August 13, 2020, by Lisa Chin
Welcoming our new postgraduate research students
Another virtual Postgraduate Induction
Our third virtual postgraduate induction for new postgraduate research students was held on Friday 7 August 2020. We continued to run a series of induction sessions to assist newcomers to settle in swiftly and smoothly amidst the ongoing C0VID-19 pandemic. The first of the series was held on Monday 30 March 2020 while the second one was held on Friday 12 June 2020.
Welcome and introductory presentations
“…this is your Graduate School and we are proud to play our part in unlocking the potential of our postgraduate research community and supporting you through your research journey.”
The induction began with a warm welcome address by Ms Deepa Kumari Veerasingam, Head of Graduate School. An effective icebreaker was used to warm up the introductory conversation with the new postgraduate research students. Deepa also introduced the role of Graduate School in providing a range of dedicated support and services for its postgraduate research students.
“…there are loads of fun and engaging activities that we do here at the Graduate School.”
Next was an informative presentation by Ms Vimaleswari Danapal, Assistant Manger at the Graduate School, which delved into the details of competitions, events and activities by Graduate School. Vim also covered the topics on funding opportunities and recognition awards. In addition, Vim took the opportunity to introduce the members of Graduate School and the Postgraduate Hub, which is a dedicated space for development and networking activities.
“…we deliver exclusive training and development programmes for postgraduate research students to excel in your field and become an effective researcher.”
Another informative presentation by Dr Revathy Sankaran, Research Training Development Assistant Manager. This presentation delved into the details of Researcher Development Programme (RDP). The presentation was followed by another presentation by Dr Tissa Chandesa, Research Training Development Manager, which covered the details of Postgraduate Student Teachers (PST) programme.
A network for postgraduate students, by postgraduate students
The Students’ Association (SA) Postgraduate Students’ Officer, Angela Paul Peter, was present during the induction. However, due to technical problem, Angela was unable to verbally give her introductory presentation on Postgraduate Students’ Network (PGSN), which is a representative body of postgraduate students at the University.
The virtual induction made full use of the chat platform in Microsoft Teams by enabling interactive communication. “Feel free to buzz me about anything related to your student experience,” wrote Angela.
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 experience sharing
Dr Sankaran, who is also an alumna of the University, shared her personal experience and insights of what postgraduate research life is really like, with key emphasis of what to expect and do.
“It is tough and there are ups and downs,” said Dr Sankaran. Dr Sankaran further gave a few solid advice that would be useful right from the start of a postgraduate research journey and also essential in the long run that includes participating in events and competitions to attending training courses and conferences. Embarking on a PhD journey is not always smooth sailing and there are many challenges that students need to overcome. There will be times during the PhD journey when students feeling down and out, this is the time when family and friends support play the most important role. Dr Sankaran emphasised the need to communicate with supervisors and establish rapport with other postgraduate research students for encouragement and support. In addition, Dr Sankaran highlighted that there is a Whatsapp group for postgraduate research students.
For some postgraduate research students, the journey of intense independent research can be really daunting and stressful. Despite the constant pressure and challenges, the journey can also be a happy, meaningful and fulfilling experience. So most importantly, “Enjoy the ride!” advised Dr Sankaran.
Thank you for joining us
Overall, the new postgraduate research students seemed to appreciate the avenue to learn more about the additional dedicated support and services available to them at the University.
We hope that the information and guidance shared during the induction is useful to our new postgraduate research students. Once again, welcome on board to our community of world class scholars and outstanding postgraduate 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. You can also engage with us via Facebook and Graduate School Blog.
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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