As part of the process of integrating Batch 1 Premium members of the African Scholars Mentorship Network (ASMN) into the mainstream of DePECOS Institutions and Development Research Centre (DIaDeRC) operations, the leadership of the Centre recently conducted an onboarding session to bring them up to speed on expectations and opportunities.
In his welcome remark, the Founding Chair of DIaDeRC, Professor Evans Osabuohien, reiterated the importance of putting into practice many of the things the successful members of the premium platform have learnt during the last grant writing bootcamp of ASMN.
Professor Osabuohien said DIaDeRC is working at clustering premium members into groups so they can bolster their network, increase their publication profile and visibility across various platforms. Professor Osabuohien listed agriculture energy, environment, business and management, education, art and humanities, health science, engineering, ICT, trade, policy and international affairs as some of the cohorts that members would be classified under in driving research works.
He reminded participants of the importance of adhering to the mentorship nature-nurture cycle. According to him, honesty and integrity must always serve as the bedrock of evolving any mentor and mentee relationship.
The Head, Programmes and Partnership, Dr Judith Ani, said becoming an alumnus of ASMN and earning the badge of a premium member is equal to setting oneself up for growth and development. She noted that mentorship is a vital ingredient for career advancement, and as such, it is expedient that they avail themselves of mentorship opportunities that the platform will be availing them.
Dr Ani encouraged the new members to be open to collaboration and embrace diversity if they desire to make rapid advancement in their professional calling. She said she and members of DIaDeRC would be enthused to partner with serious premium members to do great and amazing work under the ASMN platform.
The Publication Lead at DIaDeRC, Dr Romanus Osabohien, said the Centre is working in partnership with some funding agencies to see how to enable publishers from the stable of DIaDeRC earn income from their research endeavours.
According to him, while it is important to help researchers get rewards from their publications, these publications, however, should be published in reputable outlets (such as Web of Science, ABS, ABDC, Scopus-indexed). “Profitability is a function of outlet and journal ranking,” he posited.
Dr Osabohien said the vision of DIaDeRC is all encompassing with the objective being integrating all ASMN members into the business of publishing irrespective of their field of endeavour, with attention being on case-by-case model and availability of funding for such publication.
One of the new premium members, Oluwayemisi Adeleke appreciated the leadership of DIaDeRC for helping get her career on the upward trajectory, noting that the ASMN grant writing bootcamp was an eye opener, and has renewed her confidence in seeking career advancement.
Another premium member, Salome Waweru, said the ASMN experience has imbued her with injected her with poise in pursuing her career. According to her, she appreciated the leadership for the platform and hoped for collaboration with other members.
With the completion of onboarding for new members, a robust engagement routine would be established that will seek to help members be the best scholarly version of themselves as they contribute to the body of knowledge globally.
NOTE
The Profile of ASMN Premium Batch 1 are accessible via this LINK. Also, info on the registration for the next Batch is available via this LINK.
