By Karren Jay G. Asgar
Dr. Mizpah C. Villalobos, faculty of CPU’s Chemistry Department, with fellow participants during the two-week Researcher Connect Workshop organized by the British Council via Zoom Teleconference.
Dr. Mizpah C. Villalobos, faculty of the Chemistry Department under the CPU College of Arts and Sciences, represented Central Philippine University in the Researcher Connect Online Workshop, organized by the British Council. The two-week program, held January 19-22 and January 26-29, 2026, was conducted via Zoom teleconference and featured participants from universities such as those in the Philippines and Japan.
The workshop aimed to equip young researchers with the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to enhance their research capabilities and promote international collaboration. During the first week, sessions covered essential topics, including Foundation, which focused on understanding audiences and stakeholders; Digital Researcher, which highlighted the use of social media for research impact; and Academic Writing and Collaboration, which emphasized the power of collaboration in research.
Reflecting on her experience, Dr. Villalobos shared, “My main takeaway from this workshop is identifying who my audience is and how I want to project myself as a researcher. I also learned that when writing, whether in digital print or online, it should be tailored to the target audience, not just on what we want to write.”
The second week explored Academic Writing 2, Effective Proposals, Generative AI in Research, and Presenting Effectively. The British Council trainers emphasized that Generative AI in Research Module was included for the very first time, and that our batch was “lucky to have this”, demonstrating the use of AI tools across the research process.
Dr. Villalobos highlighted the usefulness of emerging technologies in research, saying, “One of the highlights in this training, which I found very useful, is the topic on AI in Research. I appreciated it, as someone who rarely use such tools. A variety of AI tools that can be utilized, such as Canva, Paperpal, Scite, Dall-E, and ChatGPT. They emphasized the Generative AI applications in data handling and analysis, which allow large datasets to be processed into specific, clean outputs with several prompts. This is a task that would take weeks without AI, since it is very complicated to separate and differentiate information using large data sets.”
Dr. Villalobos’ participation was made possible through the recommendation of the Office of the Vice President for Research, Development, and Extension (OVPRDE), led by Acting VPRDE Dr. Aries Roda D. Romallosa, as part of the office’s ongoing efforts to strengthen faculty capacity and promote a culture of research excellence.
The initiative reflects CPU’s commitment to nurturing capable researchers who can contribute innovative solutions and meaningful advancements in their fields.