Academic roles

What interviewers look for

• Deep knowledge of your subject, and the ability to explain it simply to first-year students.
• Course design that links outcomes, teaching and assessment, not a list of chapters from one textbook.
• Fair, firm assessment: clear rubrics, and a calm process for plagiarism and misuse of AI tools.
• Research ability: a clear question, a suitable method, ethical data collection and a plan to publish.
• Supervision skills: guiding final-year projects and theses to finish on time without writing them for the student.
• Service and community engagement: linking teaching and research to real problems in the community.

Questions they ask

1. 1“How would you design the syllabus for this course?”

   Why they ask: They check that you can plan a whole course: outcomes, weekly topics, readings and assessment that fit together, and that you would follow the university's format and rules.

   How to answer

   • Start with four to six course learning outcomes: what students can do at the end.
   • Plan the weeks so each topic builds on the last, and choose readings students can really get, including free online sources.
   • Match assessment to the outcomes: continuous assessment (quizzes, assignments, a project) plus a final exam, with the weights stated.
   • Include the rules: attendance, deadlines, academic integrity and what AI use is allowed.

   For an introductory statistics course for business students, I would start with the outcomes, for example 'students can calculate and interpret the mean, median and standard deviation of a data set'. I would order the semester so descriptive statistics comes before probability, and use free textbooks and local data, like market prices, so students practise in Excel on numbers they recognise. Continuous assessment would be short weekly quizzes, two assignments and a small group project on real data, then a final exam. Each assessment links to an outcome, and the syllabus states the rules on late work, plagiarism and AI tools.

2. 2“How do you teach a class of 150 students and keep them engaged?”

   Why they ask: First-year classes at many universities are large. The panel wants practical methods that keep students thinking, not a lecturer reading slides for two hours.

   How to answer

   • Break the lecture into short parts, with a question or task every 15–20 minutes.
   • Use think-pair-share, a show of hands, or short quizzes on paper or phones to check understanding.
   • Use teaching assistants and tutorial groups for smaller discussions, and one online or WhatsApp group for announcements.
   • Learn some names and move around the hall so the back rows stay involved.

   As a teaching assistant for a first-year public health course in Hargeisa with well over a hundred students, I worked with the lecturer to split each session into three blocks of about twenty minutes. After each block students discussed one question with the person next to them, and we picked a few pairs to answer, often from the back. Every week there was a five-question quiz on paper that I marked with a simple key. The quiz results showed us which topic to repeat in the tutorial groups, and the back rows answered as often as the front.

3. 3“Several students submitted almost the same assignment; some copied from the internet or used AI. What do you do?”

   Why they ask: They check academic integrity: that you follow the university's policy fairly, collect evidence, let students explain, and also design assessment that makes copying harder.

   How to answer

   • Collect evidence first: compare the texts, find the sources, keep copies.
   • Meet each student privately and ask them to explain their work before deciding anything.
   • Follow the written policy and report to the head of department; do not invent your own punishment.
   • Prevent it next time: teach referencing, set clear AI rules, and use tasks linked to local data or short oral checks.

   Last year three reports in my research methods class had the same paragraphs. I compared them side by side, found the online source, and saved copies. I met each student separately and asked them to explain their method in their own words; two could not. I reported the case to the head of department with the evidence, as the policy requires, and held the grades until it was decided. The next semester I spent one class teaching APA referencing, added a short oral check for each report, and wrote clear rules on which uses of AI are allowed.

4. 4“How do you supervise a student's final-year project or thesis?”

   Why they ask: Supervision takes much of a lecturer's time. The panel checks that you set milestones, give useful feedback, keep the work honest and help students finish on time.

   How to answer

   • Agree a timeline with milestones: topic, proposal, ethics approval, data collection, draft chapters, final submission.
   • Meet regularly, keep short notes of what was agreed, and give written feedback on each draft.
   • Guide, but do not write it for them: the work and the decisions must be the student's own.
   • Act early when a student falls behind, and involve the project coordinator if needed.

5. 5“Tell us about your research: your question, your method and what you found.”

   Why they ask: Even for teaching posts, panels check that you understand research. They want a short, clear summary with honest limits, not a reading of your whole thesis.

   How to answer

   • One sentence each: the problem, the research question, the method and sample, the main finding.
   • Say why you chose that method, and name one limitation.
   • Finish with what comes next: a follow-up study or a paper you plan to submit.

   My master's thesis looked at how secondary school teachers in Burao use classroom assessment. I used mixed methods: a questionnaire for teachers in several schools, then interviews with a smaller group to understand the reasons. The main finding was that most teachers gave regular tests but rarely used the results to change their teaching, mainly because of large classes and little training. The main limitation is that all the schools were in one city, so I cannot generalise to rural schools. Next I want to turn it into a journal article and extend the study to other regions.

6. 6“Your research involves interviewing people in IDP camps. How do you handle research ethics?”

   Why they ask: Research with vulnerable people needs care. They check that you know ethics approval, informed consent, confidentiality and 'do no harm', and that you respect local authorities and community leaders.

