Highlights of the Workshop and Networking for African Postgraduate and Young Researchers in Economics and Social Sciences
The Workshop and Networking event was held on Thursday and Friday, 28th and 29th October 2021 at the Covenant University Centre for Research Innovation and Development (CUCRID) Auditorium. This was a collaboration between Covenant University and Universität Witten Herdecke which was sponsored by Alexander von Humboldt. It was also a parade of international and national scholars as representative of the Institute of Structural and Institutional Change (ISIC) Prof. Jann Lay, Prof. Evans Osabuohien of Covenant University, Prof Magdalene Silberberger of Universität Witten Hederdecke Germany, CEPDeR Fellows, Dr Oluwasogo Adediran of Covenant University, PhD candidate Waidi Adebayo of Universität Witten Herdecke were among the facilitators of the event. Other facilitators include Dr Obindah Gershon, Dr Bosede Ngozi Adeleye (Crunch Queen), Dr Ayodotun Ibidunni and PhD candidate Victoria Okafor, all faculties of Covenant University.
The workshop was a hybrid event encompassing about 50 participants comprising both virtual and physical participants.
On the first day, the workshop was declared open by the Vice Chancellor of Covenant University Prof Abiodun Adebayo who was ably represented the Assoc Prof Adewale Osibanjo, Director, Vice Chancellor’s Office. After which, different sessions were held in the course of the workshop which was garnered towards achieving the Workshop’s objective. Specifically, the workshop was to create a platform for young African postgraduate students and researchers to collaborate on innovative research based on new information and relevant research skills for the sustainable development of the continent.
Prof. Magdalene Silberberger of Universität Witten Hederdecke Germany who joined virtually anchored the session “What makes a good research”. Jann Lay, who was also a virtual facilitator discussed extensively on “Land Matrix Initiative and the Challenges of Largescale Land Acquisition.” Thereafter, Prof Evan Osabuohien thoroughly handled the session on “Grant Winning and Implementation and Some Helpful Tips”.
Furthermore, Dr Bosede Adeleye also known as Crunch Queen following her YouTube channel -Cruncheconometrix – handled the session titled “Quadratic Models and Turning Point” using the time series technique with hands-on examples. The trio of Dr Oluwasogo Adediran, Dr Waidi Adebayo and Mr Romanus Osabohien presented an ongoing research output on “Agricultural Value Chain Household’s Livelihood in Nigeria, Bridging the Gap between the Farmers and Industries and Challenges of Land Ownership with the Female Gender”.
Day 2 of the workshop, kicked off strongly with Prof. Osabuohien expounding on “Why the Need to Write and Why Should I Publish”. Thereafter, Dr Ayodotun Ibidunni championed a hands-on session on “Primary Data Analysis, Presentation and Interpretation” with a detailed explanation and practical examples.
Furthermore, on Day 2 of the workshop, Dr Obindah Gershon anchored a session on “Supervisor-Mentor Relationship Management”. He gave some insights into mentorship and how to manage relationships with mentors by aligning your goals as a researcher to your mentors. It was also an interactive session as participants asked questions on how to forge a better relationship with their mentors. The final session for the workshop was taken with dexterity by Miss Victoria Okafor on “Referencing Tips.” The benefits and advantages of using referencing tools such as Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote and Ref work were also assessed.
Both days had breakout sessions where the participants (physical and virtual) were divided into 4 subgroups. These subgroups, headed by Mentors – who were facilitators of the workshop – served as a platform for the participants to present concept notes of their individual research ideas. Physical participants were paired with their virtual counterparts and it is expected that the mentors will follow-up with the participants (mentees) thereafter.
