The Mwanza research methods course is an annual event co-organised by MITU and the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) Mwanza Centre. This training opportunity continues to be popular among early career researchers in the East African region.
The course was designed to cater for the needs of researchers in the early stages of their careers. It complements what is offered in formal training institutions (such as universities) by focussing on both theoretical and practical training covering all key stages in research process.
Course graduates have utilised the knowledge in different ways – some to complement their post graduate training at Masters, PhD and post-doctoral levels.
Since its inception in 2011, the course has been delivered consistently with the same high quality. The course tutors are expert researchers at MITU/NIMR and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who ensure quality theoretical teaching and practical sessions to solve problems that the participants present from their own projects.
The costs for attending the course has also been kept down in order to give an opportunity to as many participants as possible to attend the course from different countries in the East African region and beyond.
Table showing the number of participants in the course since its inception in 2011
| Year | Dates | Number of participants | Countries represented |
| 2011 | 7-25 February |
33
|
Tanzania (26), Kenya (2) and Uganda (5) |
| 2012 | 19-30 March |
26
|
Tanzania (24), Nigeria (1) and Zambia (1) |
| 2013 | 11-22 March |
12
|
Tanzania (11) and Japan (1) |
| 2014 | 17-28 February |
17
|
Tanzania (17) |
| 2015 | 2-13 March |
17
|
Tanzania (15) and Rwanda (1) |
| 2016 | 7-18 March |
17
|
Tanzania (16) and USA (1) |
| 2017 | 27 February-10 March |
41
|
Tanzania (28), Uganda (9), Kenya (1), Malawi (1), Zambia (1) and Ethiopia (1) |
| 2018 | 26 February-9 March |
21
|
Tanzania (15) and Uganda (6) |
This year the course was ran from the 26th of February to the 9th of March 2018 and was attended by 21 participants from Tanzania and Uganda. Demand for the course is increasing as evidenced by increasing number of applications received. Because of this, MITU/NIMR are considering running it twice a year. Discussions are also underway with some academic institutions in the region and UK to explore the possibility of accrediting the course as a module within their curricular.
