Rachel Sing-Ee Tan

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 chi...

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...

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...

Early this year, my colleague, Tracy Rogers, initiated a writing group in our department, Higher Education Development Centre (HEDC). The group is attended by most of the HEDC postgraduate students. I am delighted to be part of this group. We initially tried fortnightly and monthly meetups, before we came to the agreement that weekly meetups each Monday morning works best. Essentially, we believed that a Monday morning writing session could be a positive motivator for the rest of our week. The overall benefit that I get from the group is developing the mental stamina for writing. The group gives numerous benefits that turn into energy which carries me through my research. In this post, I would like to highlight three vital advantages of a writing group: collegiality, developing focus and enhancing a habit to write that helps me to endure my PhD journey. 1) Collegiality for motivation The writing group delivers a sense of collegiality because we share our research achievement...

The Graduation Day at the University of Otago is an eventful day filled with three main events; a brunch, a procession and a ceremony. Although it was not my graduation yet, I was pleased to attend the August Graduation Day with my friends. For me, it was not only to congratulate our friend’s success but it was a sociable and inspirational gathering. We were there to congratulate Alfie, or to be precise Dr Althea Blakey, on her graduation. For some of us, PhD candidates, it was an inspiration to see our fellow ‘comrade’ who had made it to the finishing line. Alfie is certainly a positive role model. She managed to complete her thesis while juggling between work and family. Alfie, and many other PhD graduands proved that perseveration would bring us light at the end of our PhD tunnel. The graduation’s brunch session allowed us to mix and mingle. Held at the Central Library, guests were invited to attend the meaningful day and congratulate the success of graduan...

Last year, I joined a tour, organised by Lizzy Lukeman from the alumni office, to learn more about the University of Otago. The tour started with a little history of the university, which was the first university in New Zealand. It was founded in 1869 and started with three professors and 81 students. The university has since grown, whereby today, it has more than 22,000 students, 1,500 academic and research staff and 2,000 general staff. From the tour, I learnt about the various facilities and interesting architectural design, and enjoyed a different perspective on the campus. The first highlight was the getting to know the university’s student association, the Otago University Student Association (OUSA). It represents the voice of students in the university and provides different services to enhance student’s life at the campus. Lizzy showed us to the radio station and the office of student magazine, Critic, managed by OUSA. Then, we went to the OUSA’s building that serves $...

My PhD Field Work At Zanzibar My PhD on globalisation in higher education provided an exciting field trip to Zanzibar in January 2016. My research looks at how globalisation has impacted on an emerging university in the developing world. I interviewed the staff at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA). It gave me two lessons. First, I am a Malaysian student of Chinese descent studying in New Zealand, and the trip widened my cultural horizon on East Africa. Second, I learnt the skills of data collection as a social scientist and it is these that I am sharing in this blog post. In my field trip, I learned to distinguish formal data, such as interviews, from my informal data, such as my field notes. For the former, I conducted semi-structured interviews that were recorded and transcribed. During interviews, I kept notes that highlighted potential key topics for further probing with in-depth questions. By conducting the interviews, I had on-field training on how to bui...