JOHOR BAHRU, Dec 9 – The School of Graduate Studies (SPS), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), remains committed to supporting the development and success of postgraduate students through the organisation of a series of continuous research classes throughout 2025. This initiative emphasises the mastery of contemporary research skills in line with advancements in digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while ensuring adherence to principles of research ethics and academic integrity.
The series of professional courses is conducted online as part of SPS’s structured efforts to enhance the capabilities of postgraduate students, particularly those at the master’s and doctoral levels, in conducting high-quality research. This approach aims to ensure that students are not only technically competent but also able to utilise research technologies ethically and responsibly.
The programme involves collaboration with Dr Thavamaran Kanesan, Chief Editor and Founder of Proofreading by A UK PhD, who shares his expertise on literature review strategies, identifying research gaps, critical analysis, and high-impact journal article writing in accordance with international academic writing practices.
As part of a systematic and continuous competency development approach, the SPS UTM Professional Research Skills Course Series 2025, in collaboration with Dr Thavamaran Kanesan, comprises four main sessions progressively scheduled throughout 2025.
The first session on 13 March 2025 focused on the literature review template combined with ChatGPT-4o and Google Scholar, exploring the magical combo with persona prompt engineering. The second session on 25 June guided participants in identifying research gaps through critical review using Scopus, Google Scholar and AI.
The third session, held on 11 September, helped participants develop Chapter 1-5 templates to effectively address examiners’ feedback and prepare for defence or viva, comparing AI-assisted literature review against examiners’ comments. The final session on 9 December concentrated on WoS and Scopus review paper writing, equipping participants to produce two papers before their proposal defence.
Throughout the series, participants are exposed to the use of indexed academic databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, as well as the integration of artificial intelligence tools in literature search and synthesis. Emphasis is also placed on research ethics, including the originality of scholarly work, plagiarism prevention, methodological transparency, and researchers’ responsibility in reporting research findings with accountability.
This holistic approach aims to develop UTM master’s and doctoral students into respected scholars who are not only proficient in utilising advanced research technologies but also firmly uphold the values of academic integrity and professionalism.
The organisation of this research class series supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4: Quality Education, SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, in line with UTM’s aspiration to be a globally recognised research university.
