Scientific communication training held in Kenya
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EmailThrough funding from USAID, BHEARD and the Africa-based Training Centre in Communication organized a four-day workshop on scientific communication and publishing skills in Kenya.
Through funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Borlaug Higher Education for Agricultural Research and Development (BHEARD) program and the Africa-based Training Centre in Communication organized a four-day workshop on scientific communication and publishing skills in Naivasha, Kenya, July 2-6, 2017. The workshop drew 65 master’s and Ph.D. students from University of Pretoria in South Africa, University of Nairobi in Kenya, University of Ghana, Egerton University in Kenya and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology in Ghana. The participants all had agricultural science backgrounds. They came from Kenya, Mali, Liberia, South Africa, Rwanda and Malawi.
The conference was conducted by five experienced consultants. The training used the Participant Action Approach (PAA). Using PAA was ultimately about the improvement of practice and creation of knowledge during the training. It’s an approach that creates new ways of interacting and knowing. The four days were devoted to proposal writing, scientific communication, oral presentation, data analysis and policy briefs.
The participants were given a short lecture followed by group work, then a presentation to the entire audience in the training hall for comments, feedback and improvement. The participants were divided into six groups, with each comprising six participants.
Through the PAA, the participants were able to design the actions they will implement in their universities as a result of the competencies acquired from the training. There was active participation throughout the training, group work presentations and feedback sessions.
