The TARTAN project team

         The British Academy-funded TARTAN project is run by a team of academics and professionals at institutions in Scotland and Tanzania. The TARTAN Principal Investigator is Milena Dobreva, Senior Lecturer in Information Behaviour at the Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, ORCID 0000-0002-2579-7541. Also from Strathclyde University is Pablo de Castro, the Open Access Advocacy Librarian at the Strathclyde Library, ORCID 0000-0001-6300-1033.

TARTAN is possible via the active involvement of Tanzanian scholars who bring local expertise, disciplinary breadth, and mentoring capacity. These participants play vital roles in the delivery and sustainability of the workshops, ensuring the programme is embedded within Tanzania’s higher education sector and aligned with local academic needs.

Alexander Mikululo (University of Dar es Salaam) is a scholar with extensive experience in teaching and supporting early-career researchers in the humanities. His work at Tanzania’s flagship university brings not only subject-specific expertise but also institutional legitimacy and strong connections to national research networks. He will contribute to workshop facilitation, mentoring participants in developing compelling arguments and methodologies, and linking the programme to existing academic writing initiatives at the University of Dar es Salaam. His involvement ensures that the country’s leading research university is fully engaged in capacity building.

Joseph Mwalubanda (University of Dodoma, ORCID 0000-0003-1083-0035) is an emerging scholar with a strong research profile in education and knowledge transfer. He has first-hand experience of the challenges faced by early-career researchers from regional universities outside Dar es Salaam, making his role crucial in ensuring the inclusivity of TARTAN. He will serve as a mentor and facilitator during both workshops, sharing his own trajectory in academic writing while supporting participants in developing their first drafts. Joseph’s contribution highlights the importance of extending opportunities to scholars from Tanzania’s central regions, ensuring that capacity building is not confined to metropolitan centres.

Rosemary Peter Mramba (University of Dodoma, ORCID 0000-0002-2216-4300) brings expertise in gender and social sciences, complementing the project’s strong commitment to equity and inclusion. She will contribute to the design and delivery of sessions that actively support female researchers, addressing confidence gaps and structural barriers that disproportionately affect women in academia. Her role is particularly important in meeting TARTAN’s aim of ensuring 50% female participation, and in building a supportive peer network for women ECRs that continues beyond the workshops.

Christian Mubofu (Mwalimu Nyerere Memorial Academy, ORCID 0000-0002-8860-5033) adds valuable expertise from an institution with a strong tradition of teaching and leadership development. His background in mentoring students and early career researchers aligns with the project’s training aims. He will support participants in areas such as grant proposal development, ethical research practices, and the responsible use of digital tools, including artificial intelligence in publications. His contribution strengthens the programme’s link with professional academies and ensures that the skills taught are relevant not only to research-intensive universities but also to applied and professional contexts.