Bio

Mr Zander Janse van Rensburg is a lecturer in the School of Languages (South Africa), where he contributes to the Institution’s academic writing development strategy. In accordance with this strategy, he also established the NWU Writing Centre in 2014, where he still serves as manager. In 2019, the NWU Registrar appointed him as the university’s subject specialist on academic integrity. His work, in this regard, focuses on forensic investigations into misconduct at all levels of academic practice. For these purposes, he also leads the development of specialised forensic software aimed at investigating various forms of academic misconduct. Further research interests include philosophical inquiry and, more specifically, hermeneutic phenomenology.

Workshop Overview

he advent of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, notably Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Elicit, and Perplexity, in late 2022 signals a potential paradigm shift in higher education. These tools offer prospects for accelerating research and enhancing quality. Yet, they also prompt critical inquiries regarding academic integrity, strategies to foster students' critical thinking, and methods to maintain the originality and intellectual integrity of academic writing. This workshop aims to engage key stakeholders within the NWU research community, such as academics, researchers, and representatives from the Library Information Services (LIS), Research Support Department (RSD), and Research Ethics Committee (REC), in a critical debate on these issues.

Learning Outcomes

• To understand the perceived ethical and moral issues when using AI in academic writing fostering critical thinking and ethical reasoning skills.
• Delineate the pros and cons of using AI in research environments, including issues related to data privacy, bias mitigation, and transparency.
• To understand how academic integrity can be preserved in the Age of AI.

NB! Participants should please bring laptops for the training as it will be more practical.