Mr. Francis Kombe and Ms Limbanazo Matandika (SARETI Alumni) participated in a day-long workshop on Research Integrity (RI) which took place on 22 May in Windhoek Namibia. The conference was attended by 20 delegates from various research institutions in Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania, as well as a Namibian permanent delegate to UNESCO Paris. Kombe and Matandika developed their interest in RI when they both attended the 4th World Conference on Research Integrity in Brazil in the year 2015. Since then they have worked hand in hand with fellow South African counterparts to set up Africa’s own Network on Research Integrity (ARIN). The workshop was sponsored and planned by South Africa Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) with uttermost support and coordination by Dr Christa Van Zyl and her team. This was the first opportunity offered to members of the African Research Integrity Network to meet and collaborate at a workshop, albeit informally. The main objectives of the workshop were to:
Raise awareness on research integrity in Africa;
Identify priority areas for future attention; and
Consider opportunities for further dialogue and possible collaborative networking.
Mr Kombe, Prof Rossouw of the University of Pretoria and Dr Van Zyl were key presenters while Dr Matsau and Ms Sowane from the HSRC were part of the workshop planning and reporting team and Ms Limbanazo Matandika was an excellent chair and co-facilitator. The final session of the workshop included a panel discussion from delegates from all the African countries that were presented. Common priorities and areas of interest were identified. Several delegates joined ARIN after attending the workshop. The workshop benefited from financial support from the HSRC, National Research Foundation (NRF) and the University of Pretoria
