In today’s post we hear from Dr. Mijke Mulder, a
recent La Trobe graduate, who reflects on some key lessons she has learned from
moving abroad for her studies and for academic work.  

The post 3 things I learnt from moving abroad for a career or degree (Mijke Mulder) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

In this post La Trobe graduate researcher Sandi James reflects on what it is like to do your research while you are based overseas. She shares her experience and lessons she has learned to get connected and deal with isolation.
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When I decided to pursue a graduate research degree I was already living and working in Southeast Asia. As I began looking around for research on doing a PhD while based overseas I found a lot of information and resources for international students arriving to study in Australian universities. This is great, and really helpful for students who are arriving to Australia for their studies. But I didn’t find a lot out there on navigating the system in reverse, i.e. studying with an Australian university from a very distant location. Given this absence, I thought I would write this post!

My research had been conceived out of other projects myself and my colleagues from the University of Malaysia Sabah were already running in Malaysia, and I thought everything would be OK with the support I had and the networks I had developed in over there.

And it was kind of OK, albeit a significant challenge.

The feeling was like climbing a mountain without a safety harness, and little understanding of the unique challenges of studying in academic isolation in a location where you aren’t fluent in the language… My supervisors were, and are, amazing and supportive under the circumstances, and others around the university have also been amazing and helped where they can.

Participating remotely


Attending sessions via video conference is one way that I have participated in university life while being based overseas. I know it is difficult to arrange sessions for off-campus students who often sign up to attend and, for whatever reason, end up not attending. Time differences, work and family commitments, or other life events, also often get in the way of people being able to attend. Access to the technology required can also be difficult. I believe this is an area where we need to make improvements somehow. The impact of this for rural and remote students within Australia is also huge and finding ways to work around these barriers has become one of my side passions, a soapbox of sorts.

I have attended some brilliant zoom sessions, and the small number of attendees online was one of the benefits in that it allowed for greater engagement with the presenter. There was time and space to talk and everyone involved was able to ask questions and get answers. Other sessions have had breakout rooms where the online participants were able to meet and talk, while those physically attending did the same thing. I really hope we see more of these activities on the calendar as I found them to be incredibly beneficial. So I encourage people to think carefully about how we use zoom to include researchers who can’t be there in the flesh.

Conducting research while based overseas


Conducting a research project in a foreign country is a unique and amazing challenge. There are the usual language barriers, adjusting to cultural differences, new and at times, unidentifiable foods and variations on social etiquette are just a few of the things to be navigated. Alongside that is the homesickness and longing for something familiar, or even just to watch a favourite tv show in a language that requires no thought or translation. The different weather and environment can be a challenge, but this was one of my favourite things. Warm and humid all year round, perfect!
Some other La Trobe researchers have written about life hacks for the remote researcher, and some of the positive sides of undertaking research in the regions, and I wanted to share the things that have helped me here too.

One of the first things to know, whether you are studying online or on campus, is that you may not find exactly “your kind of academic people” where you are located, and you have to reach out online and via social media to make connections wherever you can. I have made so many friends in Malaysia and found my people in places I never even knew existed, or that I never thought I would fit into.

I found trail running and cycling to be very social activities and helpful for my mental state. Spending time in the jungle or out on the open road on a bicycle, with other people who also enjoy those activities, is refreshing and helps to maintain focus and energy for the difficult times. Importantly, I also joined forums, attended every workshop possible via zoom, asked the library for help via zoom (as well as the IT people), became active on twitter and other social media forums. I told everyone who would listen that I was studying in isolation, when I was struggling, and that I felt like I was out my depth sometimes. I also started a blog and sent that out into the universe to connect people with my work and goals.

Indeed, these suggestions might even be useful for anyone who is new to graduate research, or feeling isolated – even if they are based on a large and busy central campus location.

Summing up 

I am not a natural academic (if there is such a thing!), I don’t really like reading and I have a very short concentration span. I work best when I am around others and learn by talking and doing… yet I find myself studying by distance from an overseas location, where I don’t fluently speak the language and don’t yet have deep connections with the academic community in Australia (although this is building)… I have made the effort to establish online connections with others, joining Shut up and Write sessions via Zoom where I can, becoming a student representative, reaching out the library and the RED team regularly, and basically being seen and hear. Twitter has also been an awesome way to connect with the academic community.

