EFFECTIVE SUPERVISION
Ismail Said (PhD)
Academic Manager Generic Program
School of Graduate Studies
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA
17th July 2014
Why we need to supervise PG
candidates?
To produce scholars and scientific publications
2
Key Performance (Amal) Indicators
Indicators
2008
2011
2012
2013
2015
2020
1
Staff with PhD
737
1018
1143
1500
1800
2100
2
Indexed-publication
678
1078
2500
3500
6000
15,000
SCOPUS Citation
1372
3791
5000
7000
10,000
50,000
Postgraduate (%)
25%
46%
53%
55%
60%
70%
Postgraduate No.
4,850
10,888
12,883
13,780
13,500
16,000
PhD Students No.
1,269
3,439
4,445
5,140
6,000
7,000
-
-
-
50%
60%
90%
Post-Doctoral Fellow
<10
<20
<20
300
500
1000
4
Mean Intake CGPA (UG)
3.11
3.47
3.71
3.75
3.80
4.00
5
Research Grant (RM m)
124
103
78
150
200
400
6
Intellectual property
1075
2185
2770
3300
6000
10,000
7
Spin-off companies
57
14
18
200
400
1000
8
Staff Research load
30%
50%
55%
60%
60%
70%
9
Endowment (RM m)
0
31.9
50
70
100
500
3
PhD Graduate On Time
3
How to act?
To produce scholars: A Journey
CP1
CP2
CP3
JP1
CP4
JP2
JP3
Day 1
Year 1
Research
Conceptualization;
Preparation of Research
Proposal; Literature
Review, Problem
Definition
Year 2
Data collection and
analysis
Year 3
Thesis writing
Vivavoce
Submit thesis
How to act?
• To succeed in completing a PhD is to be
consistent and focus. (Read Uncharted Path)
• PhD is an experiential process on how to do
research.
Experience is what you get when you didn’t
get what you want. Failure is not just
acceptable, it is often essential. (Read The Last Lecture)
5
How to act?
Read novels and non-fiction literature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
The Price of Civilization by Jeffery Sachs
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Growing up in Terengganu by Awang Goneng
The Borderless World by Kenichi Ohmae
The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
Uncharted Path by Lee Myung-bak
6
How to act?
Motivation Tips
• Watch what they do, not what they say (Read The
Last Lecture)
• Tell the truth (You are at the driver seat, I only give direction.)
• Give your student a gift when he or she
attained a milestone. Encourage him or her to
self-reward himself or herself.
• Ask the right questions
• Participate in student’s field study and
conference
7
Tokenism
Give your student a gift when he or she attained a milestone.
(Read Three Cups of Tea)
If you wish to get this as Hari Raya gift, present to me your research
progress before 28 July.
8
How to act?
Regular Discussion
9
Participate in student’s field study and
conference
10
How to act?
Scheduled Planning
• Start by sitting together (min. 11 discussions per semester)
• Appoint a representative to organize the
discussion
• Inform students on your monthly or weekly
schedule through email or Facebook
• Ask students to present their study progress
chart
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How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve
Eat, eat and thanking
12
How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve
A discourse at Taman Tropika in UTM
13
How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve
14
How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve: add humors and
jokes
Dear PG Students,
Towards the end of semester, most of
you be occupied with your progress
report, chapter writing, or thesis
submission. Take a step at a time.
Allocate enough time to produce a
concise and accurate thesis. Keep cool!
15
How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve: add humors and
jokes
Dear All,
ANALOGY
Your research work is truly dear to you.
You always keep it closed to you like this
mother green dove (pigeon) attending
her chicks. You only let it go when you
completed its submission to SPS. For
now, keep it warm in your heart. Ha Ha.
16
How to act?
Create pressure releasing-valve: add humors and
jokes
Writing a thesis is composing your
findings into a logical pattern of
regularity. It may resemble how a chef
preparing mee hoon goreng..Ha ha.
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How to act?
Post on upcoming conferences, talks, seminars
and colloquia
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How to act?
Create a research group Facebook
Muhammad I. B Mib Hmm
this is a local delicacy called
Dankuwa, it is made from
roasted corn and
groundnut.
Arc Abubakar Isah Is it
peculiar to the community
or the Nupes in general?
19
How to act?
Student’s notes in FB
• I thought i share with all of you a video about the
community garden at my site in TTDI,KL. Enjoy and
have a good day!
• Announcement: Norfadzila got an invitation from
Prof John Horton to publish a chapter in Geographies
of Children and Young People. Horton is the editor of
Children's Geographies, Taylor and Francis, and a
professor from Northhampton Uni. Congratulations.
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Additional Tips
• Inform student’s spouse on what is a PhD
study
• Never give up
• Spend 8 hrs a day and 5 days a week on your
research
• Create a filing system
• Create a reading log to synthesize materials
that you have reviewed
• Begin writing your paper in first semester
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Author’s name:
Tzoulas, K. et al.
Date of Publication:
6 March 2007
Editor’s name:
-
Title of Journal:
Landscape and Urban Planning
Place of publication:
Title of article/chapter:
Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas
using Green Infrastructure: A literature review.
Publisher:
Elsevier
Volume no:
81:3
Pages:
167 - 178
Edition:
-
Call no:
Reference no:
-
-
URL: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.02.001
Date Accessed:
4th June 2007
Key words:
Public health; Human well-being; Green Infrastructure; Urban ecosystem; Ecosystem health
Description of topic: Literature review about the relationship between Green Infrastructure with ecosystem health and
human well being.
Aim of study:


Objectives:
1.
2.
3.
Integration of literature review on the concepts of Green Infrastructure and ecosystem health
with human health to formulate a conceptual framework that link between them.
Integration of information between various discipline to further improve urban and peri-urban
environments
Constructing a set of definitions.
Review of literatures on association of Green Infrastructure components with ecological and
human health.
Constructing a conceptual framework of interface between these disciplines.
Relevant for my
research:
THEORIES/ CONCEPTS:
The concept of Green Infrastructure: p.3

Emphasizes the quality and quantity of urban and peri-urban green spaces (Turner, 1996; Rudlin and Falk, 1999)
their multifunctional role (Sandström, 2002) and the importance of interconnections between habitats (van der Ryn
and Cowan, 1996).

If a Green Infrastructure is proactively planned, developed, and maintained it has the potential to guide urban
development by providing a framework for economic growth and nature conservation (Walmsley, 2006; Shchrijnen,
2000; van der Ryn and Cowan, 1996) – offer opportunity for integration between urban development, nature
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conservation and public health promotion.
How to act?
Weekly discussion
STRATEGIES FOR GETTING GOT
 Aware of the procedures
Notification of
thesis submission
(3 months)
Schedule / Plan of
proofreading
Who can help?
Correction
• Seniors
• Paid proofreaders
• Supervisor
HowViva
long?- VOCE
Appointment of
Examiners (JAPSU)
Thesis submission
for examination
Which chapters to submit first?
Resubmission
Senate committee
approval
GRADUATION
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What a supervisor has to remind himself
often?
I am enabling the dream of my students who
are chasing their dreams. (Read Uncharted Path)
You will see the rainbow after the storm has
passed. (Read Uncharted Path)
When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.
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