12 Weeks to Publication: Empowering Emerging Academics
Developing health and medical workforce
ARPAN CRE supported an online "12 Weeks to Publication" program to support teams of midwives and nurses from the Asia Pacific region to develop their academic publication writing skills.
The commitment and energy from participants have made this cohort especially dynamic, with consistently high levels of engagement in workshops, peer review and mentoring sessions, and group writing activities. A key milestone was the submission of multiple abstracts to the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) 2026 conference, and we are thrilled to report that several participants have already received acceptances—an early indication of the quality and momentum building within the group.
The evaluation indicated that the program fostered skill development and translated into tangible scholarly outputs. The majority of participants reported increased confidence and skills in academic writing, clearer manuscript structure and a stronger grasp of scholarly conventions. Mentorship and peer collaboration standout as critical drivers of progress, with the majority rating the structured feedback process as extremely beneficial for refining their manuscripts and strengthening the presentation of evidence. About 75% have produced a draft of paper for publication and established a regular writing routine; and importantly over half report that a full or near-complete draft is underway, three writing teams have already submitted their manuscripts for publication and the Burnet team continue to work with the other teams to develop their publications.
Participant perspectives
“This program has taught and broaden my knowledge on academic writing for publication. 12 week writing program is very important for me and I wished I had done this program earlier in my career.” — Salma Hassan, Maldives
“The 12 Weeks to Publication program was a turning point in my writing journey. It provided the direction, motivation, and confidence I needed to move from ideas to a completed manuscript. ...This program has not only enhanced my writing skills but also inspired me to continue contributing to evidence-based research.” — Musarrat Rani, Pakistan.
