WHY ‘GIVE BACK’ TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY?
By Abel B. Ekiri, For EpiConsultAfrica
03 January 2022
There is something magical about ‘giving back.’ Every time I share my scientific expertise and experience with others voluntarily and without payment, I feel immense satisfaction from knowing I contributed in some way to the wider scientific community. The satisfaction is even greater when the beneficiary is a young researcher because of the potential impact on their growth as a scientist. Such a feeling is likely felt by others when they ‘give back’ to the scientific community in similar ways.
The notion of ‘giving back’ to the scientific community is embraced by EpiconsultAfrica, a non-profit organization working to improve the quality of research conducted in the various fields of Biomedical Sciences in Africa. Improvement in the quality of research is achieved through a virtual scientific community focused on mentoring junior scientists engaged in biomedical research at higher education and research institutions in Africa. The expectation is that everyone with relevant expertise that agrees to serve as a mentor must be willing to contribute a small percentage of their professional time voluntarily and freely towards mentorship.
In the world of today, where most individuals expect to be paid for every ounce of professional effort, the idea of an individual sharing their expertise voluntarily and without payment sounds counter intuitive. Like most things in life that take time to hone, the expertise of mentors is hard-earned and is gained over several years of dedicated work. Considering the level of investment required to attain a high level of expertise and experience in an area of specialization, it would not be surprising or unexpected for mentors to request monetary compensation.
While some individuals may demand compensation for offering their expertise, others may be willing to ‘give back’ to the scientific community voluntarily and freely. The motivations for ‘giving back’ likely vary among individuals. Studies have examined the motivating factors for engaging in research mentoring. Some individuals choose to become research mentors because of a desire to enhance gender or ethnicity equity in science, while to others, mentoring is viewed as a way of ‘giving back’ to the community (Robnett et al 2018). Other documented mentoring benefits include improvement in relational knowledge and skills and becoming more self-aware about own personality characteristics and ambitions through the mentoring experience (Marshall et al 2021).
The idea of ‘giving back’ to the scientific community advocated by EpiConsultAfrica reminds us that everyone can make a difference in the wider scientific community if they are willing and proactive, such as through selecting to share their expertise and experience with junior scientists in country settings with the greatest need. The hope is that in future, some of the junior scientists that benefitted from the mentorship will reciprocate and share their expertise with other upcoming scientists. These collective and goodwill efforts will inspire and guide and subsequently contribute to the development of the next generation of scientists and to the improvement in the quality of science produced.
Abel B. Ekiri is a founding partner of EpiConsultAfrica and has research and teaching expertise in infectious disease epidemiology.
If you would like to learn more about the work of EpiconsultAfrica or are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, please visit our website or contact us at info@epiconsultafrica.org
References:
Robnett, R.D., Nelson, P.A., Zurbriggen, E.L., Crosby, F.J., & Chemers, M.M. (2018).
Research mentoring and scientist identity: insights from undergraduates and their mentors. International Journal of STEM Education, 5:41. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-018-0139-y
Marshall, M., Dobbs-Oates, J., Kunberger, T., & Greene, J. (2021). The peer mentor experience: benefits and challenges in undergraduate programs. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 29:1, 89-109. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2021.189958