On October 23rd, Ma Man Kei and Lo Pak Sam (MLC) organized an academic sharing event called “A Taste of Academic Research – Searching, Reading, and Writing.” The event was designed to assist undergraduate students in enhancing their research caliber before entering graduate school. It aimed to help students develop academic literacy, which is crucial for navigating through information, constructing knowledge, and producing research output. The activity was expected to aid students in refining skills and strategies related to efficient information searching, resource gathering, and academic writing.

The sharing session was organized by MLC’s Resident Tutors, Zhou Qiyue (Linda) and Ma Yaohua (Harris), who are pursuing graduate studies at the University of Macau (UM) and served as presenters on the day. They first emphasized the importance of developing academic literacy among university students and identified the essential components of this skill. Next, they shared their personal experiences in utilizing wildcards for Google searches. Additionally, they demonstrated how desktop search tools such as Wox, Filelocator, and Everything can facilitate quick searches for computer files. The presenters also guided students on effectively using the library website to locate necessary resources and introduced alternative academic databases. To illustrate the techniques of skimming and intensive reading, they utilized two academic papers from the humanities and sciences as case studies. They then introduced Zotero, a digital research tool, in aiding fast reading. Lastly, a Q&A session was conducted, allowing the presenters to engage in discussions with the students and address their inquiries.

Students thoroughly enjoyed the academic sharing session as well as the opportunity to explore various software tools to support their academic activities. The UM Residential College system nurture students’ 7 Learning Competencies, and through multidisciplinary knowledge integration this activity encourages students to nurture skills in becoming independent and self-motivated. MLC is planning to host more research training activities to further prepare its students for their research endeavors.