Rachel Sing-Ee Tan

The purpose of an academic conference is for knowledge sharing and networking. The event can be exciting for a new student to meet acquaintances and friends doing different studies but in the same field of interest; confusing for a young scholar being told to network strategically for job opportunities; nerve-breaking for an emerging academic to present her work under the scrutiny of prestigious and experienced colleagues. I have experienced all these complicated feelings and they all came from the pressure of how to make the most out of conferences. With plenty of advice and tactical like plans especially for networking can be overwhelming to decide which method might work best. In my opinion, networking will come naturally because you will bump into people. A polite hello and small self-introduction will set the ball rolling. However, how could you make yourself more relevant to a conference? Speaking from the perspective of a young scholar, I realised that if one is more involved

Searching for my first international conference on my research interest in globalisation, I stumbled upon Common Ground that hosts the Global Studies Research Network. My application was accepted and I attended the 10th Global Studies Conference (8-9 June 2017) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Before I share my conference experience, I want to express my gratitude to be given this conference experience by the generosity of: 1. my institution, the University of Otago for providing the logistics and, 2. the Global Studies Research Network for providing free participation by selecting me as its Emerging Scholar Awardee . The 10th Global Studies Conference On my scholarly experience: Globalisation and Global Studies Globalisation is an area of study to examine the complex cross-border movements such as policies, practices, people, products and pollutions. As an emerging area of study, the Global Studies can provide a key to understanding the theory of globalisati

Earlier this month, I attended the 10th Global Studies Conference (8-9 June). It was an exciting experience because: 1. It was my first conference abroad .  2. I was one of the recipients of the Emerging Scholar Award! 3. It was held at the prestigious National University of Singapore (NUS).  Benefits With the award, I received three great benefits: 1. An invitation to the conference that eliminated the registration fee, an important helping hand to my self-financed PhD journey. 2. An excellent networking position. 3. A boost to my academic conference experience because we had the roles of a chairperson in parallel sessions, technical assistant for presenters, leader of the Talking Circles, and presenter of my research.  Amongst these given responsibilities, I enjoyed the chairing role. Some of the awardees. Networking Conferences are essential to meet new people, exchange ideas and create future collaborations. An Emerging Scholar Awardee shares respons

Dear Malaysians, PTPTN and Ministry of Education, I humbly ask for your permissions to service my loan after I complete my PhD degree, please? I am a Malaysian, a third-generation Chinese, born and raised in Malaysia. Self-financing my PhD study in Higher Education Development Centre, at the University of Otago, New Zealand. Without the financial support from any institutions, I have to juggle between my PhD work and the financial stress of student fees, living expenses and the poor currency exchange. Such stress would not allow me to service my undergraduate study loan, a valid reason to support my application of delaying the payment. I received the approval from the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), although I was warned that the interest rate of the loan will continue to accumulate . I believe the key role of a Government is to protect its citizens. I had to count the blessing that I was reducing the chances not to be barred from travelling abroad. Trusti

Sometimes, when I have the writer’s block or I need a different writing environment, I try to work in a ‘non-office’ spot. This strategy of changing my work environment ensures that my productivity is on-going. The University’s various libraries and Dunedin’s wide range of cafés are wonderful to work which is good news for me! In the University, the libraries are great for me because I can use the computers, without having to carry my laptop. My favourite library is the Law Library because of its great view from the 8th floor. The Central Library is also a perfect spot for writing because it is spacious with different types of seating and tables. I particularly like both libraries as they have drinking water and microwaves available to heat up my lunch. When I want a coffee, the Staff Club is my preferred choice. It caters for postgraduates and staff, and is strategically located in the centre of the campus. Its cosy interior provides a warm place to work on a chilly

Wanting to have a richer Kiwi knowledge and experience, I decided to be a volunteer at UniCrew. Sze-En Watts, the co-ordinator of UniCrew, matched my interest in teaching with the role of a teaching assistant at English Language Partners Dunedin (ELPD). I got in touch with Jude Thomson, one of the teachers of ELPD. When I visited her class in the city, I was also introduced to Alison Tait, who shared the teaching with Jude. My role as a teaching assistant was to help students cope with the class activities, explaining what their teachers wanted them to do. The class of about 13 students was a different and refreshing educational environment to me. Students of diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and age range wanted to learn English for different purposes such as from daily or workplace conversation to preparing for further English classes. I volunteered for 2 hours every week at these classes. My past teaching experiences and multicultural upbringing enabled me to give exa

Tired of revising my third analysis. I decided to visit the Morning Magpie cafe with my sidekick, Tracy.  It is an interesting cafe with eccentric set up and arts. It has different sizes of tables and chairs and ample space for us to work.  After discussing with Tracy about my analysis, I managed to unpack my mind for a clearer picture on how to improve my key ideas for the chapter. A great combination after an hour of writing.

A writing retreat is an organised excursion for writing. The idea is to be away from your usual writing environment with the goal to write a section of your thesis or journal article. After writing, you could enjoy some activities as a treat for accomplishing the goal of the day. Some lucky friends have experienced a facilitated writing retreat organised either by their institutions, faculties or supervisors.  I have yet to come across such an opportunity and my strict budget could not accommodate the expenses to be away for a few days. However, a $15 coupon offered by the Wobbly Goat Cafe gave me an idea for a "Write and Bike Retreat". Because the coupon included a food voucher and bike hire for two people, I proposed a plan to my friends. First, we would write, followed by cycling and lunch as our treat, and end with a discussion about our studies. With a plan in hand, Tracy, Naoko and I went for a single day writing retreat on a fine Tuesday.  Locate