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Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) brought together postgraduate students and researchers from across Asia through the AGRS 2026 Pre-Summit Workshop Series, held on 24 and 26 August 2026 at APU.

Organised ahead of the Asia Graduate Research Summit (AGRS) 2026, the two-day programme formed part of APU Research Week and was designed to strengthen participants’ research capabilities, from developing sound methodologies and analysing data to academic writing, publication and proposal defence.

More than 70 participants joined the workshops physically and online, representing 12 countries including Malaysia, China, the Maldives, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Brunei, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Lebanon.

Around 20 universities and higher education institutions were represented, making the programme a regional platform for postgraduate researchers to exchange ideas, sharpen their skills and learn from experienced academics and researchers.

Supporting Researchers at Every Stage

Across eight focused sessions, participants explored important areas of the postgraduate research journey, including quantitative and qualitative research methods, artificial intelligence (AI) applications in research, risk analytics, proposal defence preparation, academic writing, journal selection and the use of secondary and longitudinal data. 

Professor Dr Mohammad Falahat, Director of APU’s Strategic Research Institute (SRI), opened the series with a session on quantitative research in management studies, examining areas such as pre-testing, pilot testing and the selection of appropriate research methods.

Professor Dr Jason Turner, Professor at SRI, subsequently addressed qualitative data analysis and journal writing, highlighting the importance of sound sampling, data interpretation and rigorous analysis when producing credible qualitative research.

Technology also featured prominently during the workshops. Asst Prof Dr Nohman Khan, Assistant Professor at SRI, demonstrated how AI tools can support systematic reviews and bibliometric studies, while stressing that researchers remain responsible for verifying information, critically evaluating sources and ensuring the integrity of their work.

Asst Prof Ts Dr Mohammad Reza Maghami, Assistant Professor at SRI, and Dr Reuben George, Lecturer at SRI, extended the discussion into risk analytics, demonstrating how fuzzy logic and AI can help researchers analyse uncertainty and support informed decision-making.

From Research Ideas to Publication

Day Two focused strongly on communicating and publishing research.

Asst Prof Dr Mohammad Rashed Hasan Polas, Assistant Professor at SRI, guided postgraduate candidates on preparing effective Master’s and PhD proposal defence presentations, while Dr Risidaxshinni Kumarusamy from Putra Business School explored academic writing in the age of AI and encouraged researchers to maintain ownership of their scholarly voice.

Dr Ihtisham Ullah, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at SRI, addressed one of the most important decisions facing researchers — selecting an appropriate academic journal. His session covered journal quality, reputation, publication timelines and ways to identify potentially predatory publishers.

Closing the workshop series, Pureheart Ogheneogaga Irikefe, Research Associate at the Graduate School of Business, APU, demonstrated how researchers can develop publishable studies using secondary and longitudinal data from established international sources, reinforcing the importance of aligning research questions, data and methodology.

Building a Collaborative Research Culture

Beyond the individual sessions, the Pre-Summit Workshop Series created opportunities for researchers from different institutions and stages of study to engage with one another, discuss research challenges and exchange perspectives.

The hybrid format further extended participation beyond the physical venue, reflecting APU’s commitment to creating an accessible and collaborative research environment.

The programme also supported APU’s wider research direction, championed by Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Ts Dr Murali Raman and translated into practical research development initiatives through SRI. By bringing methodology, AI, academic communication and publication strategy together, the workshops equipped participants with practical approaches that they could apply to their theses, research projects and future publications.

As APU Research Week progressed into the Asia Graduate Research Summit 2026, the Pre-Summit Workshop Series set the stage for further academic exchange while reinforcing APU’s role as a meeting point for researchers and postgraduate communities from across the region.