Guest Post: A Recent AuthorAID-Supported Workshop in Nepal

[We are delighted to share this report on a recent workshop supported by an AuthorAID grant. Thanks to Prof. Panna Thapa and Dr. Uttam Budhathoki for providing this material! —Barbara]

The Department of Pharmacy, Kathmandu University, Nepal, held an INASP–AuthorAID Workshop on Research Writing Skills on 7 and 8 May 2012. There were 40 participants (16 female and 24 male). The participants were junior pharmacy faculty and MPharm and PharmD students. They came from Kathmandu University, Pokhara University, and Purbanchal University of Nepal.

Prof. Panna Thapa, Dean, School of Science, inaugurated the program. The workshop content was divided into units. The lecture topics and presenters were as follows:

1. Structure, Title, Affiliation, Abstract, and Key Words in a Research Paper (Dr. Rajendra Gyawali)
2. The Introduction Section (Ms. Durga Bista)
3. The Methods Section (Dr. Uttam Budhathoki)
4. The Results and Discussion Sections (Prof. Panna Thapa)
5. The Summary, Conclusions, and Reference Sections (Dr. Ravi Shankar)

Each lecture lasted 45 minutes and was followed by 1 hour of group discussion and presentation. Participants used chart paper as well as PowerPoint slides during the group discussion and presentations. Each group also gave a summary presentation at the end of each day. Dr. Ravi Shankar distributed certificates to the participants.

At the end of the workshop, participants indicated that they had learned many things from the workshop and developed capability to avoid errors when writing research papers. They urged that such a workshop be held yearly.