s presence across the country and promote a more inclusive regional approach to mentoring female scientists.

Organisers noted that this year’s conference further expanded the network, with 32 graduates celebrated and nearly 60 new protégées, including doctoral students and lecturer-researchers, joining the programme.

Speaking during the conference, the founder, Prof Rose Leke, revisited the origins of HIGHER Women and its philosophy of mentorship. She stressed the importance of creating a support system capable of helping young female researchers overcome the pressures that often accompany scientific careers.

For many women, she noted, family responsibilities, limited access to funding and other socio-cultural constraints can become reasons to abandon research. 

Mentoring, therefore, serves as a mechanism for keeping them on track, while providing the encouragement and professional networks necessary for career development.

The Coordinator of the Littoral and South West Chapter, Prof Jeannette Wogaing, described HIGHER Women as “a true networking system among women”. 

She emphasised that the programme is based on respect and humility, with professional rank taking a back seat in the shared objective of empowering women in research.

The programme, she said, also seeks to accommodate the realities of women’s lives. According to Prof Wogaing, female researchers are able to participate in scientific activities even while caring for young children. 

She noted that the flexibility of the programme is evidence of the consortium’s commitment to addressing the practical barriers faced by women scientists.

Dr Nicole Fouda, a HIGHER Women mentor who joined the consortium as a mentee eight years ago, said the experience significantly transformed her academic and professional trajectory and eventually enabled her to mentor other women herself.

A protégé of the consortium, Dr Joëlle Ngo Hanna, said she spent nine years pursuing her doctorate before joining HIGHER Women in 2022. According to her, her exposure to women who had overcome difficult professional and social circumstances convinced her that she could achieve the same.

She recounted that a year after joining the consortium, she defended her PhD and subsequently advanced to the rank of lecturer at the University of Douala. She credits her mentor with maintaining pressure on her to remain productive through regular questions about publications and research project submissions.

For new protégé, Rosette Banin, the programme offers her an opportunity to work closely with accomplished female scientists whose work she had previously encountered only through academic publications. That proximity, she said, provides inspiration and a model for her own career.

HIGHER Women in brief

Founded in 2015 by renowned immunologist and parasitologist, Prof Rose Gana Fomban Leke, HIGHER Women has built its activities around the Mentor-Protégée Programme, MPP. The initiative goes beyond conventional academic mentoring, by adopting what the consortium describes as a holistic approach.

Under this model, mentors provide support not only in scientific and academic matters but also in dealing with financial, family and social challenges that can affect women’s careers. The objective is to prevent young researchers from abandoning their scientific ambitions because of obstacles outside the laboratory.

Over the past decade, the consortium says it has trained more than 200 early-career female researchers, supported by about 30 active mentors in Cameroon and the diaspora. 

It has also contributed to scientific mentoring through publications and guides, while conducting outreach activities aimed at encouraging young people, particularly girls, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3906 of Friday September 11, 2026