AfriScribe, an academic publishing and research support platform, has launched a digital tool designed to improve university research supervision through activity tracking, digital feedback and greater accountability between students and supervisors.

The tool, AfriScribe Supervise, enables institutions to monitor supervision activities, identify students requiring additional guidance and assess supervisors’ responsiveness, according to a statement by the organisation.

It also allows students to report concerns directly to their heads of department and enables institutions to reassign supervisors without requiring students to restart their research projects.

AfriScribe founder, Dr Olasunkanmi Arowolo, said the platform was developed to promote fairness and accountability by ensuring that students and supervisors fulfil their respective responsibilities during the research process.

The platform also supports digital document editing, feedback and collaboration, reducing the need to print successive drafts of research projects.

Arowolo said a recent cohort of approximately 14 to 15 students under his supervision completed their research work without printing drafts until the final binding and submission stage.

Designed for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral research, AfriScribe Supervise allows institutions to customise supervision stages to accommodate different academic disciplines and research requirements.

Arowolo disclosed that nine institutions were testing the platform, including Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom and Lagos State University, alongside other public and private tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The organisation said it was also planning virtual and on-site training for subscribing institutions to support the adoption of the platform.

It is developing a repository pipeline intended to make successful research projects accessible to users globally.

AfriScribe provides academic publishing and research support services, including digital tools and editorial services for researchers, universities and scholarly journals.