Scientific Writing
Teaching at the University of Lübeck
At the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology at the University of Lübeck, we offer lectures and seminars on "Scientific Writing" in the Master's programs Molecular Life Science, Infection Biology, and Molecular Nutrition.
These courses are highly evaluated by our students and in strong demand. They teach the fundamentals of scientific writing – from structuring a manuscript and proper citation to submission to scientific journals.
→ More information about our courses
AI as a Challenge in Scientific Writing
With the emergence of powerful AI language models, the scientific community faces a new challenge: How do we approach AI-assisted writing?
Our position is clear: We do not prohibit the use of AI, but deliberately integrate it into our teaching. Rather than ignoring technology, we show our students the possibilities and limitations of AI tools – and how to use them responsibly.
From Teaching to Practical Solution
From intensive engagement with this topic emerged the desire to develop a tool that structures the scientific writing process and integrates AI support in a controlled manner.
The requirements were clear:
- EU Data Protection (GDPR): Processing on European servers, no data transfer to the USA
- Control over Literature: No "hallucinated" references – researchers select their own sources
- Open Science: Direct upload to preprint servers (Zenodo) with DOI assignment
- Structured Workflow: Guidance through the complete manuscript creation process
The result of this development is PublicationGod – a platform that guides researchers step-by-step through the writing process:
Figures → Results → Literature → Methods → Introduction → Discussion → Abstract
Key features:
- AI-assisted generation of figure legends and results sections
- Researchers select which papers to cite – the AI only uses these verified sources
- Operation on EU servers (Google Vertex AI, EU region) for GDPR compliance
- Direct upload to Zenodo with DOI assignment for preprints
- Export to various formats (RTF, LaTeX) for journal submissions
Researchers at the University of Lübeck have access to university-funded token packages to draft their scientific work.