October 15, 2019, by Lisa Chin
Postgraduate Welcome Programme 2019
Our annual welcome programme for all new and returning postgraduate students was held on 30 September – 7 October 2019. The programme consisted of a day of welcome event and a 5-day Research Boot Camp.
Welcome Day
Welcome presentation by Ms Deepa Kumari Veerasingam
The welcome event featured a series of introductory presentations as well as social and educational activities, aimed to get the new postgraduate students started with their postgraduate life at the University and subsequently develop their network of friends and colleagues.
“We are proud to play our part in unlocking the potential of our postgraduate community and supporting you through your postgraduate journey,” said Ms Deepa Kumari Veerasingam, Head of Graduate School. In her welcome address, Deepa congratulated the new postgraduates students for making it thus far in their studies and further introduced the role of Graduate School in providing a range of dedicated support and services for its postgraduate students.
We support your postgraduate journey
Introductory presentation by Ms Vimaleswari Danapal
Next was a presentation which offered a walk-through of our support and services by Ms Vimaleswari Danapal, Assistant Manager at the Graduate School. 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. Beside events and activities, Vim also covered topics on funding opportunities and recognition awards. She further gave a heads-up on the call for participation of our annual photography competition and encouraged the postgraduate students to take part in it.
Read more about the Images of Postgraduate Experience photography competition
Unlock your potential
Introductory presentation by Dr Tissa Chandesa
“We offer courses which help you develop a range of transferable skills,” said Dr Tissa Chandesa, Research Training Development Manager. In this segment, Dr Chandesa gave a presentation which delved into the details of training provision by Graduate School.
Our training and development programme empowers postgraduate students to develop the skills required in their research and future careers. It covers classroom-based courses and workshops, online courses, seminars and public engagement events.
Thinking about your PhD
Thinking about your PhD
Dr Chandesa continued on with an engaging activity where the postgraduate students were divided into groups. Each group was required to brainstorm and present their perspectives on postgraduate research attributes in a pictorial form. The activity was an excellent ice-breaker and it made the postgraduate students think about the desirable traits and values that they need to develop during their tenure of postgraduate studies.
So What It’s Really Like? (SWIRL)
Sharing of experiences
The welcome event continued on with a SWIRL session. This informal sharing session and forum was aimed for new postgraduate students to find out about life at the University of Nottingham Malaysia from a panel of three senior postgraduate students: Wong Xin Yi, 3rd year PhD student at the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering; Kumbirai Ivyne Mateva, 3rd year PhD student at the School of Biosciences; Yap Jing Ying, 3rd year PhD student at the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering; and Olaoluwa Duro-Bello, 4th year PhD student at the School of English. The session was moderated by Dr Chandesa.
SWIRL session
We hope that the session was useful in getting the insights of what’s it really like being a postgraduate student of the University.
SWIRL session is one of the featured segments in our annual welcome event for postgraduate students. Session like this is meant to share information and increase knowledge, as well as establish rapport and subsequently foster connections between postgraduate students across all faculties.
A session with supervisors
What are the expectations of postgraduate research supervisor?
From left: Dr Ajit Singh, Dr Suchithra Thangalazhy Gopakumar and Dr Myint Moe Chit
This was the question we delved into during the session with supervisors. The panel of supervisors was made up of experienced PhD supervisors: Dr Ajit Singh, Associate Professor at the School of Biosciences; Dr Suchithra Thangalazhy Gopakumar, Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering; and Dr Myint Moe Chit, Associate Professor at the Nottingham University Business School. The session was moderated by Dr Chandesa.
We hope that the session was beneficial in understanding what the supervisors expect of their postgraduate students.
Bonus activities
The winning team of the Marshmallow Challenge
This session aimed to enhance the effectiveness of postgraduate students by using a broad range of activities that looked at many different aspects of the postgraduate degree process.
One of the activities conducted during the session was the Marshmallow Challenge. This activity involved several teams competing to assemble the tallest freestanding structure in a given time period with set materials.
Research Boot Camp
What do postgraduate students need to help help them get started on their research degree?
The offering of the Researcher Development Programme (RDP) in the new academic term started off with a Research Boot Camp, held between 1 – 7 October 2019. The boot camp offered a range of intensive courses to help the postgraduate research students to get going with their research degree.
How you can access our expertise
Every month, you will receive the Graduate School newsletter straight to your University email account – look out for the first email once you have registered! We’ll also send you information about key events and opportunities throughout the year. You can engage with us on social media and through email.
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