College Of Education Holds Research Leadership And Academic Mentorship Workshop

Group Photo of Provost and Participants

The College of Education has held a two-day workshop on Research Leadership and Academic Mentorship.  The workshop, which sought to cultivate an active research culture and academic collegiality within the College, brought together 37 faculty members drawn from the various units within the College.

The Provost of the College of Education, Rev. Professor Cephas Omenyo, in his opening remarks, emphasized the critical role of research excellence in the attainment of the College’s strategic objectives.  He called on faculty to work hard to improve their research profiles. He stressed the need for faculty to compete for local and international research grants in order to progress in their academic careers.

The lead facilitator for the workshop, Professor Kwame Akyeampong, a Professor of International Education at the University of Sussex, UK, maintained that research leadership needs to be urgently prioritized by academics in developing countries in view of the current global trend of competitive bidding for research funds.  He said, an active mentorship culture within the College would lead to increased research output and resource faculty members with the necessary skills and expertise pertinent to writing high-value research bids.

Participants shared their experiences in sourcing for grants and publishing in journals and discussed critical issues and “do’s and don’ts” in publishing.

 

Some participants at the workshop

Group activities and presentation sessions were held, that required participants to work on specific areas in research. Individual research plans were worked on and participants brainstormed on potential research interests and action plans for writing bids.

At the closing ceremony, Professor Omenyo stressed the College’s readiness to support faculty members in their research activities. He noted that the College had started working on a system of support for research within the College and will also actively work to institutionalize mentor-mentee relationships in all units of the College.