Past Events

February

PGRS 2022 - Welcome Party

Event Details

Date: 23 February 2022 (Wednesday)

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Venue: Microsoft Teams / B006

The PGRS 2022 Welcome Party event was organized successfully in a hybrid mode. Prior to the event, 39 HDR students registered for the event – 23 stating physical attendance and 16 online. During the event, there were 25 HDR students, who attended physically while 19 attended online, giving a total of 44 participants, including the organizing committees. With the event organized in hybrid mode, participants get to socialize with one another physically amidst the pandemic. This event is meant to introduce PGRS, the new committee members for 2022, the upcoming events, and to enhance social interaction amongst the HDR students. Professor Ts. Lau Bee Theng gave a motivating and insightful speech to encourage all students to participate in PGRS activities. Dr. Victor Bong also shared the benefits of participating in extracurricular activities aside from doing research alone. Towards the end of the event, the participants were engaged in a Quizizz session, where participants have to compete to answer 15 questions correctly. Three HDR students – Asna, Hanna and George won the game and were given prizes each. The event then ended with refreshments provided to all the participants, who attended physically.

April

PGRS 2022 – Mental Health Awareness Talk

Event Details

Date: 6 April 2022 (Wednesday)

Time: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Venue: Microsoft Teams

On Wednesday, April 6, a mental health awareness sharing session was conducted via Microsoft Teams, featuring a collaboration with PGRS and Swinburne’s senior counselor Ms. Evelyn HuiYann Liew, and researchers Dr. Chew Jiuan Jing, and Dr. Xavier Chee. The session was moderated by postgraduate student Rachel Tang Zifang. The purpose of the session was to discuss topics surrounding mental health, including its relation to postgraduate students. All three speakers have prepared PowerPoint slides for their presentations and have provided both educational and practical tips for students to take care of their mental health.

In the first half of the session, the moderator led the participants in a casual game, followed by a briefing. During the second half of the session, it was the three speakers’ turn to share matters about mental health and tips on how to improve our mental health as postgraduate students. Lastly, a Q&A session was held with Ms. Evelyn where students’ questions were answered. As a token of appreciation, the speakers of the event received gifts from PGRS, and participants were given door gifts.

PGRS 2022 – Visit to Borneo Cultures Museum

Event Details

Date: 29 April 2022 (Friday)

Time: 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Venue: Swinburne & Borneo Cultures Museum

The first outing of PGRS 2022 was held on the morning of Friday, April 29. A total of 13 postgraduate students gathered at the Swinburne Block A lobby at 8:00 AM before departing together to the Borneo Cultures Museum. The trip was organised during a weekday to allow students to relieve their stress by putting their research aside to explore the historical artefacts and cultures of Sarawak. Besides, the students were not only exposed to the vast information provided by the museum but also benefitted from the social interactions amid the trip. Verbal feedback was received from the students, stating that this trip has helped in refreshing their minds and preparing them for the upcoming research challenges. The event adjourns with the students gathering for a lunch and heading back towards the campus.

May

PGRS 2022 – Casual Badminton Session

Event Details

Date: 9 May 2022 (Monday)

Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Venue: Swinburne Multipurpose Hall (MPH)

On Monday, May 9, a badminton sharing session was conducted at Swinburne Multi-purpose Hall (MPH). The session was moderated by postgraduate student, Wong Jung Lin. The purpose of the session was to provide an opportunity for participants to release their stress via exercising. The participants gathered at MPH at 6:00 PM. Badminton rackets were prepared by participants themselves, whereas badminton shuttlecocks were prepared by Alfred Jia Yee Tan.

PGRS 2022 – Outreach & Life after Postgraduate

Event Details

Date: 18 May 2022 (Wednesday)

Time: 2:00 PM – 4:10 PM

Venue: Hybrid (B004 + MS Teams)

On Wednesday, May 18, the Outreach & Life After Postgraduate event was conducted in hybrid mode, with B004 Lecture Hall as the physical venue and Microsoft Teams as the virtual platform. This event was a collaboration with Swinburne Sarawak Employability (SSE), who helped in inviting speakers for the event. The event featured four speakers: Prof. Ts. Dr. Lau Bee Theng (Director of Swinburne School of Research), Ms. Michelle Kuek (SME Account Manager of Maxis Sdn Bhd), Ir. Dr. Choo Chung Siung (Senior Lecturer of Swinburne), and Mr. Mohamad Ehwan (Student Engagement Officer of SSE).

The event was moderated by Edwin Thou, and assisted by Alfred Tan, Rachel Tang, and Steffi Yap. One of the aims of this event was to introduce undergraduates to what it’s like to be a postgraduate student. Furthermore, speakers from FBDA and FECS faculties shared their career experiences and advice to postgraduate students during their transition to the workplace. After that, SSE provided some resources and advice to postgraduate students in their career planning process.

The moderator started the event by providing a brief introduction of PGRS, some past activities, and social media information. This was followed by the first speaker, Prof. Ts. Dr. Lau Bee Theng, who presented a 20-minute research outreach session to undergraduates. A 10-minute Q&A session was held for questions for the first speaker. The event was followed by Ms. Michelle and Ir. Dr. Choo, who each had 15 minutes to share their experiences as postgraduates and transitioning to the workplace. Another 10-minute Q&A session was held for both speakers who represented FBDA and FECS, respectively. For the final session, Mr. Mohamad Ehwan handled the employability session by introducing some resources and tips for postgraduates in their career planning process. Due to time constraints, there was no Q&A session for the last speaker.

After all speakers’ sessions were complete, the speakers received gifts from PGRS as a token of appreciation for their thoughtful sharing. Lastly, a lucky draw was held for the participants who attended the event physically. The prize pool consisted of 7 units of PGRS merchandise, 3 units of SoR merchandise, and 5 units of RM20 Food Panda e-vouchers sponsored by SSE. The event officially adjourned by 4:30 PM.

June

PGRS 2022 - Sun Adventure Trip

Event Details

Date: 25 June 2022 (Saturday)

Time: 6:30 AM – 3:30 PM

Venue: Swinburne & Kubah National Park

The Swinburne Postgraduate Research Society (PGRS) embarked on a trip to Kubah National Park on the 25th of June 2022, with a total of 25 postgraduate students. The purpose of this trip was to take a break from research and enjoy some nature but to also promote health awareness, build relationships, and celebrate milestones together. The students were divided into two groups before the hike, and both groups successfully met at the summit and the end of the trail. In the scorching heat, the pelting rain, and the cool breeze, the postgraduate students have learned how to celebrate small wins in life, look out for one another, and to live in the moment no matter the weather. The hike took the postgraduate students about 5 and a half hours. Although everyone went back home with sore legs, the experience was certainly rewarding.

August

PGRS 2022 – Beach Cleanup

Event Details

Date: 6 August 2022 (Saturday)

Time: 6:15 AM – 12:00 PM

Venue: Swinburne; Golden Beach, Trombol; Telaga Air

Swinburne Postgraduate Research Society (PGRS - @pgrsswinburne) has organized a beach cleaning activity at the Golden Beach, Trombol on 6 August. The participants comprise mainly Swinburne postgraduate and a few undergraduate students. With a good and cool weather, the students were able to clear some rubbish at the beach. Through this event, awareness was created regarding the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of our local beaches, which inevitably contributes to the preservation of aquatic life as well as boosting tourism. The PGRS club hopes that this event will encourage more people to participate in protecting our environment, particularly at the beach, by not littering out of convenience or by joining in the effort towards a clean and green environment.

September

PGRS 2022 – Plant-A-Tree Program

Event Details

Date: 22 August 2022 (Thursday)

Time: 4:00PM – 4:30PM

Venue: In front of Lecture Theatre, L001

The Plant-A-Tree Program was organized successfully during the SDG Week 2022. The event was launched right after the opening ceremony of the SDG Week. A total of 24 potted tree saplings – Eugenia and Bucida, were gathered and placed in front of the lecture theatre, which were witnessed by 21 attendees. Also present were Dato ‘ Lee Choon Chin, the Group Executive Chairman of Weida (M) Bhd, and the main sponsors from ZHA Environmental Sdn Bhd and Sar-Alam Indah Sdn Bhd.

The program started off with the VIPs watering the tree saplings, thereby acknowledging the effort introduced by the program to address a few of the SDGs. The addressed SDGs are SDG No.3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG No. 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG No. 13: Climate Action and SDG No. 15: Life on Land.

Being the co-organizer of this event, the PGRS committees are delighted to join in the effort together with Swinburne Sarawak to emphasize on the environmental sustainability. Hence, the committees hope that these tree saplings will be well taken care of and grow fruitfully to contribute to the creation of a greener environment.

February

Annual General Meeting

PGRS Annual General Meeting 2021
Date: 3 February 2021
Day: Wednesday
Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

The PGRS Annual General Meeting was successfully held virtually via Microsoft Teams on 3 February 2021 (Wednesday) from 2.30pm to 3.30pm. The meeting officially thanked the PGRS Committee Session 2020 for their commitment and leadership in steering the PGRS through a challenging year, and also welcomed the newly elected committee members for Session 2021. All postgraduates were strongly encouraged to participate actively in PGRS events and activities, which are good platforms for them to interact and share their knowledge and experience with fellow researchers.

Welcome Party

PGRS Welcome Party 2021
Date: 25 February 2021
Day: Thursday
Time: 2.00-3.00 p.m.
Venue: Microsoft Teams

On the 25 February 2021, PGRS organized a Welcome Party with a total number of 22 participants. The activity is meant to provide an opportunity for HDR students to get to know PGRS and socialize with other HDR students. PGRS was introduced to the students. Appreciation was given to the 2020 Committee Members, and the 2021 Committee Members were introduced to HDR students. Past and upcoming events were shared with HDR student. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lau Bee Theng then gave a motivating and helpful speech regarding PGRS. After that, there was a Kahoot session which had quiz questions regarding the presentation during the Welcome Party. Finally, a group photo was taken and the meeting adjourned.

March

Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session

PGRS Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session 2021
Date: 23 March 2021
Day: Wednesday
Time: 2.00-3.15 pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

On 23 March 2021, PGRS held a Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session on Microsoft Teams with a total of 19 participants. The session was open to all HDR students and carried a two-fold purpose: to share coping strategies for HDR mental challenges and to provide a platform of support for HDR students. Two invited speakers, Ms. Evelyn Liew (senior counsellor) gave a comprehensive talk on mental health issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic while Dr. Ida Fatimawati (Head of School, School of Design and Arts) shared her views and perspectives as a HDR supervisor. Two HDR student representatives, Hari Prashanth P.V.S and Alfred Tan, shared their personal journey of encountering and overcoming mental health challenges. After that, there was a brief Q&A and open discussion session. Finally, a group photo was taken and the meeting adjourned.

April

PGRS Invited Talk: Life after Postgraduate in the Industry

PGRS Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session 2021
Date: 7 April 2021
Day: Wednesday
Time: 7.00-8.00 pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

The Life after Postgraduate in the Industry event was held successfully on 7 April 2021 on Microsoft Teams with a total of 24 participants. All HDR students along with undergraduate FYRP students were invited. This event aimed to provide knowledge regarding postgraduate study and the experience of how fresh postgraduate apply for jobs in the industry. The first speaker, Dr. Tay Jia Jun (Keysight Technologies) gave several meticulous points such as the intention of working in the industry, and also advices on the expectations and Do’s and Don’ts of a fresh postgraduate student seeking for a job in the industry. The second speaker, Dr. Fredrik Phangkawira (Jurutera Jasa) spoke of the benefits of pursuing Masters/PhD and the difference between the challenges faced during postgraduate studies and working in the industry. At the end, both speakers reminded the audience that it is important to stay humble and acknowledge the limitations of oneself when working in the industry.

PGRS Support Group (Session 1)

PGRS Support Group (Session 1)
Date: 16 April 2021
Day: Friday
Time: 4.00-5.00 pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

On 16 April 2021, PGRS committee has taken the initiative to form Support Group for postgraduates as a platform for more informal and friendly experience sharing and discussions in support of each other throughout their postgraduate journey. 5 attendees attended the virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams. Participants shared about their research journey and had a virtual Skribbl game session. Future sessions are planned to be conducted monthly, or at any time the students would like to meet.

May

Sharing Session by HDR Students ("Why I became a HDR student?")

Sharing Session by HDR Students ("Why I became a HDR student?")
Date: 5 May 2021
Day: Wednesday
Time: 2.30-3.30 pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

The Sharing Session by HDR Students event was held online on 5 May 2021 on Microsoft Teams with 39 participants. The four speakers – Shella (PhD FBDA), Yvonne (Masters FBDA), Phil (Masters FECS), and Jasman (PhD FECS) were invited to share their experience about postgraduate studies and “Why they became HDR students?” Briefly, Shella focused on giving tips about postgraduate studies, Yvonne talked about her passion in pursuing Masters, Phil mentioned about gaining research experience before pursuing PhD and Jasman listed out a number of his motives and challenges in his PhD studies. Mainly, the aim of this event is to encourage the audience to pursue postgraduate studies.

June

Virtual Festival Gathering

Virtual Festival Gathering
Date: 3 June 2021
Day: Thursday
Time: 3.30-4.30 pm
Venue: Microsoft Teams

The Virtual Festival Gathering was held on 3 June 2021 (Thursday) on Microsoft Teams with 20 participants. The purpose of this activity is to provide opportunity to the participants to share about their culture and festivals and the same time strengthen the bonds among the Swinburne students. The activity started with the introduction of Sarawak’s demographics, followed by the festivals (culture and food) celebrated by the main ethics groups, which are Dayak, Malay, Chinese, and Melanau in Sarawak, then the open sharing session among the participants. Lastly, Kahoot session was conducted to allow the participants to win prizes back.

July

Writing Competition and Typing Competition

PGRS 2021 Writing Competition and Typing Competition
Date: 30 June- 23 July 2021 (Writing), 31 July 2021 (Typing)
Time: 3.30- 4.30 p.m. (Typing)
Venue: Microsoft Teams

The PGRS 2021 Writing Competition began on the 30th of June 2021, and had a deadline on the 23rd of July 2021. Participants would submit a 100 word essay or three minute video on an interesting pastime or hobby that they have started doing in lockdown. Winners would be announced a week after the deadline at the end of the Typing Competition event, and would win interesting prizes.

The PGRS 2021 Typing Competition event was held online on the 31st of July 2021 on Microsoft Teams with 13 participants. Participants gathered to have a typing speed competition on a website (typer.io). Using the website, each participant had three timed sessions where their word per minute count were averaged to find the fastest typist. After the typing competition, the winners of the PGRS 2021 Writing Competition were announced.

August

PGRS 2021 Food Donation

PGRS 2021 Food Donation
Collection Date: 28 July- 13 August 2021
Distribution Date & Time: 21 August 2021 7.00 a.m.- 10.00 a.m.
Venue: A401, Swinburne Sarawak (collection point), Kampung Tema Saan, Tebedu (distribution)

The PGRS Food Donation event aims to collect food contributions from members of Swinburne Sarawak to aid poor families that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The collection period was from 28 July 2021 to 13 August 2021, with 30 participants. Some donations were done via Grab/foodpanda delivery services. The food collected includes rice, sugar, salt, biscuits, canned food, cooking oil, flour, cordials, Milo, oats, milk powder, instant noodles, etc. After the food collection has ended on 13 August, PGRS committee members have bought additional food items to top up the food items to the targeted amounts. The food items were then packed into individual packs and sanitized before they were sent out to the recipients.

In total, the society has collected 60 bags of rice and the other items were packed into 86 food baskets. The recipients were villagers at Kampung Tema Saan, Tebedu, Sarawak. On 21 August 2021, after obtaining permission from the Tebedu district office and PDRM, the committee members headed off to Kampung Tema Saan in Tebedu to deliver the contributions. The handover ceremony happened at 9.30am, and was witnessed by PGRS advisors Dr Victor Bong and A/Prof Dr Lau Bee Theng, PGRS committee members, headman Mr William Batong, SAO Tebedu Ms Angela, and Penghulu Mr Gaup Anak Takip.

September

PGRS Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session

PGRS Mental Health Awareness Sharing Session
Date: 29 September 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 2.30 - 3.30 p.m.
Venue: Microsoft Teams

On Wednesday, September 29, Swinburne’s Counselling Services and PGRS collaborated to discuss matters relating to mental health – namely anxiety, stress and depression. The session was moderated by postgraduate student Isaac Asante, and featured Senior Counsellor Evelyn HuiYann Liew, as well as the School of Research Director, Dr Lau Bee Theng. Both speakers shared some PowerPoint slides in the first half of the session and provided useful tips on how students can clear their thoughts on a daily basis and improve their mental health.

The second half of the session consisted of a live Q&A, during which participants – primarily postgraduate students under the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science (FECS) and Faculty of Business, Design and Arts (FBDA) – further sought clarifications and insights on matters pertaining to mental health.

October

PGRS The Trivia Master 2021

Date: 15 October 2021 (Friday)

Time: 4.00 – 5.00 p.m.

Venue: Microsoft Teams

Trivia is a fun, challenging, and competitive game where participants were team up as a group to answer the quizzes. This activity aims to provide the opportunity to the participants to expand their general knowledge and provide entertainment and engagement among the HDR students. There were three rounds of quizzes. The first round was a general knowledge MCQ. The second round was guessing the movie title, and the third round was continuing song lyrics. For each correct answer, the group will get 10 points.

On the event day, the PIC started by dividing 11 participants into 4 groups and explaining how to play the game. Then, the trivia game was started and the participants were so excited and supportive during the game. At the end of each round, the scores were given in the chat room. Finally, group 1 answered the question correctly and became the winner. The winners were Alfred Tan, Ally Tian Lee, and Dayang Sharyati Bt Datu Abdul Salam. Each of the winners will get a notebook as the prize of winning the game. Group photos were taken before the event ended.

