MUST VC Asks PhD Students to Focus on Getting Published

The Vice Chancellor of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Prof Celestine Obua has encouraged PhD students to concentrate on getting their research published in academic journals.

He said this on Thursday during the 3^rd PhD symposium which was held at the MUST main campus in Kihumuro along the Mbarara – Bushenyi road.

The Symposium is an initiative of Assoc. Prof. Nixon Kamukama, the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs at MUST which is intended to bring together all the MUST PhD postgraduate students to present, share, and discuss their research projects in a more relaxed and friendly environment.

“Gone are the days when you sat and wrote the fattest pitch of books only to keep them in your shelves and nobody reads them. The only way people can know that you have done is by publishing what you have done,” said the VC.

He says this will interest funders to finance students’ projects on research and innovation.

“There is no funder who is going to give you money if you have not attached a single publication for whatever you are requesting to do. If you don’t have relevant publications, you might as well forget applying for a grant” said Obua.

Although one’s research will often be described in their PhD thesis, it is increasingly becoming more critical for one to publish their research findings in the form of a journal article and submitting it to one of the specialized journals within their field. As the competition for academic positions gets fiercer, publishing has become the ideal way to select students whose intellect stands out.

Prof Obua used the event to appeal to students at MUST as well as other stakeholders to take pride in this university. He equally warned university administrators to stop fighting for promotions.

Assoc. Prof. Batwala Vincent, Directorate of Research & Graduate Training at MUST revealed that the university plans to launch monthly lunch time PhD forums within Faculties to encourage students get more actively involved in the implementation of research processes.

He however discouraged the tendency of students presenting work that does not belong to them.

“The PhD journey is a genuine learning path, within which you should abstain from any unethical tendency, any misconduct such as ‘plagiarism’ which attracts the highest possible penalties in the field of learning” said Vincent.

Thursday’s symposium was a precursor to the 14^th MUST Annual Research Dissemination Conference slated for tomorrow, Friday at Lake View Hotel in Mbarara.

The PhD symposium featured research presentations from PhD students’ guided by the supervisors.

Prof Obua encouraged students to publicize their work as well as to share it with other people from relevant public universities.

“PhDs should generate teachings. And how many people know that you generate new knowledge? It is by publicizing what you have done,” he said.