We are delighted to announce the successful completion of a focused three-day training for academic and research staff designed to strengthen modern research reform strategies. The workshop brought together lecturers, researchers, and research-support personnel with the shared goal of boosting thematic research capacity, improving grant success, and modernizing data collection practices.
The first day focused on the fundamentals and strategic value of thematic research. Participants learned how to define clear research themes, align them with national development priorities, and structure interdisciplinary agendas that attract funding and policy attention. Practical sessions guided teams to draft thematic frameworks, formulate research questions that map to impact pathways, and design monitoring indicators that make proposals and outputs more compelling to stakeholders.
On the other hand, half of the first day and the second day explored the cutting edge of proposal development by combining best practices in writing winning grant proposals (Dr. Alemayehu Abate) with hands-on use of AI tools & peer review journal (by Dr. Ketema Adere) to accelerate and refine the process. Attendees have got knowledge on the use of AI for literature synthesis, proposal editing, and tailoring narratives to specific funders—always with careful attention to ethical use and data integrity. The participants have also got how to develop winning grant, competitive proposals and faster, evidence-based drafting workflows. The other issues discussed on the second day was about current & Global Trends of Research including the National & MWU Standard Operating Procedures by Dr. Adem Esmael who emphasized the existing scenarios and what should be expected from the staff while conducting research activities.
The third day was devoted to providing practical training on KoBo Toolbox for online data collection by Dr. Hadiss Tadele and Mr. Endalew Muluneh. Participants learned about design, skip logic, multimedia capture, offline syncing, and secure data management, plus how to export and clean data for analysis. The participants developed and practiced survey instruments during the session, gaining confidence to deploy field surveys and integrate digital collection into their research pipelines in their field of studies.
Across the three days, the training delivered measurable gains: thematic research, writing winning grant application tailored to a priority call, research ethics and reusable KoBoToolbox templates and dashboards. Beyond outputs, the workshop fostered stronger peer networks, clarified institutional needs and galvanized a shared commitment to elevating research quality and impact across disciplines.
In conclusion, Dr. Addisu Assefa, Research Publication, Ethics and Extension Directorate Director at MWU, has made thoughtful discussion of the questions raised, key challenges and practical solutions, leading to a clear set of agreed actions—refined thematic priorities, targeted support for grant development, and steps to strengthen digital data practices in all the disciplines.
Finally, the participants reached on consensus to translating three days training into measurable research outcomes that advance the university’s shared mission.