I am learning a whole new language so I can function in academia, a new and frightening bunch of academics to try and communicate with, and to have to learn to operate almost completely in an online environment… and somehow I decided this was still an awesome plan. It is a work in process, and it is happening. I am loving most of this experience and I am incredibly happy to be on this journey.

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Bio
Sandi James is currently undertaking her research in the school of Science, Health and Engineering at La Trobe University, Australia. She has lived and worked in South East Asia for the past six years and is about to return to Malaysia to take up an academic position in the Univeristi Malaysia Sabah and undertake her PhD candidature. Her research focus is on the traditional use of alcohol in the Indigenous communities of Sabah, Malaysia. Other research interests include evidence-based treatments for mental illness in the Malaysian context, ACT and Ultra Brief Psychological Interventions, collaborative health care provision, and alcohol harm reduction programs. Sandi is a registered psychologist, also practicing in this capacity in Malaysia. She tweets as @jsandi27 and you can find her blog here

The post Doing an Australian PhD while being based overseas (Sandi James) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

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For an international student, pursuing a Higher Degree by Research is a multifaceted growth opportunity. It is now widely recognised that international students “represent a high-achieving and highly motivated group” (Russell, Rosenthal, & Thomson, 2010) as they choose to pursue their dreams for higher study in a sociocultural and educational environment that is different from their own.

But these journeys are also full of challenges.

In a broad review of studies addressing international students in Australia, Jeong-Bae Son & Sang-Soon Park (2014) found 13 main factors affecting international non-English speaking background (NESB) students’ successful completion of their academic programs. These ranged from motivation to study to English language proficiency, the relationships students had with supervisors to financial support, family matters and intercultural adjustment. These are in addition to the basic challenges of doing a higher degree by research that all students, irrespective of background, will negotiate.

If we examine the research carefully, we can see that for many international students these challenges are underpinned by the fact that there is often a major cultural shift that happens for students.

On one hand, there are external systems and expectations of the system that they must learn. On the other, there are internal struggles where their social- religious-cultural upbringing may intersect with demands of a system that they can see as alien. These challenges can be organic and highly individual, but some could be anticipated. For instance, some of the most fruitful discussions happen in smaller groups of graduate research candidates after a seminar or an event and the setting for that discussion may be at a pub. In some cultures, going to a pub is a taboo and prohibited. This can close down opportunities for social learning. Considering more neutral locations, such as cafés, would enable these conversations to occur more readily.

Another oft-repeated instance of difference is in the culture of learning: some students from non-western countries may be used to structured and rigid styles of learning where they receive clear instructions from supervisors. But in many contexts in Australia, the emphasis is on self-learning and discovery, which aims to give agency to students to think independently. These differences make it harder for international students to perform as they may be unfamiliar with these dynamics and feel they are caught in unsaid and unwritten rules of obeying (or disobeying) teachers. The list could go on. It is important to know that Australian universities are aware of many of these challenges and are extending help to international students in many ways.

If you are a domestic student reading this blog post, then please remember you are interacting with students and peers who come from another place. They may be different from you so be prepared to accept differences in ideas, behaviours and expectations of what learning and knowledge look like. That way, you can help your peers by bridging things that they might not know. You might also see the opportunities that exist to learn from the unique perspectives that international students bring with them when they come to study in Australia.

If you are an international student reading this then please remember that if you don’t share your experiences with your fellow graduate researchers, then how will they know? It can be valuable to ask questions and for help if you need it. How you navigate this journey will depend a lot on you – how you seek the kind of assistance you need, whether you are open about your challenges and have the necessary conversations with supervisors and peers.

While there are many challenges and adventures, finding success as an international student is doable and many have fulfilled their dreams and achieved their goals. There are more than 350,000 international students studying in Australia at this point, for different levels of degrees and types of courses – remember you are not alone!

