June 12, 2014, by Deepa Kumari Veerasingam
RTAD: May’s Highlights & CFFRC DTP Induction
The month of May had been A-MAY-ZING with a series of events for Research Showcase and the monthly Coffee-and-Cake session. Here are the highlights and recaps of the month of May as well as an induction for CFFRC DTP postgraduate students in April.
Research Showcase 2014
Research has the potential to change the world – or at least a small part of it!
The annual Research Showcase was held on Friday, 16 May 2014. The participants were first required to submit a press release outlining their research work and why it is of interest to the wider community. They then had to design a poster representing their research work. During the showcase, they exhibited and presented their poster and explained their research to the judges, their peers and even members of the public. The showcase aimed to promote public engagement, open discussion and exchange of views and opinions with a larger audience, who is not necessarily acquainted with the research topic or field.
This year, six finalists were selected to present their poster to a panel of judges from the UK Campus, via video conference on Friday, 23 May 2014. The title of of the Overall Winner went to Phui Cheng Lim, a third year PhD student from the School of Psychology. Phui Cheng will be representing UNMC at the Research Showcase Finals in the UK Campus on Wednesday, 18 June 2014.
Visit http://blogs.nottingham.edu.my/postgraduate/2014/05/19/unmc-research-showcase-2014/ and http://blogs.nottingham.edu.my/postgraduate/2014/05/27/unmc-research-showcase-2014-overall-winner/ for more information.
The six finalists – (from left to right) Renu GHEETA BAI, Suganti RAMARAD, Caryl Louise THOMPSON, Phui Cheng LIM, Yvonne Kah Hooi TEOH and Surya MUDAVASSERIL SUNDHEER
Phui Cheng LIM, presenting her poster titled ‘Rethinking Driver Licensing’ via video conference
Coffee-and-Cake Session: Life as a Researcher
A Coffee-and-Cake session was held on Friday, 30 May 2014. The session featured the “Life as a Researcher” of Dr Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, an Associate Professor at the Lab of Tropical Conservation Ecology, School of Geography, UNMC. A tropical ecologist, Dr Campos-Arceiz, whose area of research focuses mainly on the ecological role of large herbivores as agents of seed dispersal and the management of human-wildlife conflicts, is interested in the ecology and conservation of Asian megafauna and their habitats especially elephants, rhinos and tapirs. His passion and understanding of these large animals is evident through his research projects, particularly the Management and Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME), a 5-year research project where he is the Principal Investigator working towards an evidence-based conservation of Malaysian elephants.
Recognising his exceptional work in the biodiversity and tropical ecology, Dr Campos-Arceiz was presented with the Vice Chancellor’s Achievement Award in 2013 by the University of Nottingham. He was also the recipient of the UNMC Staff Oscar for Best Masters and PhD Supervisor this year.
During the Coffee-and-Cake session, one of our PhD students, Nagulendran (better known as Nagu), was also invited to share his thoughts and experience on having Dr Campos-Arceiz as his supervisor.
Dr Campos-Arceiz treated the audience to a riveting and interactive talk on his life as a researcher. He provided an insight look into the typical life and profile of a researcher in both professional and personal perspectives. He also shared his know-hows in overcoming the challenges and difficulties in becoming a researcher.
The session was very beneficial to postgraduate students who want to become a researcher after the completion of their studies. Most importantly, the session provided them with motivation, method and meaning towards becoming a researcher.
Visit http://blogs.nottingham.edu.my/postgraduate/2014/06/02/coffee-and-cake-session-life-as-a-researcher/ for more information.
Crops for Future Research Centre (CFFRC) Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) Induction
An induction was conducted for the CFFRC Doctoral Training Programme Postgraduate students on Wednesday, 9 April 2014. The induction was conducted as an introductory event to DTP students, especially to the ones who have just registered and also as a communication platform between the DTP officers and students. Representative from CFFRC and Nottingham were present to give their overviews about the programme and at the same time answering to students’ curiosities. The event started off with a welcome note and a briefing on the induction agenda by Ms Deepa Kumari from the Research Training and Academic Development with the agenda as follows,
| Time | Agenda |
| 9.10 – 9.30 | Welcome and briefing by UNMC DTP Director, Dr Festo Massawe |
| 9.30 – 9.50 | Welcome and briefing by CFFRC DTP Director, Dr Sean Mayes |
| 9.50 – 10.10 | Overview by UoN DTP Manager, Dr Rebekah Smith McGloin |
| 10.10 – 10.30 | Briefing on Graduate School trainings for DTP, Dr Christopher Hill |
| 10.30 – 11.15 | Overview by CFFRC Programme Support Managers (PSMs) |
| 11.15 – 11.45 | Briefing on the new student contract; Dr Festo Massawe and Dr Sean Mayes |
| 11.45 – 12.15 | Q & A session |
| 12.15 – 12.45 | Contract signing session |
| 12.45 – 13.45 | Networking lunch |
| 13.45 – 14.15 | Introduction to the Field Research Centre; Dr Ibraheem Al-Shareef |
| 14.15 – 15.30 | Visit to the Field Research Centre* |
Briefing by Dr Festo Massawe
Briefing by Dr Sean Mayes
Dr Rebekah Smith delivering her briefing on DTP
Dr Christopher Hill delivering briefing on Graduate School’s support for DTP students
The visit to the Field Research Centre marked the conclusion of the CFFRC DTP Induction. We would like to thank those who participated in the Induction and in making the Induction a success. We hope to see you guys at our future events, either DTP-related or Graduate School-related.
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