Ethiopian workshop supports East African publishing

An Ethiopian holy city famed for its carved-rock churches is attracting a new kind of visitor. Researchers are congregating in Lalibela from 24-27 February to learn about research writing.

The event is a collaboration between AuthorAID at INASP and Taylor & Francis. “Participants will be trained in research writing skills. Supplementary Train-the-Trainer sessions will ensure that the workshop also benefits the participants’ institutions,” explained INASP’s Julie Walker.

Central to activities is a four-day introductory Academic Writing Workshop being jointly facilitated by Janet Remmington, T&F’s Regional Director for Africa, and Shiv Tripathi from Mzumbe University in Tanzania. This will be followed by a Train-the-Trainer session to train more experienced researchers in pedagogy and delivering the training within their own institutions.

Lalibela’s event is the second INASP-T&F workshop to build publishing capacity across East Africa. Kenyan capital Nairobi hosted the previous workshop, where delegates were trained in research writing skills and gleaned tips on peer-review protocol, publishing ethics and industry trends.

Topics of discussion from the first day of the event included journal impact factors, database navigation and Boolean operators.

Keep up with developments live with the hashtag #AuthorWorkshop. To learn more about AuthorAID, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.