A Mass Communication lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr Gever Verlumun, has won a German grant to support the publication of a special issue for his Scopus-indexed journal, the Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies.

Verlumun, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, during a Zoom press conference, stated that the theme of the special issue was ‘Digital Media and Research in 21st-century Society: Assessing Current Trends and Projecting the Future.’

He revealed that the grant, valued at €3,580, was awarded by the Centre for Advanced Internet Studies, Bochum, Germany.

“The grant’s monetary value is €3,580, covering editing, printing, archiving, promotions, and distribution. The money will not be released to me directly. Instead, I will have to deliver on the publication and then request reimbursement. I consider the special issue theme important because digital media and modern technologies have significantly influenced various aspects of contemporary society. Research has been profoundly impacted by the powerful waves of Internet-powered media.

“Aspects of research like data collection, literature review, data analysis, and intervention delivery, among others, have evolved over the past decades. This special issue of the Ianna Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies aims to understand how digital media and new technologies have changed the dynamics of research.”

Verlumun specified the areas of interest for the special issue: artificial intelligence and research in contemporary society, software and data analysis, digital media and intervention delivery, digital media and data collection, and digital media and communicating research findings.

“I have also been ranked as Nigeria’s No. 1 communication scholar based on my publications in the Scopus SciVal author ranking of the top 500 scholars in Nigeria. I have maintained that position for the 2019-2022 and 2020-2023 ranking years. SciVal is a research analytics tool from Elsevier that measures metrics gathered from the Scopus dataset. It provides information on the research output of scholars and contributes to university rankings. Typically, it considers authors’ publications for the past four years. In Nigeria today, publication in journals indexed in Scopus is a celebrated achievement,” Verlumun added.