April 1, 2020, by Lisa Chin
A virtual Postgraduate Induction
First of its kind
Postgraduate Induction – done virtually!
A virtual Postgraduate Induction
We conducted our first virtual Postgraduate Induction on Monday 30 March 2020. Originally planned to be conducted in a face-to-face setting, the induction was re-conceived for online delivery via Microsoft Teams.
Initially scheduled for Friday 27 March 2020, the induction was cancelled in view of the restricted movement order nationwide and campus closure. However, it was later opined that we should proceed in organising the induction, through online platform, rather than postponing it indefinitely in view of the many uncertainties with the current situation.
The induction was intended for the new postgraduate research students. This was an avenue for them to hear about how the Graduate School can support them with training and development opportunities. We wanted to let them hear about it now, and not later, as we did not want them to miss any crucial information at this early stage of their postgraduate research journey.
Welcome presentation
“…welcome to our first induction done virtually and this is your Graduate School.”
A warm welcome address by Ms Deepa Kumari Veerasingam, Head of Graduate School, who also introduced the role of Graduate School in providing a range of dedicated support and services for its postgraduate research students.
Research Ethics and Integrity
“…all research undertaken at the University has to be conducted according to the appropriate legal, ethical and professional frameworks, obligations and standards.”
The induction continued on with two important topics, Research Ethics and Integrity. These topics are essential to be highlighted to the new postgraduate research students where they are now at the stage of embarking on their research degrees and should aptly be aware of the importance of research integrity, the necessity to consider ethics when studying human participants, and the ethics application procedure.
Our training programmes
“…our training and development provision includes over 50 face-to-face specialist courses and more.”
An informative joint presentation by Dr Tissa Chandesa, Research Training Development Manager, and Dr Revathy Sankaran, Research and Training Assistant Manager. This presentation delved into the details of Researcher Development Programme (RDP) and Postgraduate Student Teachers (PST) programme.
A network for postgraduate students, by postgraduate students
Postgraduate Students’ Network (PGSN) – a representative body of postgraduate students at UNM
We invited Angela Paul Peter, Students’ Association (SA) Postgraduate Students’ Officer, to introduce herself and the PGSN. She highlighted the buddy system which aims to help new postgraduate students to adjust to postgraduate life at the University and assist them with challenges associated with the early stage of their postgraduate journey, especially in this unprecedented and challenging time.
Angela was later joined by her predecessor, Olaoluwa Duro-Bello (fondly known as Ola) in addressing the support offered by the PGSN to the postgraduate community at the University.
If you would like to find out more about PGSN and their support to postgraduate students, please get in touch via email. You can also follow their Facebook page.
PhD tips & tricks
“…in the first year, reading and writing are core fundamental tasks.”
Lim Wei Xiang, PhD student at the School of Computer Science, who is also from the Postgraduate Students’ Council for the Faculty of Science and Engineering (SEPSC), shared some tips and tricks in doing PhD. Wei Xiang pointed out some key advice to the new postgraduate research students based on his personal experience and insights.
Interactive platform
The virtual induction made full use of the chat platform in Microsoft Teams by enabling the audience to communicate interactively. This allowed a non-disruptive Q&A session.
Overall, the new postgraduate research students appreciated the avenue to learn more about the support and services available to them at the University.
“Thank you very much for the Induction. It was great! Stay safe and take good care everyone.” – one of the new postgraduate research students
Acknowledgements
We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Angela, Ola and Wei Xiang for their time and effort. We hope that the information and guidance shared during the induction is useful to the new postgraduate research students.
Get in touch
As a postgraduate researcher, you may start your research degree at different times of the year. We send out a welcome email upon request to new postgraduate researchers which contains information about registering on Moodle, university support services and upcoming events as well as training and other opportunities.
Please email us at graduateschool@nottingham.edu.my for more information.
-
Post a comment