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References

Jeong-Bae Son & Sang-Soon Park, (2014). Academic Experiences of International PhD Students in Australian Higher Education: From an EAP program to a PhD program. International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 9(1), 26-37. View 

Russell J., Rosenthal, D., & Thomson, G. (2010). The international student experience: Three styles of adaptation. Higher Education, 60(2), 235–249. doi: 10.1007/s10734-009-9297-7. View

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Kiran Shinde combines research training of an academic and professional practice of a planner with vast experience in different planning sectors across three countries (India, Australia, and Thailand). His international qualifications include a PhD from Monash University, Australia; MSc Urban Management from Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand; MTech Urban Planning from CEPT University in India and a BArch (Architecture) from Pune University in India. 


He has published close to 50 research papers across cultural heritage, religious tourism, destination planning, policy analysis, and environmental management and has delivered talks at conferences in Canada, Turkey, Australia, Portugal, Singapore, the UK, and USA.

The post International graduate researchers: You are not alone! (Kiran Shinde) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Collect 76 highly motivated women scientists from all over the world, 8 talented teaching faculty, a few dozen humpback whales, and a couple of hundred thousand penguins.

Mix together in a small ship in Antarctic waters for 20 days. Stir thoroughly, agitate regularly, shake occasionally. Dip regularly into the icy waters all around. The mixture will separate, sometimes disintegrate then, with careful tending, reform into something new, something truly transformative.

The Homeward Bound alumni are courageous, newly equipped with the vision and tools to enable them to make a difference to the world.

I was lucky enough to participate in the inaugural Homeward Bound expedition to Antarctica in December 2016. I arrived in Ushuaia at the end of November, jetlagged but excited, anticipating gruelling seasickness, stunning landscapes and empowering leadership and strategy training. Homeward Bound exceeded all of my expectations.

This was a truly transformative leadership program. The insights and connections forged during the 20 days at sea will support me to grow and develop as a leader and scientist for the rest of my career.
After a few shaky days finding our sea legs (mine were more wobbly than most), we began the leadership content by considering who we are and why we lead.

We chose our top 10 values from out of a stack of a few hundred possible options. Who knew there were so many to choose from?! Three diagnostics around learning styles, emotional intelligence and self-development formed the basis of the leadership training. We all became very familiar with 4MAT, MSCIET and LSI over the next week, drilling down into our preferences, motivations and behaviours. This was new territory for many scientists, challenging stuff. We were supported with small group work and individual counselling sessions, and it was all framed within the overarching goal of enabling us to be more effective leaders.

Daily landings chock full of stunning scenery, abundant wildlife who appeared quite indifferent to our presence and ample opportunities for tobogganing and snowball fights were a welcome break from the intense learning. This on-land time allowed us to reflect and strengthen connections in an awe-inspiring environment. With the long days of Antarctic summer, we often had after-dinner landings or zodiac cruises. Did the sun ever set? I certainly never saw it happen!

Photo by Sam Grover

After leadership, came visibility. In order to make a difference, who do we need to be visible to? I came to this section of the content with some scepticism, some resistance.

Not a natural social media user, my preconception was that “visibility” equated to a large Twitter following. My soil science research is not particularly tweetable and, juggling research and a young family, ample time for engaging with social media just doesn’t make it into my tight schedule. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find the visibility content very useful and applicable to my research and aspirations. I want my soils research to inform policy and practise around land use. I identified who I need to become more visible to, and how to go about making this happen. Twitter didn’t feature!

Photo by Sam Grover

Whales! The teaching faculty came to dread this call, as we would all jump up and run out on deck. However fascinating the content, the call of the whales was just too strong. Their presence just a few tens of meters from the ship was somehow incredibly calming. No-one was immune to the serenity that these graceful creatures seemed to emanate. Juxtaposed with the macabre remains of the whaling stations we visited, humanity’s reliance on whale oil and near extinction of these peaceful creatures appeared as a strange nightmare from our past.

Many Homeward Bound alumni want to ensure that the remains of the fossil fuel oil industry appear as a similar historical hiccup to future generations.

