By: Aminata Sesay
The University of Management and Technology (UNIMTECH) has commenced its 2025/2026 final-year project defences for degree students as part of the requirements for the award of degrees.
The exercise began on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, with students from the School of Public Administration, School of Social Sciences and Solomon Campus in Lunsar.
According to the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Patrick Unisa Taylor, UNIMTECH has in recent years moved beyond the traditional dissertation model by introducing alternative approaches to final-year project assessment.
Students in the Schools of Social Sciences and Public Administration are required to work from prescribed e-books provided by the University and demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter before assessment panels.
Prof. Taylor, together with the Deans of Schools and Heads of Departments, said the new approach was introduced partly in response to concerns over plagiarism, the use of artificial intelligence to generate research findings, the purchase of dissertations from students at other universities and other forms of academic misconduct associated with the traditional dissertation system.
For students in the School of Technology, the assessment involves practical projects designed to address technological problems identified and researched within their communities. These projects include mobile applications, business automation tools, AI chatbots and other technology-based solutions.
The University said the practical project approach is intended to enable technology students to demonstrate how they can apply the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies to real-world problems affecting communities and businesses.
Due to UNIMTECH’s multi-campus structure, the defences are being conducted through both face-to-face and virtual presentations. Students at the Main Campus in Freetown are presenting their projects in person before assessment panels, while students at satellite campuses in Bo, Lunsar, Kono and Kambia are being examined through video conferencing by an assessment panel based at the Main Campus.
Prof. Taylor said the arrangement is intended to ensure consistency in assessment standards across the University’s various campuses.
The School of Technology commenced its project defences on September 16, 2026. The exercise will continue at Kono Campus from September 22 to 24 and will conclude at Bo Campus on September 25, 2026.
The final-year project defences form part of UNIMTECH’s academic requirements for students seeking the award of their degrees.