A surge of interest from MUT staff has led to the early closure of registration for the upcoming Research Writing Retreat. The office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Engagement (RIE) has issued a notice to staff confirming that the event has reached its full complement. The retreat is scheduled to take place off-campus from 6–8 July 2026.
“Please note that we have now reached the required number of participants for the Research Writing Retreat and the registration link has automatically deactivated,” the RIE office announced.
The event has capped its attendance at 28 participants. In a notable display of cross-institutional engagement, the final group reflects a perfect balance between the university’s different sectors: 14 academic staff members and 14 support staff members.
The Deputy Vice-Chancellor: RIE, Professor Mncedisi Maphalala, emphasised that the retreat is designed to provide staff with dedicated time, structured support, mentorship, and a conducive scholarly environment away from daily campus distractions. According to Professor Maphalala, the core objectives of the retreat are accelerating research outputs, which is enhancing productivity to facilitate the completion and submission of journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers; strengthening overall research writing skills among staff; and fostering deeper networking and teamwork among University researchers.
Ultimately, Professor Maphalala noted, the initiative is a strategic effort to “contribute to the University’s research output targets and impact.”