Strategy: how do we get from here to there? With a strategy map. Aspire, explain, measure what we aim to achieve and how. The third component of the course content made a lot of sense to me and I have used my Personal Strategy Map back home already.

Photo by Sam Grover

As our days grew numbered, we went out of our way to develop potential collaborations. “Let’s sit together at dinner and discuss X.” “Oh yes, let’s invite Y too.”

The projects that were discussed are too numerous to mention, and some will take wings soon, while others require further rumination.

The final two days of the journey were rough. The sea was rough and I was confined to my cabin, vomiting constantly and daydreaming of home to while away the hours. A visit from the ship’s doctor, and a huge needle in the rear, but to no avail.

I knew I was prone to seasickness and I was willing to endure it to participate in this incredible journey. Returning to green land, to rich soil, forests and peatlands and bountiful life reaffirmed my reverence for the earth.

My pledge, as Homeward Bound alumni, is to step forward and lead to a more sustainable future for all life on the planet.

If you would like to read more about the Homeward Bound project, then check out their website here!

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Dr Samantha Grover is a soil scientist at AgriBio. She is passionate about research that makes a difference.

She aspires to build her research expertise by collaborating both within soil science and across related disciplines and to contribute to research projects that benefit society.

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Striking view that meets the traveller landing in Almaty, Kazakhstan (taken in late spring 2015). Behind the city lies the beautiful Tien Shan mountain range. Photo by Mia Tarp Hansen.

Let’s start out by saying my topic isn’t exactly easy.

Doing research on human rights in repressive states is no dance on roses, as we say in Denmark. Unless you step on the thorns. But it does involve a lot of fun, too.

I remember my very first interview.

I had invited a famous, young, female human rights activist in Kazakhstan for dinner to interview her. She decided on the venue and, at 8pm on a rainy Friday evening in early April, I rocked up to the restaurant that she chose in upper Almaty.

The place was called “Kishlyak” and was serving Uzbek. It was one of those typical post-Soviet restaurants with wooden benches, kitschy interior, live music, and drunken parties full of beer bellies and stiletto heels at every table. There was a distinct smell of beer, cheap perfume, vodka, plov (the Uzbek national rice dish), and a bit of pee stench, too, it must be said. The music and noise was so loud that it was almost impossible to have a conversation.

Having a proper interview would be impossible in this setting.

Aigul* walked in through the entrance, I recognised her immediately from the pictures I had seen of her. She was a charming young Kazakh woman. We greeted each other, and she asked what kind of beer I wanted. I should’ve known this setting would involve (heavy) drinking. I forgot how things worked in the former Soviet Union.

So, we ordered plov, large pints of German beer, and started a long, tipsy conversation about freedom of speech in authoritarian regimes. We talked about sexism, feminist activism, and her life. She told me about her hard upbringing, about how she as a young child worked in her parents’ restaurant and got sexually harassed by the male customers. About how she found her way to the the big city of Almaty, and how she started being a political activist.

And she told me something that has stayed with me: to be involved in human rights, you need courage, first and foremost. Courage to face the repression, persecutions, and fear. I must admit I admired her.

Around midnight, she grabs her phone, and asks me if I want to join her and her friends for karaoke. I laughed, thinking that this odd night could not get weirder, and accepted.

We took a pirate taxi to the outskirts of town, where a dodgy little house advertised VIP Karaoke with LED-lights and colourful lamps. The road was muddy and frozen, and all was quiet around us. I was thinking: “Where the hell are we…?”.

We went in, and all the walls were black. There were golden glittery decorations and tacky red Chesterfield sofas everywhere. To me, it looked more like a brothel than a karaoke-bar. The place was largely deserted, and we headed for the middle table where her friends were sitting. The table was full of beer mugs, a vodka carafe and some half eaten snacks. In one of the red sofas, there sat another famous human rights activist. I was honoured to meet her, despite the bizarre setting. On the other sofa, with her, singing an old 1990s classic song I do not remember (as I wasn’t entirely sober myself), was MY OLD RUSSIAN TEACHER from fifteen years ago. All of them were way more drunk than us, and the singing was gut-wrenching. Last time I saw my Russian teacher in 2002, I did not expect our next meeting to be in this setting!

