COSECSA–Oxford Research Training Course 2025: Building research capacity for the next generation of surgical leaders

The course took place as a pre-conference workshop before the 26th annual conference of COSECSA in Bujumbura, Burundi, providing a dedicated learning environment ahead of the conference.

This latest iteration of the annual course forms a core part of Oxford’s long-standing collaboration with COSECSA and reflects NDS’s commitment to strengthening research capacity, improving surgical quality, and supporting the development of clinician-scientists across Africa. it has become a familiar and popular fixture of the COSECSA calendar.

A practical, skills-focused workshop for surgical trainees

The 2025 course offered an intensive, hands-on curriculum tailored to the learning needs of surgical trainees and junior faculty. Facilitated by faculty from Oxford, including Dr Dennis Mazingi, Mama Ntiriwa Sekyi-Djan, Dr Jan Dixon and Professor Kokila Lakhoo, the programme covered essential competencies for designing, conducting, and communicating high-quality research in resource-constrained environments.

A central focus of this year’s course was guiding participants through the complete journey of developing a viable and meaningful research project. The workshop opened with an extended ideation and research question development session, where trainees reflected on the clinical challenges they encounter in their own hospitals and communities. Through structured discussion, peer feedback, and facilitator support, participants learned how to refine broad ideas into focused, answerable questions that respond directly to local needs. This set the foundation for subsequent work on protocol preparation and study design, where the group unpacked practical methodological considerations ranging from choosing between quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods approaches to understanding feasibility, ethics, sampling, and data quality in real-world surgical environments.

The course placed strong emphasis on collaboration as a cornerstone of successful and sustainable research. Faculty highlighted best practices for building partnerships that respect context, expertise, and shared ownership, reinforcing the principles of equitable collaboration that underpin global surgery research.

Strengthening regional collaboration

The workshop brought together diverse participants from across COSECSA member countries, fostering a collaborative environment where trainees exchanged insights, shared challenges, and built networks that will support future multi-country research efforts. The interactive nature of the course including group work, hands-on exercises, real-world data examples, and peer feedback, ensured that learning went beyond theory to practical skill acquisition.

Supporting the next generation of research-active surgeons

The COSECSA–Oxford partnership has long emphasised the importance of empowering surgeons to lead locally relevant research that shapes clinical practice, informs policy, and drives systemic improvement. This year’s course continued that mission, equipping participants with the foundational skills needed to design robust studies, analyse data confidently, and contribute to the growing body of global surgery research from the region.

NDS looks forward to deepening its collaboration with COSECSA as both institutions continue to invest in strengthening research capacity and advancing surgical care across Africa.