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The Writing Center Concept Paper
Idea generation is language blind, it can be written, verbal, or non-verbal, communicating the idea, however, requires language fluency. Despite being the lingua franca for academic communication, many in the Ethiopian scientific community are challenged in articulating their ideas in English. Acknowledging its mandate to guide, ensure, and implement scientific processes, the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences has taken the Writing Center initiative. The editorial services at the writing center separates the idea generation from the communication challenge and endeavors to enable the scientific community focus on invention and innovation.
Constant stream of invention and innovation ideas are key for economic development and growth. Invent (መፍጠር): to discover new thing. Inventors create something completely original. Innovate (ፈጠራ): to use a new idea or method. To innovate is to introduce something new to the market, to manipulate existing inventions and turn them into a product or process that is of use in the real world (reference).
Example 1: Light bulb. Light bulb was invented (created) in 1802. In 1879 Thomas Edison and more than twenty innovators (innovated) a practical use of the light bulb, Thomas Edison’s innovation became commercially successful and got him the credit as the innovator of light bulb (reference).
Example 2: iPhone. Many of the iPhone features were invented (created) long before the 2007 introduction of the iPhone including the touch screens, mobile communications, voice, data, camera, GPS, smart-phone applications, user interfaces, and ‘home’ button. Steve Jobs innovation is putting these features together in a commercially viable way (reference).
The Ethiopian Academy of Sciences shall coordinate, establish standards, ensure quality, define processes, develop computerized systems, and provide high-level training to achieve the vision and mission of the Writing Center. It executes its vision and mission in collaboration with government, non-government, for-profit, and not-for-profit stakeholders. It has chosen to begin its implementation with the public research universities as hubs that serve private and public entities in their proximity.
The hubs support and guide the scientific community by operationalizing the writing center vision and mission. The hubs organize their language departments to execute the Writing Center vision and mission.
The Writing Center organization and operations: