On July 24, 2024, The Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) at Rajarata University of Sri Lanka recently organized a workshop titled “Smart Writing: AI Tools and Techniques for Academics.” Conducted by Dr. K. A. S. H. Kulathilake, Director of the CITS. The workshop was aimed at academic and academic support staff, providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively integrate AI tools into their academic work. This initiative was designed to foster efficiency and innovation in writing practices.
Participants were introduced to various AI tools that can enhance their writing and research processes, including:
- Gemini
- Copilot
- Scispace
- Elicit
- PDFGear
- Jamboard
The workshop was designed to empower academics and academic support staff with advanced skills in leveraging AI tools for academic writing. Key learning outcomes included:
Evaluating AI Tools: Participants learned to evaluate the effectiveness of different AI tools by comparing their features, capabilities, and applications in various academic contexts.
Developing Prompting Strategies: The workshop covered the development of sophisticated prompting strategies to maximize the utility of tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot for academic writing and research.
Implementing the IMRD Framework: Attendees were trained on how to implement the IMRD (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) framework using AI tools to enhance the structure and
