Professor Berry Hewlett of Washington State University delivers a public lecture at Hawassa University.

Dr. Dagne Shibiru, Dean at the College of Social Science and Humanities, said in his opening speech that Washington State University is one of the sister organizations of Hawassa University collaborating in research and student and staff exchanges. He mentioned that such events are important in improving the capacity of young researchers through sharing experiences. Dr. Dagne underscored that a culture of giving public lectures needs to flourish at the university level because it creates a platform for the scientific exchange of information and sharing experiences of veterans in academia.

On this occasion, Professor Berry Hewlett, a prominent researcher at Washington State University, has delivered a public lecture on “Modern qualitative research writing techniques” he practically employed in his own research undertakings across various African countries including Ethiopia, and he shared his lifelong experiences in tackling challenges on the research field.

Prof. Hewlett underlined in his lecture that excellence and quality, relevance, responsiveness, participatory, ethical standards, partnership, and a team approach are core issues in qualitative research, and the researchers should not underestimate the significance of participant observations that gives idea for future research.

More than 100 academic staff, students and researchers were in attendance at the half-day public lecture held at African Union Hall, and there was hot discussion on the topic presented.