We all had a joyful night, I remember singing one Spice Girls song on stage with Aigul. We forgot everything that night, just singing our hearts out. It must have sounded awful. But our friendship started there, and that was how I became embedded in my fieldwork. It was a truly anthropological experience.

I was supposed to be gone for only six months, but I ended up doing fieldwork in all of the Central Asian countries for 377 days. I made it through despite systematic surveillance of me, my contacts and my friends; a massive earthquake; two internships; an intense break up; PhD frustration; crossing a border every two to three weeks; falling in love; visa issues; and many, many interviews and meaningful conversations with professionals and activists in my area.

After this immersion in Central Asia, I realised that Aigul was right about having courage, and this also applied to me. To do this kind of fieldwork, you need to be courageous. To deal with repression, surveillance, even risk seeing your friends go to prison. It was worth every bit.

Now that I know what it takes, I am ready to fight for a positive change in this region, through my research. And it involves a lot of fun, too.

* The name of my interviewee has been changed.

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Mia Tarp Hansen is in political science, in the third year of her PhD on civil society and human rights in Central Asia. 


She has been embedded in the Central Asian region since she was a teenager, and simply never fell out of love with the place. 


Mia has worked, lived, and studied in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, zigzagging the Central Asian region countless times, usually on dodgy types of transport.


Photo sourced from Mia: 
“A photo of me from a wedding that I randomly got invited to while I was living in Tajikistan during my fieldwork. As there had been armed clashes in the capital a few days before, our workplace didn’t recommend us to go – but we ditched the advice and had an awesome (and safe) time with the hospitable hosts. How are you supposed to meet the locals if you isolate yourselves from them?“

The post Karaoke in Kazakhstan (Mia Tarp Hansen) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Emma during her first days at the high Arctic | Photo from Emma Bland

I’ve just started a 3-year postdoc in middle atmospheric physics at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).

Located in Longyearbyen, Norway, way up in the high Arctic at 78° latitude, UNIS is the world’s northernmost higher education institution.

So, how did a PhD graduate from La Trobe wind up living on Svalbard?

First, there are some world-class research facilities here, including an optical observatory for studying the Aurora Borealis, and a brand-new radar that is part of an international collaboration of which La Trobe is also a member.

Second, I visited Svalbard for a conference two years ago and went home feeling rather inspired! It seemed like such a fun place to live, with many opportunities for hiking, skiing and snowmobiling adventures, as well as unique wildlife and spectacular mountain scenery.

You can imagine my delight when I discovered that UNIS was advertising a postdoc position during the final year of my PhD candidature!

With zero experience on the academic job market, I didn’t know what to expect when I submitted my application. The online application required my CV, academic transcripts, publications, and a research plan. At the end of the form, I was asked to tick a box stating that I consented to my personal information being released in accordance with the Norwegian Open Files Act. This seemed akin to checking the “I have read the privacy policy” box on an online form – of course, I haven’t read it, just sign me up already!

So, it was a bit of a surprise when, a few days after the application deadline, I received a document from the hiring committee stating the names, dates of birth, employment history and education of all the applicants.

I learned that six other people had applied for the position. Some applicants, including me, were PhD candidates nearing completion, while others were several years post-PhD. I joked that I now had enough information to eliminate my competition! More seriously, though, I actually felt a great sense of relief. If nothing else, this experience would be an opportunity to obtain some constructive feedback that might help me with future job applications.

Unknown to me at the time, this initial report was merely a trailer for what was to come. About a month later, I received a second report evaluating each candidate’s suitability for the position, based on their research experience, publication history and research plan. The comments were frank, and some candidates were identified as unsuitable for the position. At the end of the report, the candidates were ranked and the top three were offered an interview. I was ranked third.

It turns out that this transparent academic hiring process is the norm in Norway. While my opinion may be coloured by the fact that I was ultimately offered the job, I think this process is fabulous. It was clear from the report what the hiring committee was looking for, and I could easily understand the merits and weaknesses of my own application relative to the other candidates.

My interview was conducted over Skype and lasted about 45 minutes. There were three people on the panel – two academics and an HR representative. We spent roughly half of the interview discussing research, and the other half talking about living in the high Arctic. I was asked about my hobbies and what contribution I could make to the local community. This is very important in a remote settlement – the people I write papers with are also the people I will go hiking with on the weekends!

I was offered the position in October 2015, on the condition that my PhD was passed by July 2016. Looking back, it was helpful to have an incentive to stay motivated in the months before submission, but it certainly added to the stress and uncertainty of the submission and examination processes.

The big move north happened at the end of June 2016.

It’s midsummer, and the town of Longyearbyen is filled with beautiful wildflowers, birds and reindeer, all making the most of the 24-hour daylight and balmy 10°C temperatures! Svalbard is also home to about 3000 polar bears, so it is necessary to carry a rifle and flare gun for protection when leaving the settlements. What a unique part of the world! I’m keen to make the most of it.

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Emma Bland completed her PhD in space physics at La Trobe in 2016, and is now a postdoc at the University Centre in Svalbard. 


You can follow her Arctic adventures on her personal blog.

The post From PhD to high Arctic – my postdoc experience (Emma Bland) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

When I started my PhD in 2013, my son had just turned four. It wasn’t easy for either of us to leave our home and move to a new country.

For me, it was like starting from scratch. I was so busy looking for the things that my son used to love back home. For him, it was like moving from one
planet to another. It was a totally new environment in terms of language, culture, and friends, one which I found difficult.

At that time, my son had just started speaking in my language, which is Bangla. Now, added to that, he had to learn how to communicate in English, which he
had never heard from his mum or dad back home. While he was struggling with his new-found life at the La Trobe Childcare Centre, I was grappling with
shaping my research questions. The emotional journey for both of us was huge. It almost became too much when, after three months, my husband left Melbourne
to start his postdoctoral fellowship in North America.

At that point, life seemed not as easy as I thought it would be! Childcare had changed from our home
experience of my son having fun to him having to listen to his care-givers in a different language and trying to adapt to an unfamiliar culture. At the end
of almost every day, my son complained about his experiences with his new care-givers. On our way back from childcare, both of us used to cry, without
knowing the way out or how to feel better about our new life here!

When I was four months into my PhD, I was asking my supervisor lots of questions about the area I was about to explore. I was very restless about not being
able to identify the research topic that felt right for my thesis. My supervisor stopped me and smiled. He said, ‘Listen, it’s your PhD; treat it as your
child. You will feel comfortable enough to handle it soon.’

Only then did I realise that I was expecting my second baby; a baby not in my tummy but in my mind!

Those words from my supervisor were magic words for me. I realised it was true that both of my babies were young, and they were struggling to settle down
in a new environment. Being under pressure from two babies, I stopped for a while and thought I should seek some professional support for my mind. I
visited the La Trobe Counselling Service and spoke with one of the counsellors there. The counsellor advised that I give both my kids some time, and to
have patience; everything will soon be under control.

Life became a little easier when I discovered that I was not the only one on this journey. I found that a lot of my colleagues were doing their PhDs
without having their partners with them in Australia, and they felt the same anxieties. We shared our experiences and learned from each other. We spent
some weekends together so that our kids could find a community within our circle. We explored places where both mums and their kids could have time
together. It worked, and now my son has best friends whose parents are mostly my colleagues at La Trobe. My thesis also began to take form as I joined in
with various training sessions from the Library, Graduate Research School’s RED team, Departmental seminars, and even a Business School seminar on How to finish a PhD on time.

As I write this, two and a half years into my PhD journey, I feel that both of my babies are doing well, and that they are behaving in the way that I was
hoping and expecting. My son is in prep this year. Every day, I am learning something new from him, especially about Australian culture. The other day, I
was learning the Australian national anthem from him and found it really touching to listen to and sing.

My other baby, my thesis, is growing towards its delivery phase, both inside my mind and in my documents. I edit it, feed it with new references, reshape
it, analyse it, or sometimes edit it back to make it healthier. Now, I’m beginning to realise what I’ve achieved by managing these two babies together: it
has been an amazing experience.

