PG Research Orientation program to provide post-graduate students with essential skills, strategies, and guidance to enhance their research capabilities and productivity was organized by Innovative Communication Club (I2C) on 22 May 2023 at Prof P Gundu Rao Conference Hall, MCOPS, Manipal. The event commenced with an invocation by Ms Supraja, Research Scholar followed by a welcome speech by Dr C Mallikarjuna Rao, Principal, MCOPS. Dr Rao through his inspiring words motivated the students to engage in research. He emphasized that analysis is not limited to the domain of scientists and scholars but is an essential aspect in every field. Dr Rao encouraged students to develop a curiosity-driven mindset and explore their interests through research.

Chief Guest, Dr Bharati C Magazine, Deputy-Director Research-Health Sciences, MAHE, Manipal delivered keynote address and commended on the institute’s efforts in organizing a platform for students to showcase their talents and achievements. In her speech, Dr Magazine spoke about the programs available at MAHE that aim to educate and support students in their research projects. She encouraged students to address current societal problems and find solutions with the help of their guides and mentor. She discussed various opportunities at MAHE, about funding availability through seed money for research projects and incentives for publications and the need for publishing research findings is highly encouraged that can benefit students’ career advancement. Following her speech, Dr Magazine felicitated the former I2C committee members. This special recognition acknowledged the dedicated efforts and exemplary leadership demonstrated by these individuals during their tenure.

After the inaugural program, sessions were conducted on various topics. Dr Anoop Kishore, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology spoke on “Literature search, dissertation, and manuscript writing”. He discussed the topics such as finding relevant research, hypotheses, and knowledge gaps with examples, formulating research questions, analyzing data, and presenting conclusions. He also spoke about manuscript preparation, engaging with colleagues and peers helps to refine ideas, reinforce arguments, and enhance overall quality. He emphasised on following systematic approach in research. Dr Yogendra Nayak, Associate Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology delivered a talk on “Research Misconduct, Plagiarism, Turnitin”. He spoke on ethical violations in research practices such as fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. Plagiarism detection software and AI-assisted Text detection (a new feature) tools were demonstrated to the students. Dr Ramya Ravi, Assistant Professor-Senior Scale, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and Management enlightened the students on “Patentable Research” including the topics, protection for innovative ideas and inventions, prototypes, benefits of patents, non-patentable categories and examples. The last talk for the session was by Dr Virendra Ligade, Associate Professor, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs and Management on “Presentation Skills”. He highlighted the need for presenting ideas, engaging an audience, and presenting information, succinctly and captivatingly. He also focused on flow in the presentation, engaging visual aids, significance of verbal and nonverbal communication skills, Dos and Don’ts while making a presentation. About 83 PG students attended this program.