December

(1) PGRS Your Voice Matters 2021

Date:   22 November – 3 December 2021 (Part 1)

            10 December 2021 (Part 2)

Time:   2.30 – 3.15 p.m. (Part 2)

Venue: Microsoft Teams + A416 (Part 2)

Your Voice Matters (YVM) is an event to gain feedback from students of the Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students in Swinburne Sarawak regarding their program. It is also part of the effort to conduct program monitoring, review, and continual quality improvement of Swinburne’s HDR courses. For this year’s event, PGRS decided to collect student feedback in an interactive manner. Therefore, this event was organized in a two-part format. As an incentive to participants, students who participated in the events were rewarded with Shopee e-vouchers.

Part 1: HDR Online Survey

In Part 1, an online survey form was created to obtain students’ general feedback based on 7 categories – facilities and resources, supervision, milestones and progress, future planning and career, stress and wellbeing, conducting research amid Covid-19, and finances. These were mostly multiple-choice questions for students to rate their general research experiences.

Part 2: Interactive Forum Using Padlet

The interactive forum in Part 2 aimed to provide a platform for students to anonymously post their feedback on what they liked about their HDR program, and what they wished could be improved on their program. This event was held in a hybrid format (physical + virtual). During the event, the result from the survey in Part 1 was shared to the participants. After that, the main Padlet discussion was conducted for 15 minutes, where topics of interest from the Survey were brought forward for discussion, and new feedback was posted and discussed by the students. At the end of the session, a Shopee e-voucher lucky draw was held before officially concluding the event.

(2) PGRS Annual General Meeting 2021

Date    :           10 December 2021 (Friday)

Time    :           3.30 p.m.- 4.25 p.m.

Venue :           A416 Meeting Room + Microsoft Teams

On the 10^th of December 2021, PGRS organized an Annual General Meeting with a total number of 19 participants. The main aim of the event was to elect a new committee team for the 2022 term. Prior to the AGM, students were given about a month to nominate candidates for the upcoming term. A total of 3 nominations were received. During the AGM, Jonathan Cheng (Secretary & moderator), Jasman Chai (President), and Dr. Victor Bong (Advisor) welcomed everyone to the meeting. The past events of the year were also shared to the public by Ally Lee (Vice Secretary). Finally, the list for the new committee team was shared to the public.

Event Posters

(3) PGRS Annual Lunch 2021

Date    :           18 December 2021 (Saturday)

Time    :           12.00pm – 2.00pm

Venue :           Sunnydale 1928

The aims of the annual lunch were to: (1) thank all the committee members and advisors for their contribution throughout the year, and (2) allow HDR students to network with other HDR students. It is the first physical networking event for the year. Besides PGRS 2021 committee members and advisors, the committee members from PGRS 2020, PGRS 2022, and other HDR students were also invited. The participants were able to enjoy a buffet and network with each other throughout the event. Finally, after the lunch, everyone posed for group photos. It was ensured that everyone adhered to social distancing measures.

March

Induction Session

As a part of Induction Session, PGRS Committee 2020 was invited to introduce committee, the upcoming activities and also share some experiences of being HDR students with recently enrolled research students.

June

Online Sharing Session

This session aims to share strategies to cope with the pandemic as researchers and maintain productivity, as well as introduce new research student to the community.

October

Bowling and Dining

Aiming to foster social interaction between HDR (Higher Degree Research) students across disciplines, Bowling and Dining activity is a perfect opportunity to chat, socialise, talk about challenges and opportunities in research, and just spend nice time among peers.

November

Online Research Awareness Session

Research Awareness session is proposed by PGRS committee to grow understanding of undergraduate students about the research degree opportunities at SUTS. PGRS committee aims to collaborate with SOR and Marketing Department to provide participants of this session with prospects and light refreshments, while PGRS members will deliver presentations and run Q&A session.

Video recording: Link

December

Giving Back to Community! (Clothes Donation)

As a part of social responsibility contest, PGRS in collaboration with SSSC are running “Clothes Donation 2020”. While it was initially initiated to be one time event, understanding that people in need requires support throughout the year, we have decided to continue this event and make it ongoing throughout 2020-2021.

April

Welcome Party

3 Minute Thesis (3MT)

The three minute thesis (3MT) is a competition hosted for HDR students to present their research in a way the public can understand, in under 3 minutes.

Press release: https://www.swinburne.edu.my/news/swinburne-students-compete-present-thesis-three-minutes-3mt.php

The championship title for the 2019 3MT competition goes to Darrel Nadeng Dominic and first runner-up goes to Irina Baydarova, with Darren winning the people’s choice award.

July

Postgraduate Potluck Session

October

Things I wish I had known… A sharing session by young academicians

December

Annual Dinner