UNILAG Computer Sciences Department Launches 5-Day Academic Research Writing Workshop for Early Career Researchers

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) Department of Computer Sciences on Monday, August 11, 2025, commenced a five-day workshop designed to enhance the academic writing skills of early career researchers in Nigerian universities.

The programme, themed Building Academic Research Writing Capacity in Nigerian Universities, aims to equip participants with practical tools to produce high-quality scholarly work suitable for reputable journals.

Facilitated by Dr. Christine Feak of the University of Michigan and Dr. Sola Edagbami of UNILAG, the opening day featured a welcome address and an interactive session on audience, purpose, and strategy in research writing. Dr. Feak urged participants to approach journal submissions strategically, study recent issues of their target publications, and frame research in ways that are both relatable and compelling to readers.

She also highlighted distinctions between technical reports and journal articles, stressing the importance of clarity, tension, and narrative flow. “Let it make sense to the reader,” she advised, while encouraging the adoption of the Wave Pattern of writing to enhance readability.

From an editorial perspective, Dr. Feak discussed how journal editors assess submissions based on titles, abstracts, and references, and addressed challenges such as rejections and unfavourable reviews.

In closing, Dr. Edagbami emphasized the workshop’s long-term vision of creating a research training hub capable of producing resource persons who will extend the knowledge to other faculties and universities.

The workshop, which ends Friday, August 15, will also cover effective titles and abstracts, writing introductions, conducting literature reviews, ethics in publishing, and selecting the right journals.