Guest Post: AuthorAID/Taylor & Francis Ethiopia Research Writing Workshop

[This post is by Shiv K. Tripathi, PhD, professor of business management at Mzumbe University Dar es Salaam Campus, Tanzania. Dr. Tripathi has facilitated or co-facilitated a number of AuthorAID workshops. He also received an AuthorAID workshop grant in 2011. Thank you, Shiv! —Barbara]

Taylor & Francis and AuthorAID recently held a research writing workshop in Ethiopia. It took place in the ancient small town of Lalibela on February 24–27, 2015. Wollo University provided special resource support for the event. The workshop aimed mainly to sharpen scientific communication skills of researchers and scholars. Young researchers from different Ethiopian universities and other institutions participated.

The workshop attracted researchers from various academic disciplines, including life sciences, physical sciences, management studies, arts, and humanities. Having a mix of disciplines helped in exploring important research issues that span different disciplines but occur in the same socio-cultural contexts. Thus, it aided in collaboratively developing research communication skills.

The workshop was broadly organized in 3 modules: T, A, and D. T focused on Tools and Techniques of scientific communication. A focused on Application of tools and techniques in the different research contexts. D, which was mainly a train-the-trainer component, aimed at preparing ambassadors of scientific communication for further Dissemination of the workshop content.

As a part of the workshop, the participants prepared proposals for delivering AuthorAID research writing workshops in their respective institutional contexts.  Thus, the workshop was designed to have a multiplier effect.

The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Shiv K. Tripathi, Dr. Abiye Daniel (Director, Publications and Dissemination, Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa, Ethiopia), and Mr. Tekle Wordofa (Director, Information Resource Centre, American Embassy, Ethiopia). The presenters from Taylor and Francis—Ms. Mariëtte Enslin, Ms. Janet Remmington, and Mr. Sibabalwe Oscar Masinyana—joined in facilitating some of the workshop sessions.