{
  "id": 15874223,
  "title": "UG builds AI capacity among PhD students and faculty to boost research quality and funding success",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/ug-builds-ai-capacity-among-phd-students-and-faculty-to-boost",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-21T09:30:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GBC Ghana",
    "slug": "gbc-ghana",
    "url": "https://www.gbcghanaonline.com/news/education/ug-builds-ai-capacity/2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The University of Ghana (UG) is investing in enhancing the skills of its staff and students in using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve evidence-based research, grant competitiveness, and scholarly output. This initiative, part of the university's Strategic Plan 2024–2029, is organized by several departments and aims to address challenges in conducting thorough literature reviews and producing high-quality research that meets the demands of funding bodies.\n\nWorkshop organizers emphasize that AI and digital tools have significantly reduced the time required for research reviews, enabling tasks that previously took years to be completed within a month. Prof. Benjamin Yeboah Ofori, a lecturer at the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science, explains that the training focuses on meta-analysis and systematic reviews, which are comprehensive literature reviews aimed at identifying trends, patterns, and gaps in knowledge. These systematic approaches are more transparent, reproducible, and free from the biases inherent in traditional narrative reviews.\n\nParticipants in the training will also learn to use reference management software like EndNote, Zotero, and Mendeley, as well as AI-assisted literature search tools, which are accessible to all staff and students at the University of Ghana. Dr. Lailah Gifty Akita, a faculty member in the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, highlights that these tools help prevent common errors in citing sources and ensure that research meets the rigorous standards expected by funders.\n\nHowever, despite the availability of these resources, their utilization remains low due to a lack of knowledge and practical experience. Dr. Akita notes that poor citation practices and the failure to use peer-reviewed sources negatively impact the quality of student theses and faculty publications. Assistant librarian Cynthia Atuah Ntow from the College of Health Sciences at Korle Bu points out that while the university has invested heavily in electronic resources, many are underutilized. She stresses that building competencies in these areas among the next generation of researchers is crucial for strengthening Ghana's research ecosystem and positioning its graduates and faculty to address critical issues in conservation, marine science, environmental biology, and beyond.\n\nThe training, funded by BANGA-Africa (Building a New Generation of Academics in Africa), is hosted by the University of Ghana in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This initiative aims to strengthen, expand, deepen, and retain Africa's academic workforce, addressing the aging faculty population and boosting research capacity in higher education.",
  "summary": "By Doreen Ampofo The University of Ghana is investing in building the capacity of staff and students to use new AI tools to strengthen evidence-based research, improve grant competitiveness and raise the quality of scholarly output. The workshop, organised by the Department of Animal Biology and Conservation Science in collaboration with the Department of Marine […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}