Prepared by: Prof. Dr. Nor Haniza Sarmin, Athirah Zulkarnain & Nurhidayah Zaid
On 3 September 2021, Prof. Dr. Nor Haniza Sarmin from Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) had been invited by the Mathematical Sciences Unit, Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP), as a speaker to conduct a talk titled “A Smooth Sailing in a Postgraduate Journey~Tips for Students and Supervisors”. This talk was held through Microsoft Teams application and in collaboration with the Asia Technological University Network (ATU-Net) in which UTM and UMP are a member of.
Postgraduate journey for every student and supervisor is unique. Useful tips are always needed to remind students and supervisors that even this journey is not always smooth, it can always be handled. Based on her 30-year experience as an academia, Prof. Dr. Nor Haniza shared many tips that covered on both students and supervisors’ sides throughout one’s postgraduate journey, including the roles of student and supervisor, the expectations from both, time management, harmony situation for students and supervisors and many more.
This talk had been attended by more than 100 local and international participants that came from various institutions and universities including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Kolej Antarabangsa Unifield, Kolej Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah, University College TATI, INTEC Education College, DRB – HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, and University College of Yayasan Pahang. International participants from abroad came from as far as Libya.
The truth is, postgraduate study, especially PhD, is never a “smooth sailing” journey but the student and supervisor can together try to make it smoother. Many important tips for both postgraduate students and supervisors had been generously shared in this talk.
The recorded video and presentation slides can be found from this link: https://people.utm.my/nizasarmin/2021/09/05/a-smooth-sailing-in-a-postgraduate-journey-tips-for-students-and-supervisors/.