I don’t juggle with them anymore. Rather, I play with them every day!

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Shawgat Sharmeen Kutubi
worked as a senior lecturer in Finance at Independent University, Bangladesh, before moving to Australia to undertake a PhD in 2013. Shawgat has also spent
4 years in London undertaking a Master’s at the University of London (SOAS).



She is currently a third-year graduate researcher in the Department of Accounting, researching banking governance. She also works as an Assistant Health and Well-being Coordinator (Student Leader) at La Trobe’s Accommodation Services.


Shawgat enjoys sightseeing around Melbourne. She practices meditation to calm her mind and loves to visit the La Trobe Sports Centre.

The post My PhD experience: Juggling, or playing, with two babies? (Shawgat Sharmeen Kutubi) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

When I introduce myself and say where I am from, people often haven’t heard of my country. Who can blame them!

After all, Maldives is a country that is barely visible on the world map and has a population of just under 300,000 people!

If they have heard of Maldives, it’s usually in terms of being a paradise on Earth. ‘The sunny side of life’ is how my homeland is known to tourists all over the world.

Many also say, ‘Wow! You are so lucky! Why in the world would you leave such a paradise and come to a city with such unpredictable weather?’

From the outside, you might think a typical day of my life in the Maldives might include lounging on a beach with a good book, soaking up the sunshine in between swimming in crystal clear waters, breathing in super fresh air, and enjoying the soothing sound of pure nature.

In truth, you’re not completely wrong, as you can see from my images above!

I do have the option of doing all this! And it does sound like a life in paradise, but only if you can afford to be on vacation for the rest of your life.

For average Maldivians, life is not a vacation in a resort. It’s much more challenging, especially for those who are striving for a better education and hoping to build an academic career for themselves.

Maldives is still at an infant stage when it comes to higher education. We only have one national university and six private colleges. There are limited undergraduate and postgraduate degrees available and, to date, PhD courses are not offered at any of our higher education institutions. Getting the opportunity to do a PhD comes about very rarely so, when such an opportunity crossed my path, I grabbed it without a second thought and here I am in Melbourne!

Prior to my travel, I was positive that I’d prepared myself well for anything that might come with PhD territory, but reality hit hard when I arrived in Australia.

Here I was, all alone in a foreign country where I didn’t know a single person. The first few weeks were really hard for me: being alone, missing my family, friends, and – believe it or not – my old office. Luckily, I’ve got a great housemate who made it a lot easier to transition into the Aussie lifestyle. I may be crazy, but I actually prefer cold weather! Not necessarily the freezing winter, but I love autumn and spring.

So far, I am really enjoying living here. I’m still getting used to the ‘isolated’ life of a PhD student.

On the one hand, it feels pretty awesome not having to attend daily classes, listen to boring lectures, or worry about submitting weekly assignments.

On the other hand, however, I miss having classmates, socialising, and the excitement of being a carefree student.

Being a PhD student, I can’t afford to be carefree anymore. The best advice I’ve had and aim to use myself is to approach my studies as a full-time job.

I intend to polish up on both my time-management and self-management skills, and concentrate on living and breathing my thesis for the next four years of my life. Believe me, it’s as hard as it sounds.

Occasionally, I still wonder whether I’m up for undertaking a PhD. Then I’ll have a discussion with my supervisor, or attend a RED seminar, or have a chat with other PhD colleagues, and – just like that – I’m back on board and fully committed to completing my thesis.

So, no, I don’t feel bad at all about leaving the paradise that I call home in order to work on my PhD. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I intend to use it well!

Home is HOME, and it’s not going anywhere. I take comfort in the notion that I’ll always have the option of going back home – to paradise – whenever I want.

Fazeela Ibrahim was born and bred in the Maldives. She has been a primary school teacher, teacher-educator, and educational planner. Prior to moving to Melbourne, she was a senior lecturer in a private college in the Maldives.

