Can Strathmore University build a reputation of producing confident and competent communicators, following its great reputation of producing competent professionals who can deliver in industry? That is the question that was discussed in a forum hosted this morning by the Strathmore School of Humanities and Social Sciences‘ Writing Centre. 

 

Reports from industry attest that fresh graduates lack confidence, public speaking and presentation skills, as well as excellent writing. Academics find similar frustrations with their students’ performance. Many students at the university prefer speaking Sheng–a mixture of English and Swahili–both in and out of the classroom. Still more students find it easier to write in informal SMS language when addressing lecturers in emails. 

 

The Writing Centre was constituted for these reasons and by hosting a forum of academics and industry experts, solutions were offered to combat this growing epidemic of low communication quality graduates. The way forward means collaboration of all key players within and outside the university to enable communication quality assurance. A consistent strategy is needed to raise the standards spoken communication and academic writing at all levels. This would ensure value to potential employers as they recruit students from undergraduate to graduate levels.

 

in collaboration with Learning & Teaching Services the Writing Centre has organized a Conference themed “English for Effective Communication” to take place on 19th & 20th May 2016 at the University Auditorium. The Conference will take this discussion further by providing valuable data that can be used to formulate strategies to ensure communication competence in the university.