As part of efforts to sharpen their research and innovative skills, a two-day workshop on contemporary research practices has been organised for senior members of Sunyani Technical University (STU).
Funded by the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat and facilitated by the RITNAK Training Institute, the participants were taken through topics such as Publishing in High-Quality Journals, Qualitative Research, Systematic Literature Review, Advanced Quantitative Methods, and Stakeholder Engagement in Research.
The Lead Facilitators for the training were Prof. Nana Anokye, Brunel University, UK; Prof. Francis Fatoye, and Prof. Gillian Yeowell, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK; Prof. Eric Fosu Oteng-Abayie, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana; and Dr. Francis Atsu, GIMPA, Ghana.
In his address, the Vice-Chancellor of STU, Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah, underscored the importance of research publications in academia and encouraged the participants to take the training seriously to enhance their research skills.
“You are all aware of the importance of research to the existence of every university, and our university is not out when it comes to the importance of research because the Technical Universities in Ghana were set up for a purpose", he stated.
He mentioned that undertaking applied research to help find solutions to some of the major problems confronting society was one of the reasons for the establishment of Technical Universities in the country.
He, therefore, challenged the participants to make conscious efforts to come out with innovative ways, through research, to proffer solutions to some of the major challenges militating against the development of societies in the world.
The Vice-Chancellor further announced plans by the Governing Council of STU to introduce the tenure system for the academic staff of the university soon. “The Council is currently going through the Act, and would soon introduce the tenure system, and at the end of your tenure, if you haven’t been able to publish adequately to move to the next level of your promotion, you will be shown the exit”, he said.
Ing. Prof. Kwadwo Adinkrah-Appiah also thanked the Ghana Scholarships Secretariat for funding the programme.
Also present at the two-day programme were the Pro-Vice Chancellor of STU, Prof. Justice Solomon Korantwi-Barimah, and the Registrar, Mr. Samuel Ankama Obour.
From the Public Relations Office
