Empowering International PhD Students: Generative AI, Ubuntu, and the Decolonisation of Academic Communication
Creators: name: Pretorius, Lynette
name: Huynh, Huy
name: Pudyanti, Anak
name: Li, Ziqi
name: Noori, Abdul Qawi
name: Zhou, Zhiheng
Publisher: name: Monash University
Year: 2024
Subjects: classificationCode: 390203
subject: Sociology of education
classificationCode: 390303
subject: Higher education
classificationCode: 390305
subject: Professional education and training
classificationCode: 441004
subject: Social change
classificationCode: 441006
subject: Sociological methodology and research methods
classificationCode: 441007
subject: Sociology and social studies of science and technology
classificationCode: 441008
subject: Sociology of culture
classificationCode: 441012
subject: Sociology of inequalities
classificationCode: 460806
subject: Human-computer interaction
classificationCode: 460907
subject: Information systems for sustainable development and the public good
classificationCode: 460299
subject: Artificial intelligence not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 470213
subject: Postcolonial studies
classificationCode: 500103
subject: Ethical use of new technology
classificationCode: 500104
subject: Human rights and justice issues (excl. law)

description: This study explores the role of generative AI in enhancing the academic experiences of international PhD students through the lens of Ubuntu, a Southern African philosophy that emphasises interconnectedness and community. By adopting a collaborative autoethnographic approach, five international PhD students and their PhD supervisor examine how generative AI tools support their personalised learning, academic socialisation, and professional development. Importantly, the study reconceptualises the use of generative AI as a democratising force in academia, particularly for scholars navigating academic and social barriers. Through the Ubuntu philosophy, the research highlights how generative AI fosters inclusivity, enabling students to contribute more meaningfully to their academic communities. The findings reveal that while generative AI significantly enhances productivity and communication, its true value lies in its ability to foster connections, build relationships, and support the holistic wellbeing of scholars. This paper argues that embracing generative AI can help decolonise academic practices, promote epistemic justice, and create a more equitable scholarly environment for all.This record includes the <b>full paper</b> as well as <b>two datasets</b> which are all made available for use by other researchers under the CC-BY 4.0 licence. This paper and the associated data for the project have been made available via pre-print for two key reasons. Firstly, given the rapidly evolving landscape of generative AI research, we aimed to share our findings promptly, allowing other scholars to build on our work without delay. Secondly, in alignment with our commitment to democratising knowledge creation and dissemination in academia, we sought to make our research as widely accessible as possible to foster inclusivity and collaboration across the scholarly community. This record also includes a <b>podcast</b> summarising the key ideas from the paper (created by NotebookLM) to make the research more broadly accessible.