Challenges and Opportunities of an IS PhD Program in Africa

This panel shares the lessons learnt about the challenges and opportunities of running an IS PhD program in Africa by focusing on cases from Southern Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. The University of Cape Town, South Africa is running a successful PhD program on its own capacity, which can attract PhD candidates from many parts of the continent and beyond. Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia has built the first PhD program in the country and the region, by pooling local and foreign faculty together, which can be seen as a model for many African countries. Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) has taken major steps towards building the IS research and management capacities through an impending IS PhD program. The panel will foster a debate on approaches to how Africa should build and enhance an IS research and productivity, given the limited local capacities.