UEW Scholars Champion Research Integrity at Global Conference in Canada
The University of Education, Winneba (UEW) strengthened its growing international research profile with two of its scholars participating in the 9th World Conference on Research Integrity (WCRI).
The prestigious global conference brought together over 600 participants from universities, research institutes, governments, publishers and funding organisations across the world to deliberate on advancing ethical standards and responsible conduct in research. The conference also sought to produce a new influential policy statement on research integrity, following landmark declarations such as the Singapore Statement, the Hong Kong Principles, the Cape Town Declaration and the Athens Statement on Research Integrity. The conference was held in Vancouver, Canada, from Sunday, 3rd to Wednesday, 6th May 2026.
This year’s conference focused on Indigenous perspectives and the growing intersection between artificial intelligence and research integrity, while placing strong emphasis on diversity, inclusion and support for early-career researchers through specialised forums and workshops.
Representing UEW were Prof. Fred Yao Gbagbo and Dr. Pearl Nana Yaa Adubea Hammond, who both presented papers addressing critical research integrity challenges in West Africa and Ghana.
Prof. Gbagbo, in his presentation titled “The Evolving Landscape of Research Integrity in West Africa,” underscored the growing global importance of honesty, transparency and ethical conduct in research. He observed that although West African institutions have made progress in establishing Ethics Review Committees, Research Ethics Committees and Institutional Review Boards, broader research integrity systems remain underdeveloped.
He identified persistent challenges including inadequate research funding, weak institutional policies, limited capacity building and the absence of robust mechanisms to detect and address research misconduct in many universities across the sub-region.
Prof. Gbagbo advocated the integration of research integrity into undergraduate curricula and called for sustained capacity building for educators at all levels including basic and secondary education to cultivate an ethical research culture from an early stage. He further proposed the establishment of a centralised Research Integrity Centre for West Africa to coordinate regional efforts and strengthen institutional collaboration.
Dr. Pearl Hammond’s presentation, titled “The Ethics Pendulum: Institutional Research Integrity Dynamics in Ghanaian Universities,” examined how institutional governance structures influence research integrity practices in Ghana’s public universities. She noted that although global research integrity frameworks exist, their implementation within Ghanaian universities remains inconsistent due to weak policy alignment and limited empirical studies on institutional dynamics.
Dr. Pearl Hammond stressed the need for stronger coherence between institutional policies and operational practices to improve accountability, ethical scholarship and responsible research conduct in Ghanaian higher education institutions.
The participation of the two UEW scholars at the global conference highlights the university’s growing contribution to international conversations on ethical research, academic credibility and responsible knowledge production.