Following graduates and make available relevant curricula to better skill the next generation of Climate Experts

Following graduates and make available relevant curricula to better skill the next generation of Climate Experts

 

Daouda KONE¹, Emmanuel Wendsongré RAMDE¹, Mounkaila SALEY¹, Michael THIEL²

The West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and adapted Land Use (WASCAL) has established 13 GSP in 12 countries with 2 GSP in Nigeria. WASCAL have trained more up to 700 graduates from its 12 graduates study programme. With the addition of Guinea to make the number of schools to 12, a total of 156 students is in the training process. The challenge is the access of job and how to make the curriculum more relevant and attractive. To assess this relevance WASCAL have undertaken a tracer study to identify for each programme. The objective of the tracer study is to conduct at individual level a survey to identify the graduate and track the change in their live. Such locate the workplace of the graduates.

 

The methodology is based on a mixed-methods research design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis techniques to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the professional trajectories, employability, and impact of WASCAL graduates. The study was conducted in three sequential phases (i) Quantitative Phase, involving the administration of a structured online tracer survey;  (ii)Qualitative Phase, consisting of semi-structured interviews with selected alumni and employers; and (iii) Desk Review Phase, focusing on verification of records and contextual information from academic and administrative sources. The target population comprised all graduates of WASCAL’s Master’s Research Programmes (MRPs) and Doctoral Research Programmes (PhDs) hosted in various West African universities between 2014 and 2025.

 

Related to the data collection, instruments and proceedures, three complementary data collection instruments were used to gather information from multiple sources. A structured questionnaire was designed and administered electronically through the WASCAL Alumni Network database using kobocollect  online data collection tool. This instrument captured quantitative data on employment status, job sector, geographic mobility.

 

Both quantitative and qualitative data were analysed systematically to generate reliable and interpretable results. Quantitative Analysis: Data obtained from the online questionnaire were exported from KoboCollect online platform for statistical processing. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, means, and cross-tabulations were computed to summarize key patterns in employment, education, and geographic distribution.

 

The results indicate a significant gender imbalance among WASCAL graduates, with male respondents representing 76.4% of the total sample, while female graduates constitute only 23.6%. This disparity highlights the persistent underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and environmental disciplines across. The participation of 23.6% female graduates demonstrates WASCAL’s ongoing efforts to promote gender inclusion and equity in climate change education and research. The results show that the highest proportion of respondents graduated in 2023 (30.2%), followed by those from 2025 (25.0%), together accounting for more than half of all respondents (55.2%).

 

This tracer study was very important to highlith the employability of WASCAL graduates and identify the relvance of the curriculum. It was important to identify the impact of alumi and the perspective of collaboration with WASCAL alumni’s institution.