Fazeela moved to Australia in March 2015 to begin her first year as a graduate researcher. She’s studying international students in the School of Education at La Trobe University’s Melbourne campus.

In her free time, she enjoys travelling, cooking, and exploring the history and culture of different countries. Fazeela tweets at @ffaxee.

The post Leaving Paradise for a PhD (Fazeela Ibrahim) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Photo by Lynna Feng

Four months ago, I made the move from the United States to Australia to pursue a PhD at La Trobe University.

Whenever I tell someone that I’ve come from California to do my PhD at La Trobe’s Bendigo campus, I often get this carefully constructed question: “So…what made you move out here?”, or from more casual friends, “Why in the world did you move from California to BENDIGO?”

It turns out that people think I’m a little crazy for leaving the US and coming to Australia for my PhD program.

I should probably back up a little bit and clarify that while I have fallen in love with Australia and the lifestyle of a smaller town, it wasn’t my lifelong dream to move to and study in regional Australia.

If you had asked me five years ago, I would have told you that, in 2015, I should be one year into a degree in veterinary medicine at the University of California, Davis. I was one of those kids who had their entire life perfectly planned.

So, how exactly did that turn into a solo move around the world to live in fear of hitting kangaroos while driving on the wrong side of the road?

It all came down to making the most of any opportunities – and one really exceptional mentor.

During the course of my undergraduate degree in Animal Science, I quickly realized that working in a vet hospital setting wasn’t going to be my thing – but research was so cool!

I discovered that I could study animal behaviour from an applied research perspective instead of becoming a veterinarian. This was in great part due to an incredible mentor, veterinarian, and applied animal behaviourist, Dr Sophia Yin.

Not only did Dr Yin let me assist in her research projects and private consultations, she also encouraged me to take on as many outside learning opportunities as I could fit in: training wild mustangs (brumbies) in New Mexico, attending applied animal research conferences, foster-raising service dog puppies, running an independent research project, becoming a certified professional dog trainer, even attending a week-long scent-dog training workshop in Sweden. If it was remotely related to my interests, she thought I should be there, and helped make it happen.

As my undergraduate career came to a close, I knew that I wanted to continue on to get my PhD in something animal-related. The plan was to take a gap year (or two), and get some ‘life-experience’ and develop my Statistics skills by getting my Masters in Applied Statistics.

About two weeks into my first semester of online classes through Pennsylvania State University, I was perusing Facebook (of course…) and spied a call for PhD applicants that sounded like it was written just for me. Dr Pauleen Bennett, Director of the Anthrozoology Research Group was looking for a PhD student to study scent-detection dogs and predictive measures of a successful working dog at La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus. Technically, the PhD would be in Psychology, but the topic of research was right up my alley.

Pauleen and her research team had been on my radar for years but…what/where was La Trobe University? And where was Bendigo? Once my discussions with Pauleen got serious, my family and friends grew concerned.  I’d be crossing the world for this opportunity and, of course, they wanted to know I’d be landing in a safe and encouraging place.

After going through the admissions process, I received not only an acceptance into the program, but also a La Trobe University Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Fee Remission Research Scholarship. It seemed too good to be true!

Now that I’m four months in, I can officially report that it is indeed very good and very true!

I am actually working with the real Dr Pauleen Bennett and her research team. Even better, everyone I’ve met at La Trobe has been very welcoming and supportive.

So far, it’s been mostly about adjusting to life in Australia and getting used to ‘living’ my PhD (a.k.a. spending every waking minute thinking about all the different things I want to do and how they can become a cohesive story in my eventual thesis).

So, the simple answer to why I’m currently freezing my butt off here in Australia while my family enjoys a summer trip to the lake?

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am so glad to be on this fantastic adventure!

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Lynna Feng grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and studied Animal Behaviour, Applied Statistics, and Psychology at the University of California, Davis. 


She recently made the move to Australia to begin her first year as a postgraduate researcher. She is studying anthrozoology, the science of humans and animals, in the Department of Psychology at La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus.


In her free time, Lynna enjoys playing with puppies, dancing, and dabbling in amateur pet photography. She also tweets at @lynnafeng.

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