2025-03-14
Overview of the Training Sessions Organized by the Office in February
In February 2025, the Office of the Ombudsperson for Academic Ethics and Procedures of the Republic of Lithuania conducted eight training sessions for higher education communities. Four seminars were held at Mykolas Romeris University, two at Klaipėda University, and one each at the Institute of the Lithuanian Language and Vytautas Magnus University.
The training sessions covered the following topics:
- “The Financial Impact of Violations of Research and Publishing Ethics: The Losses Caused by Researchers”
- “Guidelines for the Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence in Science and Studies”
- “Violations of Academic Ethics: Plagiarism and Unethical Authorship”
Participants actively engaged in discussions, raising a variety of questions. The most frequently addressed topic was artificial intelligence (AI):
Key Questions from Participants
On Artificial Intelligence:
- If a text is translated using DeepL, is it considered AI-generated content?
- How should AI be properly used in academic work? What is allowed, and what is not?
- Can remote exams and assessments be conducted fairly?
- If students’ work is uploaded to similarity-checking systems, is their consent required? Where and how should this be regulated?
- What are the appropriate forms of assessment in the AI era, for example, oral exams? What are the global best practices?
- What are the most commonly used AI detection tools for academic writing?
- Can AI tools be used for peer review of academic articles?
- Do emerging technologies make us more vulnerable? Is the use of AI for translating historical written sources regulated and permitted?
On the Financial Impact of Ethics Violations:
- What types of academic ethics violations does the Office most commonly encounter?
- What is the first-instance body responsible for handling academic ethics violations?
- Can the use of AI in academic work be considered fabrication?
- What key recommendations should be followed by PhD candidates conducting interviews or surveys to ensure compliance with academic ethics standards?
On Plagiarism and Academic Integrity:
- Is the Turnitin similarity-checking system effective for the Lithuanian language?
- How ethical is it to check student work using Turnitin if they have not provided consent?
- When citing monographs, is it sufficient to reference the author at the beginning of the chapter, or should each instance of a citation be marked separately in italics?
- What is the difference between text plagiarism and text similarity?
The training sessions sparked important discussions, highlighting that issues of academic ethics—particularly those related to AI tools—are becoming increasingly relevant. The Office of the Ombudsperson remains committed to promoting open dialogue, raising awareness within the academic community, and encouraging the implementation of ethical practices across higher education institutions.
We invite academic communities to actively participate in upcoming training sessions and discussions!
For training inquiries, please contact: info@etikostarnyba.lt
