In June 2024, a total number of four (4) User Education Programs were conducted with success. The programs include one (1) Research Methodology Workshop and three (3) brand new modules entitled TheWhizWrite: AI-powered thesis assistance.
These programs are aimed at providing valuable knowledge and information-searching skills to postgraduate students, empowering them to excel in various aspects of education and research. Meanwhile, the new module emphasis on incorporating AI assistance into the writing process, this initiative offers several advantages to students. Firstly, it provides valuable support and guidance, helping students tackle complex writing tasks more efficiently. Additionally, AI tools can offer immediate feedback on grammar, style, and structure, enabling students to refine their work more precisely. Furthermore, the module allows students to access a wealth of resources and suggestions, enhancing the overall quality of their theses. Ultimately, this integration of AI technology with academic writing empowers students to produce more polished and impactful research publication.
The User Education Program covers topics:
- Information searching skills which is the ability to effectively and efficiently find relevant and reliable information using various tools and techniques.
- UTM Massive Open Online Course (UTM MOOC) focuses on the UTM Library Skills module to guide students and staff to improve their information literacy for education and research.
- Endnote X9 for students. EndNote is a powerful tool that streamlines the reference management process, saving time and effort for researchers and students. It is widely used in academic and scientific communities to maintain organized and accurate reference lists, ensuring that citations are consistent and conform to specific citation styles required by publishers or educational institutions.
- Turnitin for students. Turnitin is a text matching tool used by students to submit assignments. It checks for similarities between their work and existing sources, providing reports and feedback on originality and writing quality, aiding in academic integrity and skill improvement.
- Where to publish? It refers to the process of identifying and selecting suitable journals, conferences, or other platforms for publishing scholarly research or academic work.
- AI’s contribution to thesis writing is particularly significant in streamlining the research phase. Utilizing vast repositories of scholarly articles, databases, and academic journals, AI-powered research tools swiftly sift through information and identify relatable sources. By automating the literature review process, AI not only saves students time but also ensures comprehensive coverage of existing knowledge, setting a robust foundation for the thesis.
- As AI advances, its role in thesis writing is set to become increasingly crucial, steering in an era of innovation and exploration in academia. The integration of AI has revolutionized the thesis writing landscape, presenting unparalleled opportunities to enrich research, analysis, writing, and collaboration on a global scale.
A total number of 529 participants have joined the program. They are undergraduate and postgraduate students from various schools/faculties. By joining the User Education Program, it enables each participant to:
- conduct comprehensive and efficient research
- better equipped in handling academic assignments, research papers, and projects
- access information independently enables ongoing self-education and personal growth
- finding and accessing relevant information enables individuals to resolve issues and make well-informed choices across different domains, including academia, personal matters, and professional settings.
- understanding and adhere to copyright and intellectual property rights promotes ethical conduct in utilizing information and prevents instances of plagiarism.
- be resourceful, adaptable, and open to exploring various sources and formats of information, including books, journals, articles, online databases, and multimedia resources
