Innovation and Research Master Lecture Series: A Feasible Flexible Voluntary Module Associated With Basic Research...

The advancement of oral health sciences fundamentally depends on cultivating high-calibre clinician-scientists, a cohort currently experiencing critical shortages globally. To address this challenge, we implemented the Innovation and Research Master Lecture Series (IRMLS) as a voluntary extracurricular component of Sun Yat-sen University's dental basic research curriculum (CDBRC) from 2022-2024.

This retrospective observational study examined a dual-track lecture framework comprising 21 multidisciplinary sessions delivered by distinguished scholars. Program attendance and academic output data were analysed for the entire student body, with stratified analysis focused on the 2020 cohort. Questionnaire data were collected from a self-selected subgroup of highly engaged participants (n = 52, 42.3% response rate). Due to the voluntary nature of the program and lack of baseline controls, all comparisons are descriptive and no causal inferences are drawn.

The IRMLS recorded 3228 cumulative attendance instances, reaching over 80% of undergraduate students. In the 2020 cohort, students in the highest participation tier maintained high GPAs and were associated with securing 90 research projects and 16 publications. However, given the voluntary nature of the program, these outcomes likely reflect the aggregation of students with intrinsic motivation and surplus academic capacity rather than a direct causal effect. Concurrent influences from compulsory mentorship, institutional support and unmeasured confounders preclude causal attribution of research outputs to the lecture series alone. Group comparisons presented herein are descriptive in nature and do not support causal interpretations. Questionnaire data from a highly engaged subgroup (n = 52, 42.3% response rate) indicated high self-reported research interest (82.4%) and broadened perspectives (98.1%).

While causal claims regarding educational efficacy cannot be drawn due to self-selection bias and the absence of baseline controls, the observational data suggest that voluntary platforms like IRMLS can effectively identify, aggregate and support students with pre-existing research drive. The program appears to serve as a valuable complement to compulsory dental curricula.