June 18, 2020, by Lisa Chin
Another virtual induction for new postgraduate research students
Welcoming new postgraduate research students
We conducted our second virtual postgraduate induction on Friday 12 June 2020. Despite the extended campus closure, we continued to run a series of induction events to assist newcomers settle in swiftly and smoothly. The first of the series was held on Monday 30 March 2020. Read more
University of Nottingham Malaysia
Learning about postgraduate life at UNM and discovering the wide range of resources available for postgraduate students
We appreciate that this is a challenging time for all of our postgraduate research students, even more so for those who have just joined us.
This virtual postgraduate induction was a great avenue for newcomers to hear about how we at the Graduate School can support them with training and development opportunities and what funding opportunities are available to support their research mobility and interdisciplinary collaborations.
Introductory presentations & experience sharing sessions
“… welcome to UNM and this is your Graduate School.”
The induction started off with a warm welcome address by Ms Vimaleswari Danapal, Assistant Manager at the Graduate School. Vim later gave a presentation which offered a walk-through of our dedicated support and services to postgraduate students. She also took the opportunity to introduce the members of Graduate School and the Postgraduate Hub, which is a dedicated space for development and networking activities. Beside events and activities, Vim also covered topics on funding opportunities and recognition awards.
“…our training and development provision includes over 50 face-to-face specialist courses and more.”
Next was 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. Our training and development programmes empower postgraduate students to develop the skills required in their research and future careers. These covers courses and workshops, seminars and public engagement events.
“… postgraduate student voice – make a difference to your postgraduate experience.”
In addition, we invited Angela Paul Peter, Students’ Association (SA) Postgraduate Students’ Office, to introduce herself and the Postgraduate Students’ Network (PGSN), a representative body of postgraduate students at UNM.
Angela further highlighted the mentor-mentee programme 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.
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.
“… get involved!”
We also invited two senior postgraduate research students to share their experiences and insights of what postgraduate life is really like, with key emphasis of what to expect and do during the first year of postgraduate research degree.
“There is a WhatsApp group for postgraduate research students where you can get to know your peers and seniors,” said Denesh Sooriamoorthy, a 4th year PhD student at the Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering. Other key advice that Denesh shared during the session were:
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join events and participate in competitions; attend courses and try to complete the 40 credits requirement in your 1st year. *This requirement varies between faculties so we would advise you to check with your respective faculty postgraduate administrators for clarification
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get to know your faculty administrative staff; be familiar with the processes relating to your postgraduate study and progression.
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“1st year is generally quite straightforward and mostly it is about literature review,” said Yap Kian Lim, a 3rd year PhD student at the Department of Civil Engineering. Yap also shared the following advice that he thought would be beneficial for the new students to know at their early stage of PhD studies:
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participate in conferences and competitions to gain exposure and meet the wider research community.
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get started with your Continuing Professional Development (CPD), especially if you are considering to becoming a chartered engineer. *This is applicable to those in the engineering field
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publish at least one paper (as it is generally advisable) although it is not a requirement.
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keep close relationship with your supervisors.
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Ice-breaking
At the end of the induction, the new postgraduate research students were invited to introduce themselves. This served as a great ice-breaker where we were able to find out more about them.
Engagement & feedback
We are pleased to receive some appreciative messages from them on the chat platform.
We hope that the information and guidance shared during the induction is useful to the new postgraduate research students.
Acknowledgements
We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank Angela, Denesh and Yap for their time and valuable sharing of insights.
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.
We keep in regular contact with our postgraduate students by email, so it is vital that you check your emails on a regular basis.
We send a weekly e-updates (during this C0VID-19 pandemic), a monthly e-bulletin and a quarterly e-newsletter to keep you up to date with upcoming events and activities by us at the Graduate School.
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