Postgraduate Conference and Staff Research Colloquium

BY: .

The College of Humanities Office of the Dean for Research recently hosted its second Annual Postgraduate Conference and Staff Research Colloquium aimed at nurturing postgraduate students and to offer staff the opportunity to learn how to disseminate the knowledge they produce through maximising their research output.  

The theme of the Conference: “Postgraduate Research in the Humanities: Exploring Trends, Theories and Trans-Disciplinarily”, attracted phenomenal interest and enthusiasm, with about 90 papers presented by Masters and PhD students. There were also keynote and plenary panels as well as the research development workshops.  

College Dean of Research, Professor Sarojini Nadar, said, ‘The need for such a conference stems from the belief that our core business in academia and UKZN is to acquire, produce and disseminate knowledge. The traditional form of dissemination of knowledge from postgraduates has been in the form of a dissertation or thesis. The Conference provides the opportunity for students to learn how to disseminate their knowledge through scholarly publishing.’  

She added that through the process of the Conference, postgraduate students would learn how to offer and accept scholarly critique. ‘This form of peer review is the bedrock of academia and the skill of peer-review is important for both staff and students.’ 

The theme of transdisciplinarity as the overarching conference theme was chosen because Nadar observed that the majority of postgraduate students were engaging in transdisciplinary research. 

‘Transdisciplinary work is not only encouraged, it is actively supported as is evident by the requirement of international and national research funding agencies that researchers produce and engage with knowledge beyond their traditional disciplines.

‘However, transdisciplinary research requires multiple sets of skills and competencies which need to be acquired. The keynote panel speakers, who have produced leading transdisciplinary research will share their experiences and thereby hopefully inspire other scholars to acquire the competencies required for such research.’ 

The themes for the parallel thematic track sessions where postgraduate students presented their work were derived from the abstracts which were received. The themes were: Language, Literature, Media and Communication; Culture, Race, Gender, Identity and Religion; Well-being, Health, HIV and Peace; Development, Economics and Politics; and Education and Knowledge Production. 

‘What was pleasing to note was how the research that is being conducted in the Humanities is in line with UKZN’s strategic research focus areas,’ said Nadar.  In addition to focusing on Goal 3 (Pre-eminence in Research) of the UKZN’s Strategic Plan through a plenary panel on the Transformation Charter, the Conference also turned the spotlight on the issue of transformation which is the underpinning principle of much of the intellectual and operational functions of UKZN.’ 

The College was particularly proud of being able to collaborate this year with other universities whose students were also present at the Conference.  Universities represented included the University of Zululand, the Durban University of Technology and Stellenbosch University.  

The staff research development workshops on third stream income, NRF Rating as well as Impact Factors attracted a large number of staff. 

Almost 200 staff and students registered for the Conference and the various workshops. 

Nadar was delighted by the enthusiastic support. ‘Overall, the event was jam-packed with rousing and challenging conversations which hopefully inspired further research and collaborations in the local and national landscape of Higher Education.’  

-Melissa Mungroo