UNIZULU hosts a Seminar on the Use of Artificial Intelligence In research.

The Research & Innovation Office at the University of Zululand recently hosted Researchers and Postgraduate Students seminar on promoting research integrity – Artificial Intelligence (AI). use in research. This hybrid event took place on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 at. the Iconic King Bhekuzulu Hall KwaDlangezwa Campus.

The Theme of this seminar was Promoting Research Integrity In Higher Education.

In her welcome remarks the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Innovation, Professor Nokuthula Kunene said that this seminar is more about research integrity,” we all now have seen that artificial intelligence can increase the efficiency of research for example for instance it has helped to improve disease diagnostics. “The research office has made it a custom to organise workshops that are necessary to provide research skills to our post graduate students from proposal writing to writing up all their dissertations as well as thesis. This has been found to be highly effective in improving research productivity in an institution but more importantly it gives you, our students not only the skills to complete your research studies but also to have good graduate articles that you would need even when you have completed your studies. Therefore, it is particularly important that these seminars and workshops are attended.” Explained prof Kunene.

The Director in the Research and Innovation Office, Prof Byron Brown, gave the purpose of the seminar. He emphasised that the purpose is two folds, to discuss the potential consequences of using AI content. generators in Academic Research and to suggest majors to maintain academic honesty considering artificial intelligence tools.

The event was attended by the post graduate students as well as the academic researchers.

The keynote speaker, Mr Sidney Engelbrecht Senior Research Compliance Specialist at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia and his talk was on how to promote research integrity in the world of AI. He highlighted the development of artificial intelligence from a basic concept, also shared some uses of AI, focused on how to promote research academia, research integrity and potential consequences, focused on how to promote research integrity in higher education at large.” AI come with a lot of views in the context that we work in which is higher education.AI is not a new way of acknowledging, in fact it is called a tsunami that is threatening to flood us if we are not mindful.” Clarified Engelbrecht.

Insightful research presentation and robust discussions by UNIZULU academics got underway following a thought-provoking keynote address by Engelbrecht.

• Precious Shamase