   How to answer

   • Get approval from the university's research ethics committee, or the body that plays that role, before collecting any data.
   • Explain the study in Somali, make clear that taking part is voluntary and people can stop at any time, and get consent, written or recorded oral consent.
   • Protect identities: no names in the data, secure storage, and careful reporting so no one can be recognised.
   • Avoid harm: handle sensitive topics carefully, have a referral plan if someone is distressed, and never promise aid.

7. 7“Where would you publish your research, and how do you avoid predatory journals?”

   Why they ask: Publishing is part of an academic career. The panel checks that you understand peer review and can tell a real journal from one that publishes almost anything for a fee.

   How to answer

   • Name the kind of journal that fits your field, and explain that it is peer reviewed.
   • Check a journal before submitting: is it indexed in known databases, does it have a real editorial board and a clear review process?
   • Watch for warning signs: acceptance in days, no real review, spam invitations. A fee alone is not the sign, since many real open-access journals charge one.
   • Mention co-authoring with colleagues or your supervisor, and presenting at conferences first.

8. 8“How would you link your teaching or research with the community?”

   Why they ask: Community engagement or service is part of most academic job descriptions. The panel wants concrete ideas that help people and students, not a general promise.

   How to answer

   • Give one or two ideas tied to your subject: student projects with local businesses, free clinics, school visits, short public workshops.
   • Show how it helps students learn, and how you would share research results back with the community in simple language.
   • Mention real volunteer or community work you have already done.

Example answers are in English, the language most panels use. Say it in your own words.

Topics to revise

• Course learning outcomes (CLOs)Four to six statements of what students can do at the end of the course, written with action verbs such as calculate, analyse, design. Panels may ask you to write outcomes for a course in your field.
• Constructive alignmentOutcomes, teaching activities and assessment all point at the same thing. If the outcome is 'analyse data', the exam must ask students to analyse data, not just define terms.
• Syllabus (course outline)The document students get on day one: course description, outcomes, weekly topics, readings, assessment and weights, policies and contact details. Panels may ask you to draft one during the interview day.
• Continuous assessment and rubricsMarks spread across the semester (quizzes, assignments, projects) plus a final exam. A rubric sets the criteria and levels for marking essays or projects, so marking is fair and the same across markers.
• Academic integrity and plagiarismPlagiarism is presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own without citing them. Know the university's process, the difference between poor referencing and deliberate copying, and how to set rules for AI tools.
• Referencing styles (APA, Harvard)Standard ways to cite sources in the text and in the reference list. APA is widely used in education and the social sciences. Cite correctly in your own work and teach students to do the same.
• Qualitative vs quantitative methodsQuantitative research uses numbers (surveys, tests, statistics) to measure how much or how many. Qualitative research uses words (interviews, focus groups) to understand why and how. Mixed methods combine both. Be ready to justify your choice.
• SamplingHow you choose who to study. Random sampling gives everyone an equal chance of being chosen; purposive sampling picks people who know the topic. Panels may ask about your sample size and whether your findings can be generalised.
• Research ethics and informed consentEthics approval before data collection, voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality and do no harm. Extra care is needed with children, patients and displaced people.
• Literature reviewA summary and critique of what is already known on your topic, showing the gap your study fills. Panels may ask what the main debates in your field are and which recent studies you have read.
• Peer review and predatory journalsPeer review means experts in the field check a paper before it is published. Predatory journals take fees but do little or no real review. Check indexing, the editorial board and the review process before you submit.
• Supervision milestonesThe stages of a student project: topic, proposal, ethics approval, data collection, analysis, draft, final submission. Setting a date for each stage helps students finish on time and shows the panel you can manage many students.

Practical tasks you may get

1. 1Teaching demo of 15–20 minutes to a panel, sometimes with students present. Choose one outcome, explain one idea clearly with a local example, ask the audience questions, and end with a quick check and a summary. Keep slides few, large and readable.
2. 2Research presentation of 10–15 minutes on your thesis or research plan, followed by questions. Use a simple structure: problem, question, method, findings, limitations, next steps. Prepare for questions on your sample and on ethics.
3. 3Write a course outline, or a set of exam questions with a marking rubric, in a fixed time. Practise with a course you would really teach, and link each question to an outcome.
4. 4Panel interview with the dean and the department, sometimes with a short subject test. Revise the core first- and second-year topics of your field; panels often ask you to explain a basic concept as if to a first-year student.

Mistakes to avoid

• Reading from crowded slides during the teaching demo, with no question to the audience.
• Describing a course as a list of textbook chapters, with no outcomes or assessment plan.
• Overstating your research: calling a class assignment a publication, or being unable to explain the method of your own thesis.
• Handling suspected plagiarism by failing the student on the spot, without evidence or the university's process.
• Saying you would 'help' a weak student by rewriting their thesis chapters yourself.
• Planning to interview children, patients or displaced people with no ethics approval or consent process.

Quick check

5 questions. Answer each one to see the explanation.