NSRS to host first Student Research Symposium 

By Maria Kandjungu 
THE Ministry of Higher Education,  Training and Innovation  (MHETI), through the National  Steering Committee on National  Student Research Symposium  (NSRS), will be hosting its first ever  Annual National Student Research  Seminar in October. The two-day  student research seminar from, 18  – 19 October 2018, will be a collaboration  between the higher education  ministry, Namibia University  of Science and Technology (NUST),  University of Namibia (UNAM),  International University of Management  (IUM) and the National Commission  for Research, Science and  Technology (NCRST).  The seminar, which will be open  to students from all institutions of  higher education in Namibia, aims to  give students an opportunity to share  their research work with peers. It also  aims to stimulate the national intellectual  climate through discussions  and collaborations within and across  disciplines and institutions.  Lisho Mundia, the Director for  Research and Innovation at MHETI,  said participants to the symposium  may present results from their current  research projects and all accepted  abstracts will be published in the  Symposium Abstract Booklet. The  higher education ministry has started  with the selection process of abstracts  and has called for students to  hand in their abstract posters and exhibitions  of innovation for selection.  “Prospective presenters are invited  to submit abstracts of no more than  250 words. The abstract should outline,  Title, Scholarly Approach, Results  and Conclusions,” he said.  The ministry has set 17 August as  the deadline for submission of abstracts  while online registration for  the symposium opens on October 1  and closes on October 12. There are  no registration fees charged.  Mundia also explained that contributions  at the seminar will be done  in one of the forms as follows: Oral  Presentations: A scholarly paper in  which the researcher will share results  based on original data collection  or secondary data analysis, and  can be quantitative, qualitative or  mixed methods. Researchers will be  allowed ten minutes for their presentations  and a further five minutes for  questions and answers.  Poster Presentation: A visual presentation  for viewing by symposium  attendees. Presenters will prepare  a single poster explaining their research  questions, methodology and  conclusions. Presenters should be  available at the allocated times to explain  their project to interested parties  and answer questions.  Demonstrations: A demonstration  displaying materials related to  research or practice. These may include  a variety of formats, such as a  computer programme, an application  or a multimedia presentation of  a project.