The Department of Languages Studies (DLS), in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH), at SUA, has a students and staff seminar presentation series. The seminars aim to share knowledge, stimulate academic debates, and provide input to presenters. They are held monthly, and managed by the coordinator of the SUA Centre of African and International Languages (SUACAIL) or the Department’s chairperson of research and publications. On 25th October 2022, the Department conducted its third seminar at SUACAIL, Mazimbu.
Pictured are participants in the seminar listening to a presenter
The seminar involved presenters from the DLS and other departments of the CSSH. There were three presenters: Dr Edwin Ngowi and Dr Mikidadi Muhanga from the Department of Development and Strategic Studies (DDSS), and Ms Renee Lynch, a research fellow hosted in the DLS, and a PhD student at the University of Washington.
Dr Ngowi shared research findings on a project titled: ‘Transforming Employability for Social Change in East Africa (TESCEA): a PROJECT Consortium Experience. The overall goal of this project is to support universities”, “industries”, “communities” and “governments” in East Africa to work together to create a learning experience for students which produces employable and creative graduates for social change.
Dr Ngowi presenting findings of TESCEA project
The second presenter was Ms Renee Lynch, a research fellow in the DLS from the University Washinton in the USA. Ms Renee presented her preliminary findings from her PhD study titled: ‘Collaborative Investigation of English Language Teacher Identity in Postcolonial Tanzania’. Her study aims to investigate international collaboration in English language teaching from a critical perspective and cultivate more equitable partnerships.
Dr Mikidadi Muhanga, the third presenter, presented on Theoretical, Methodological and Practical Aspects Connected to Health Literacy under One Health Approach in Tanzania (OHA): an Eye opener. His study assessed health literacy by focusing on the One Health Approach in selected rural and urban settings in Morogoro, Tanzania.
Speaking after the seminar, Dr Job Mwakapina (the sixth from right in the group photo), who is the coordinator of the SUACAIL said ‘ generally, this seminar presentation has been fruitful in terms of knowledge sharing and opening the eyes of participants by disclosing more areas for research, collaboration, and improving the teaching and learning process at SUA in particular and Tanzania at large’. He added further that the findings from the three studies are very important to the CSSH and SUA at large, particularly when SUA embarks on the process of curricula review and development.
