Enhancing Research Quality: STU hosts advanced supervision seminar

The School of Graduate Studies of Sunyani Technical University (STU) has organized a seminar on postgraduate thesis and dissertation supervision to strengthen lecturers’ supervisory skills.

Opening the seminar, the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Prof. Julius Caesar Puoza, emphasized that the quality of a thesis depends on effective supervision and noted that the seminar aimed to provide clarity and enhance supervisory competence.

The resource person, Prof. Emmanuel Adinyira, Dean of the Faculty of Built Environment at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), spoke on “Enhancing Quality and Timely Completion of Postgraduate Research through Effective Supervision.”

He distinguished expectations across programmes, noting that PhD research demands higher rigor than MPhil studies, while MSc programmes are largely theory-based and MTech programmes focus on practical, design-oriented solutions.

Prof. Adinyira identified common supervisory styles, from hands-off to overly controlling, and urged lecturers to reflect on and improve their approaches.

He outlined key responsibilities of supervisors, including setting clear expectations, guiding research planning, providing constructive feedback, supporting engagement with current literature, encouraging joint publications, and offering personal support where needed.

Co-supervision
During the Open Forum, participants raised concerns about managing co-supervision and student outsourcing of research work.

Prof. Adinyira called for professionalism among co-supervisors and stressed prioritizing the research process over the final product.

He recommended developing a supervision guide and organizing similar workshops for students, noting that proactive and systematic supervision improves research quality, student satisfaction, and timely completion.

The Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of STU, Arch. Prof. Evans Zoya Kpamma, highlighted the importance of strong supervisor-student relationships, responsible use of AI tools, and patience in mentoring postgraduate students.