University of Sierra Leone to Introduce Paperless Dissertation Submission System

The Vice Chancellor and Principal of the University of Sierra Leone, Professor Aiah Lebbie, has said there are plans to introduce a paperless system for the submission of students' dissertations, a move he says will significantly reduce financial burdens on students.

Professor Lebbie disclosed that the university will adopt a digital platform known as the Space Achieve System to store and manage all submitted dissertations. This, he said, is part of broader efforts to modernise academic processes and to also improve efficiency within the institution.

He noted that the transition to a paperless system will eliminate the need for costly printing and binding of dissertations, which has long been a concern for many graduating students.

In addition to cost savings, the Vice Chancellor said that the new system will strengthen academic integrity, as all submitted dissertations will be subjected to a plagiarism and content verification process using "Turnitin software." According to him, this will help detect artificial intelligence-generated content and other forms of academic dishonesty.

Professor Lebbie stated that any dissertation identified as AI-generated or failing to meet originality standards will not be approved for upload to the university's database. "Those works that are generated will not be uploaded to the website." He said. 

The introduction of the paperless submission system is expected to take effect soon, which many believe is a step toward digital transformation at the University of Sierra Leone.