Dr Ivan Smirnov: Empowering the Next Generation of Researchers with GenAI
Following our National Symposium on GenAI Graduate Skills and Employability, ATN Universities caught up with Dr Ivan Smirnov, the focus of our Under the Microscope issue for March 2025
Ivan is the Graduate Research School Lead for AI in Research and Researcher Training at UTS, and has a fascinating career background. He has previously worked in Russia and Germany, including a prestigious stint as Head of the Computational Social Science lab at the National Research University in Moscow, and a Research Fellow position at RWTH Aachen University, one of Europe’s leading institutions for science and research. In 2022, Ivan also helped to launch Sci.STEPS, a mentoring program for undergraduates, graduates, and young scientists looking to build their careers and find desired positions in academia and industry.
Ivan’s latest project, which inspired ATN to spotlight his wonderful work, is a university – wide course, “Getting Started with Generative AI and Research,” a course that trains and upskills HDR (Higher Degree by Research) students in the use of GenAI. This course was developed within the Researcher Development team – a specialised unit of the Graduate Research School at UTS, and has already seen a great amount of interest despite its very recent inception. The pilot in-person offering was oversubscribed by more than double, and as a result of that demand, the course delivery modes have now evolved from the original in-person sessions to a suite of self-paced modules with workshops written and facilitated by Ivan and the wider Researcher Development team.
When asked what led him to kickstart this project, Ivan said: “Most of the resources on GenAI are either very practical tutorials on specific tools or more general but speculative advice on GenAI.” And while these resources are generally sufficient for everyday use, he believed that they aren’t quite suitable for HDR students, who are essentially active researchers. As such, he wanted to fill that gap in the market by creating a course on using GenAI in research, specifically tailored for HDR students. It’s safe to say that he has succeeded in this endeavour, given the immense level of demand his course has seen, which surprised even himself.
As his LinkedIn feed was filled with GenAI posts, not to mention the vast number of online videos and tutorials on the topic, it created an illusion that using GenAI was common practice. Yet according to Ivan, when he started teaching his program, he discovered that “many HDR students and researchers haven’t yet started exploring the technology, but they’re thoroughly interested in understanding GenAI better”.
Indeed, this was the express aim of ATN’s National Symposium on GenAI – to explore how Australian higher education can help ensure that students are best equipped to meet the evolving GenAI expectations upon graduation and excel in work. Ivan’s course does an excellent job at this, as referenced by UTS’ Melita Grant, who participated in it as part of the Graduate Research Program in 2023. Melita said: “The presentations were engaging, and Dr. Smirnov provided links to relevant resources which have helped me approach AI tools with both interest, caution (ethics) and critical thinking in my graduate studies and in my work.” The rave reviews continued, with HDR students from the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures inviting Dr. Smirnov to deliver a dedicated GenAI workshop at their annual retreat. Similarly, the UTS Faculty of Health not only requested the initial training but subsequently sought more advanced sessions, indicating strong engagement from course participants and value in the content delivered.
To students about to begin their higher education journey, Ivan says, “the higher education journey is the best period in life for exploration: for experimenting and learning more about the world and yourself. At that time, we are already independent enough to explore and also free to do it because we are not yet bound by office jobs and limitations of other stages of life. So, I envy a bit those who are just starting this journey. I wish them to stay curious, open-minded, and to enjoy this unique time in their lives.”
To read more about Ivan’s course, click here: Getting Started with Generative AI in Research
