Transferrable Skills Workshop with Prof. Keith W. Kelley

On 16 January, a full house of motivated RPg students filled the room for the workshop, “Navigating the Publish or Perish Landscape: Guidelines for Submissions to High-Quality Academic Journals”, led by Prof. Keith W. Kelley, a distinguished immunophysiologist and researcher from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The workshop began with opening remarks from Prof. Kenneth Fong, Associate Dean of Graduate School. Prof. Kelley then shared practical insights and vivid examples on crafting strong research papers, improving the chances of acceptance in top journals, and handling rejections. He emphasised the importance of “novelty and clarity”, encouraging students to communicate directly for clear and impactful messages.

The session was enriched by Prof. Kelley’s thoughtful answers to participants’ questions, including a debate on the role of AI in academic writing. We hope attendees left with inspiring insights and greater confidence in research writing.