June 4, 2021, by Lisa Chin
Connecting with new postgraduate students
Our commitment
We appreciate that this is an unusual time for our postgraduate students, even more so for those who have just joined us. In our continuous effort to mitigate the impact of this prolonged period of restricted circumstances and allow our new postgraduate students to have the communal feel of a real university environment, particularly postgraduate camaraderie, we continue to run a series of postgraduate inductions amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Another virtual postgraduate induction
Our second postgraduate induction this year was held on Friday 28 May 2021. This induction was specifically targeted at new postgraduate research students who were not able to attend our previous induction in February or had joined the University thereafter. More than 20 newcomers joined us in this round of virtual induction via MS Teams.
Welcoming new postgraduate students
The induction featured a warm welcome address by our interim Vice Provost of Research & Knowledge Exchange, Professor Andy Chan. “We highly value our postgraduate researchers as you play an important role in the research ecosystem of the University,” said Professor Chan while conveying an assurance that the University is committed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 by minimising disruptions to postgraduate research progression.
“I know that this is not the easiest time to start your postgraduate research journey but as the Chinese word for crisis, which is composed of two characters: one represents danger; and the other one represents opportunity, I hope that you can turn adversity into an opportunity,” said Professor Chan before concluding his address by encouraging the postgraduate researchers to engage with us at the Graduate School and make the most of the opportunities that the University offers.
Introducing our roles in supporting your postgraduate and research journey
The induction continued on with a series of introductory presentations by some of our staff at the Graduate School. In addition to transformative training and development opportunities, the induction also introduced a range of dedicated support and services for postgraduate researchers.
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.
Getting to know the postgraduate community
Aside from the details of all-you-need-to-know from us at the Graduate School as a new postgraduate researcher to the slightly less exciting requirement guidelines, a substantial part of the induction was an introductory presentation about the Postgraduate Students’ Network (PGSN) by Kelvin Tan who is the current Students’ Association (SA) Postgraduate Officer. PGSN is a representative body of postgraduate students at UNM and it plays an important role in enhancing the postgraduate students’ experience at the University. In addition to PGSN, Kelvin also gave an introductory presentation about SA. SA is the official organisation that represents all students, undergraduate and postgraduate, of the University. There is a wide range of events and activities organised by SA that postgraduate students can join and participate.
You can find out more about PGSN from our blogpost below:
A network by Students’ Association for postgraduate students
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 Instagram and Facebook.
If you would like to find out more about SA and their support to all students of the University, please check out their website. You can also follow their Instagram and Facebook.
Kelvin was later joined by Angela Paul Peter who gave a brief introduction about the Science and Engineering Postgraduate Student Council (SEPSC). SEPSC serves as the intermediary between postgraduate students and the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FOSE). The council is under the banner of the Faculty Research Operations Group (FROG) which deals with the progression and welfare matters of postgraduate research students at FOSE.
We hope the session provided a much needed platform for direct and meaningful communication and engagement between new postgraduate students, PGSN, SEPSC and us at the Graduate School as well as the interim Vice Provost of Research & Knowledge Exchange.
We will continue to cultivating a supportive culture in which our postgraduate community can advance and thrive, even during these unprecedented and uncertain times. We are here to support our postgraduate students and ensure you have a rewarding postgraduate experience.
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.
We also send a monthly e-newsletter to keep you up to date with upcoming events and activities by us at the Graduate School.
Please email us at graduateschool@nottingham.edu.my for more information. You can also engage with us via Facebook and Graduate School Blog.
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