Specialised generative AI tools for research and academic writing are rapidly evolving and offer new ways to explore the literature, organise sources and support the writing process. This 2-hour online course provides a guided and critical introduction to three complementary tools — NotebookLM, Elicit and Consensus — designed specifically for scholarly work.

The course is intended for participants who already have basic experience with general-purpose AI tools (such as ChatGPT or Copilot) and wish to explore more specialised AI applications for research and academic writing.
 

Course structure

• Short introduction outlining objectives, tools and critical stance.
• Live demonstrations of NotebookLM, Elicit and Consensus.
• Guided activities focusing on literature search, synthesis and source organisation.
• Wrap-up discussion on benefits, limitations and open questions.

Objectives

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the specific purposes and typical use cases of NotebookLM, Elicit and Consensus.
• Use these tools to explore the scientific literature, generate summaries, compare methodologies and identify key concepts from selected articles.
• Integrate AI tools into different stages of the academic writing process (preparation, structuring, clarification), while maintaining critical judgment.
• Identify the main strengths, limitations and complementarities of specialised AI tools compared to more general AI systems.
• Develop a reflective and ethical approach to the use of AI-generated outputs in research and academic writing.

Target audience

Teachers and researchers

PhD candidates, researchers and higher education teaching staff interested in deepening their use of generative AI for research and academic writing. Basic familiarity with generative AI tools is recommended.

Prerequisites

Basic familiarity with generative AI tools is recommended.

Responsibles and speakers

Speakers

Christiane Caneva, Head of the Didactics and Digital Skills Service at the University of Fribourg

Dates and locations

Period	Location
18.05.2026 from 11:30 to 13:30