On 28 and 29 September 2023, Director of CPGS, Professor Sioux McKenna joined Dr Everlyn Kisembe at Moi University, Kenya to offer a workshop on developing doctoral writing. This workshop was part of the Creating Postgraduate Collaborations EU-funded project and is one of a series of such workshops that Sioux is offering in collaboration with project partners.

The workshop was attended by students from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Dr Congo, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somali, and Nigeria. Also in attendance were the Dean of the Moi University School of Graduate Studies, and Professor CJ Odhiambo, Professor and Dean Emeritus School of Postgraduate Studies, Research and Innovation

The workshop participants came from a range of disciplines including Material & Textile Engineering, Linguistics, Literature, Sociology, Mathematics, Education, Manufacturing & Industrial Engineering, Sustainable Energy and Energy Access, Kiswahili, Renewable Energy, Business and Entrepreneurship, Medicine, and more.

The workshop looked at issues of disciplinary norms and the development of a strong voice in academic writing. Participants undertook an analysis of journal articles in their field, practiced the craft of reading journals, drafted an article abstract, and much more.

The workshop ended with a quick look at some AI tools for research and a deliberation about their use. The focus throughout the two days was on the need for criticality and to always seek to contribute to the knowledge in the field

The workshop evaluations indicated that the participants greatly appreciated the hands-on nature of the event, the fun way in which the presentations were made, and the opportunities they had to really think carefully about where and how they wanted to contribute to the scientific endeavour.