Boost your doctorate by learning to use artificial intelligence
Starting a doctorate is a challenging journey, one that builds the ideal mix of discipline, constant research, and above all, a great deal of personal resilience. Something that in recent times has become a great ally. In this sense, the doctorate and artificial intelligence can completely change the way you face this new stage and boost you toward your professional and life goals.
Let's look back at the way doctoral students used to work. It is impossible not to notice that they depended almost entirely on physical libraries, which we can translate into countless hours of data organization and traditional writing methods. In contrast, today there are AI tools for doctoral students that make time management more efficient, improve productivity, and open up innovation possibilities for research.
More than 37% of higher education professionals are already implementing the use of AI in doctoral research, and this figure is expected to reach more than 50% in the next 5 years, according to the consulting firm Gartner (2023). For that reason, if you are thinking about starting this journey or are already on it, learning to use AI can turn into a real advantage that may become decisive.
At the beginning, expectations, doubts, and the role of AI
It will always be completely normal to feel overwhelmed at the beginning by doubts and your own expectations. You may start to wonder:
Will I be able to balance study, work, and personal life?,
Will I be able to maintain the quality of my research in an online format?, How will I face the volume of readings and all the content? These are the moments where artificial intelligence offers a more practical answer to these issues. But how does AI help doctoral students? Here are some key points:
- It can be used as an intelligent reference management tool, such as Zotero with integrated AI, which allows you to organize thousands of articles in minutes.
- It could be used as an automatic summarization system, which could reduce the amount of time it takes for critical reading, cutting that time by 30% according to a study by the European Distance Education Network (2022).
- AI writing assistants can help structure drafts, identify gaps in your arguments, or suggest a recent bibliography.
During the process, overcoming or reducing problems is also possible with AI support
At this stage, things can get complicated with the pressure of deadlines, information overload, reading fatigue, the difficulty of handling quantitative or qualitative data, and the sense of isolation in some online programs. In fact, Times Higher Education (2021) revealed a study indicating that 68% of doctoral students consider time management their greatest difficulty.
How to apply artificial intelligence in a practical way for time management
The advantages of AI in doctoral research can contribute to time management and better organization. There are applications capable of creating schedules more dynamically, consistent with both work and personal agendas.
Data analysis is another of these applications; currently, AI software such as SPSS with predictive modules or Python with machine learning libraries allows large volumes of data to be processed in less time.
Improve your writing style and academic learning with AI: corrections by AI not only go beyond grammatical errors but also make the writing more coherent and oriented toward a more academic style. Multiple platforms favor communication and allow you to generate or improve your networks, since AI-driven platforms facilitate connection with researchers who have similar interests, creating virtual communities and attracting interesting collaborations.
Furthermore, in terms of productivity, multitasking reduces intellectual efficiency by 40%. This was noted by the American Psychological Association (2022). AI can serve as a way to minimize this by automating repetitive tasks, allowing you to focus more on what truly matters: thinking, analyzing, and contributing scientifically while using AI in academic research.
When it all seems to end, continue using AI to boost your career
You've finished your Doctorate program and now have your doctoral degree in your hands, but the challenge doesn't end there. In fact, you are about to embark on a very important stage, where you must take advantage of all the knowledge you have gathered through your doctorate to continue growing. In particular, you can continue using AI-powered doctoral productivity tools to explore abstracts, recent research, and even find funding opportunities for doctoral students.
Without a doubt, this will give you academic visibility and publicity, since AI tools can help identify specialized journals where your research can gain more relevance and impact. Likewise, you will be able to generate citation metrics or thematic trends, and even in the world of social networks, you will be able to publish more and with greater reach.
In the same way, you can look for ways to integrate your research topic into applicable projects in your workplace, and this is made even easier with AI applications in doctoral studies. These systems can simulate scenarios, assess economic impact, or predict market trends to help you stand out.
Connect with international academic networks; this is another thing achievable with support for doctoral research through AI, thanks to advanced translation of scientific texts. In this way, language barriers are blurred, making it more feasible for you to participate in international congresses and research groups.
Dare to teach, innovate in your own career. Whether teaching is your goal or not, you should know that mastering a tool like AI can take you to the next level, transforming you into an updated professor capable of guiding future generations.
In addition to all of the above, it is a fact that 48% of organizations prefer to hire or promote employees with skills in advanced research and technology management, as confirmed by Deloitte (2022).
All of the above transforms a PhD combined with AI proficiency into a significant competitive advantage for the future.
Some tips to practice and learn to use AI during your career
- Make your training gradual: start with basic tools for organization and writing, and eventually move on to more specialized software for data analysis or machine learning.
- Do not be afraid to participate in virtual communities, such as LinkedIn groups, research forums, or academic networks with a focus on AI, to broaden your perspective.
- You can subtly integrate AI into your study methods: set aside time to experiment with applications, and over time, these may naturally become part of your way of working.
- Most importantly, always let your critical thinking prevail. This great advancement, represented by AI, is nothing more than a tool, not a substitute. Your analytical thinking and experiences remain the true driving force.
Always stay at the forefront as a doctor
The truth is that a doctorate is a great academic goal, even considered by many as one of the strongest and most enduring achievements you can reach and experience. But despite that, in these times of constant change, it is important to combine it with the correct and strategic use of artificial intelligence, as this can make the difference in the opportunities around you, distinguishing you not only by completing the process but also by turning it into a form of continuous learning.
Keep in mind that during the three stages of your doctorate, AI will help you organize and reduce uncertainty. Along the way, it will be your ideal ally for overcoming overload and isolation.
After graduation, it will multiply opportunities for publication, networking, and personal development. Do not forget that the future of research will not only depend on the topics we address, but also on how we study them. By mastering and boosting your doctorate with AI, you ensure that good things happen after completing and receiving your degree.