A call has been made by an Associate Professor in the Department of Agriculture Engineering at the University of Cape Coast to researchers to include interdisciplinary approaches in addressing societal problems.
Prof. Robert Sarpong Amoah who made this call noted that recent social problems transcend one discipline and hence it is very crucial to adopt the interdisciplinary approach in research.
Prof. Sarpong- Amoah made this remark during an interdisciplinary workshop hosted by the University of Cape Coast for students and faculty members.
The workshop forms part of the Build Expertise and Training for Growth in the consumer goods and food processing project (BET- Ghana) which is funded by the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschienst (DAAD) and is being run in partnership with the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Science.
In a presentation on the topic ‘Promoting Interdisciplinary research in consumer goods and food processing at UCC’, Prof. Sarpong Amoah indicated that it is time researchers employed the interdisciplinary approach, particularly in the areas of consumer goods and food processing.
He underscored that a multidisciplinary approach to research had a greater impact than doing so alone.
He said, “Interdisciplinary research brings together experts from different fields so that they share their perspectives together to solve problems facing us. Interdisciplinary research helps to open up new areas of interest in the study.
“It also gives you exposure and enhances a researcher’s capacity for research and then it opens avenues for networking among professionals from different fields”, Prof. Sarpong Amoah emphasized.
While indicating that there are some problems associated with Interdisciplinary research such as issues of leadership, choice of suitable methods to use, or the choice of a suitable journal to publish the work, he emphasized the need for all experts to consider those inevitable problems and work to overcome it.
On his part, the Head of the Department of Agriculture Engineering, Prof. Ernest Ekow Abano indicated that the workshop had been held at an opportune time and that the event was designed to enhance the employability of students and graduates specifically in the consumer goods and food processing industry.
He explained that “the essence of this workshop is to build interest within the university of Cape Coast so that we begin to look at issues from an interdisciplinary approach because the challenges we face within the country are not limited to one discipline. And we know that food is something all of us need so we need all the experts within the various disciplines to come together to be able to address the issues related to consumer goods and food processing.”
Prof. Abano, who is also an expert on the BET- Ghana project, was hopeful that by the end of the workshop, participants would have realized the necessity to seek different perspectives in their research to solve societal problems.
“I’m expecting at the end of the workshop, colleagues would now build on the ideas that would come out from the workshop to develop proposals so that we could look for funding to help us solve some of the challenges that we have in the food and consumer goods industry.” He said.
He, therefore, urged them not to rest on their oars but to work in teams to develop interdisciplinary teams and then work on specific projects that will enhance the image of the university.
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Source: Emmanuella Ama Gyamfi/ATLFMNEWS
