Dear Participants and Presenters,

The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in partnership with the University of Pretoria, Sol Plaatje University and the University of Zululand take pleasure in hosting your participation in this annual five-day Virtual Training Academy for Emerging and Established African Research Scholars.

The objectives of the Academy are to:

• promote awareness of the importance of research among African scholars;
• expose emerging and early career scholars to a career in research;
• promote the development and enhancement of research and related skills among scholars.

A key mandate of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is to support capacity development for research in South Africa and on the African continent. It seeks to advance this mandate through promoting:

1. Promote a career track in research among emerging and established researchers in South Africa and across the continent;
2. Support research capacity development in research, research methods, research communication and science communication;
3. Improving equitable access to marginalized groups such as women and the disabled persons; and
4. Contributing to life-long learning.

Who is the Academy open to?

The Academy is open to African scholars from South Africa and/or other African countries. The specific target group are post-graduates including master’s Interns, PhD Interns, Post Doc Fellows and Lecturers currently studying or based at higher education institutions, science councils and in research related roles in public institutions. A requirement is a level of fluency in English as no translations will be provided.

It is hoped that trainees will be recruited from at least the three participating universities namely University of Zululand (UNIZULU), Sol Plaatje University (SPU) and the University of Pretoria (UP). Negotiations are underway to include other HEI institutions.

Application to Participate in the Academy

Registration to participate is required. For each session participants will be required to indicate which modules they wish to attend as there will be parallel tracks on four days. In order to ensure that the training covers broadly the needs of trainees a needs expectation exercise will be undertaken.

Requirements to Participate

Learners are expected to have access to a laptop/desktop computer, stable internet accessibility and sufficient data for the online sessions. The Academy does not offer data for participants. The online learning platform to be utilized is Microsoft TEAMS. A link to the Academy webpage will be shared and participants will be able to access the following via the webpage namely the Academy Schedule, Session Outlines, profiles of presenter and access to learning materials.

MS Teams allows 300 people to attend the webinar directly. Any additional person wishing to attend the workshop, will be able to do so via streaming.

Academy Programme

The virtual academy will be held over 5 days, with the 1st day being comprised of modules which all participants are expected to attend. Days 2 to 5 will have parallel tracks to allow participants to select specific modules for which they would like more in-depth training.

Academy Sessions will commence at 09h00 daily and terminate at 16h00. There will be a lunch break for 30 min and two stretch/tea breaks of 15 min daily.

Themes to be covered include:

• Research Design and Conceptual Frameworks
• Introduction to Quantitative data collection and analysis including use of data analysis software – STATA and SPSS
• Introduction to Cross-Sectional Data Analysis
• Introduction to Qualitative data collection & Analysis including the use of Atlas it/NVivo
• Ethics of social research
• Conducting literature reviews, searching for literature and use of reference tools
• Scientific communication: Academic writing for publications
• Innovations in science communication – Using Infographics
• Innovations in qualitative research

Programme Presenters and Facilitators

The Academy modules are facilitated and presented by established researchers within the HSRC and our partner institutions namely University of Pretoria, Sol Plaatje University and University of Zululand. As part of our commitment to developing research capacity among junior researchers several junior researchers will also be serving as facilitators and co-presenters. Bio-sketches will be provided on the webpage.

We acknowledge with deep appreciation the contributions of presenters and facilitators who give their time freely in pursuit of developing research capacity.

Course Material

Course materials will be made available on Academy Webpage, for your perusal before and during the academy as well as for a limited time after the academy. You are welcome to download these resources. If you wish to share resources, please feel free to do so.

Expected Outcomes of Participation in the Academy

If you participate in more than 75% of the modules offered by the end of the academy you should be able to understand:

• how to develop research purpose statements and research questions;
• the process of conducting research using quantitative and qualitative approaches;
• identify an appropriate research design aligned to your research question;
• be aware of qualitative and qualitative data collection, analysis, and interpretation techniques;
• the importance of conducting research ethically;
• understand the principles of effective communication
• be familiar with the basic functioning of SPSS and STATA
• basic guidelines for undertaking a literature review study and to analyse qualitative data effectively using Atlas.TI

Evaluation of The Academy

Evaluation feedback is important in planning for future Academies sessions. We would like to urge you to please complete the evaluation for each module you have participated in. A link will be provided for each session.

We are looking forward to meeting you at the Academy and wishing you all an enlightening learning experience.

Yours sincerely

On behalf of the Academy Team

HSRC: Dr Bongiwe Mncwango, Ms Shirin Motala, Ms Jaqueline Harvey, Ms Tahiya Moosa, Ms Thandeka Mdletshe, Ms Nondumiso Masuku, Ms Lindiwe Malumbazo, Ms Amanda Phetla and Mr Zwelakhe Maseko

Partner Institutions:
University of Pretoria: Dr Mary Mangai
Sol Plaatje University: Dr Adesuwa Vanessa Agbedahin
University of Zululand: Ms Zinhle Ntuli