Institute of Education and Research
University of the Punjab,
Lahore, Pakistan

Academic Research and Writing
Two-Day Participatory Workshop for Academic Researchers
26th and 27th February, 2013 (Tuesday & Wednesday)

Trainer:
Dr Muhammad Ahsan (FRSA)
The United Kingdom
(e-mail: ahsan736@msn.com)

This specifically designed workshop will lead the participants from understanding the basics of academic writing to producing high quality research theses and reports. The workshop will specifically focus on enhancing participants' skills in this specialised area with the aim of equipping them to further their academic career. The two-day workshop is a blend of various components of quality writing concepts and personal planning for progress in the field of academic writing. Additionally, it will also address various issues related to your research and academic writing skills as well as tackling respective challenges from the perspective of career development.

Keeping in view of the requirements of IER, University of the Punjab; this package is specifically designed for:

Framework of the Workshop
Time Frame & Learning Area	Main focus of the Session	Notes on the Learning Outcomes of Workshop
DAY ONE : 26th February 2013 (Tuesday)
Session One 10:00 – 12:30 Basic challenges and research techniques	• Nature of research • Common challenges • Research proposals • Basic issues	• In-depth understanding of the nature and management of research projects. • Development of the conceptual base of research projects. • Preparation of quality research proposals • Adequately structuring a thesis.
Session Two 1:30 – 4:00 Important tips: Quality of your work	• Quotation techniques and systems of citation • Important tools in academic writing • Important terms and symbols • Some key issues in producing quality documents • Application of theory / theories in research • Defending your thesis	• Avoiding common and basic mistakes • Understanding referencing system. • Developing an impressive bibliography. • Understanding theoretical base and related key issues. • Developing skills in using key terms and symbols. • Encountering and managing person specific challenges. • Impressing your examiners. • Based on the vast personal experience of the trainer as a foreign examiner for PhD theses, this session will address various key issues which are not usually discussed in academic books.
DAY TWO : 27th February 2013 (Wednesday)
Session Three 10:00 – 12:30 Publishing skills and exploring relevant avenues	• Research report • Monographs, working papers and handbooks • Research paper(s) • Issues and challenges	• How to explore publishing avenues? • Skill boosting to publish the research outcomes • How to extract research papers from your thesis? • How to produce and/or convert your thesis into monographs and research reports
Session Four 1:30 – 4:00 • Publishing your thesis as a book • Roundtable discussion	• Difference between a book and thesis • How to convert your thesis into a book? • Group discussion and Q & A session • What are you taking back with you from this training? • Conclusion	• This is a unique session focusing on the tools and techniques of conversion of a PhD thesis into a publishable book. • This is an extremely important area and participants will learn that with little extra effort, how they can easily convert their theses into a book or a publishable report, rather than leaving it as such. • Finally, the Q & A is a discussion oriented part mainly based on issues and concerns raised by the participants. • Also, discussion on how to further expand and publicise your research at post-writing stage.
Good Luck