Generative AI in Academic Research: A Critical Introduction - Online
Date:
15/10/2026
Organised by:
NCRM, University of Southampton
Presenter:
Dr Mark Carrigan
Level:
Entry (no or almost no prior knowledge)
Contact:
Jacqui Thorp
Training and Capacity Building Coordinator, NCRM, University of Southampton
Email: jmh6@soton.ac.uk
Venue: Online
This online session invites participants to think critically about what generative AI means for higher
education and academic research in particular at this moment of rapid change. We’ll look at
how AI is already reshaping academic work and consider what this means for research, and
scholarship. Rather than offering fixed answers, the session creates space to explore the
opportunities and risks together. The focus is on developing a clearer understanding of what
AI means for researchers.
Date: 15 October - afternoon (1.5 hours)
Presenter
Dr Mark Carrigan FRSA FHEA is a Senior Lecturer in Education at the University of Manchester, where he co-leads the Digital Education Manchester group and serves as an AI Fellow at the Institute for Teaching and Learning. His work centers on three interconnected commitments: developing ontological and epistemological frameworks for understanding Large Language Models (LLMs) beyond current inadequate conceptualisations; examining higher education as a critical site where the social and cultural dynamics of LLMs unfold through practical challenges; and advancing Margaret Archer’s morphogenetic approach as a route to addressing these urgent questions.
He is the author of Platform and Agency: Becoming Who We Are (Routledge, 2025), which develops a framework for understanding personal transformation in the digital age. His recent work includes Generative AI for Academics (Sage, 2024) and Social Media for Academics (Sage, 2nd edition), alongside eight other books. He co-edited Building the Post-Pandemic University (Edward Elgar, 2023), examining how universities are transforming in response to technological and social disruption.
Cost:
This course is free to attend, but please register your place via the link.
Website and registration:
Region:
South East
Keywords:
Research Management and Impact, Research Ethics, Research Skills, Communication and Dissemination, AI and machine learning, Generative AI, academic integrity, ChatGPT, responsible AI, authorship, large language models, AI in academia, professional development, ethical AI use
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