KUCHING – Postgraduate students could soon have access to a supportive network to help them develop research skills with the launching of the Borneo Research Education Conference (BREC 2013) next month.
The conference, to be held at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, will take place on 20 and 21 August.
It is jointly organised by Swinburne Sarawak, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to enhance research education in Borneo.
Themed “Developing as a researcher through the culture of sharing”, the BREC 2013 is open to research students enrolled on doctoral or master programs in business, management, and related disciplines.
“The focus of the conference is on giving and receiving feedback to improve one’s research work and develop oneself as a researcher,” said Dr Ismail Ait Saadi, convenor of the organising committee.
“Postgraduate students at any stage of their research studies can participate and engage in discussions, give and receive feedback, and use this experience to reflect on their work in order to progress to the next stage of their research,” said the senior academic from the Faculty of Business and Design of Swinburne Sarawak.
Working adults who are considering a research-based degree program could also benefit from attending the conference as it will give them an opportunity to network with research students and supervisors from various universities.
“Current and potential research students in this region need to be part of a support network through which they can receive useful information, timely feedback on their work and assistance in developing research skills,” Ismail said.
“In BREC 2013, we have combined the resources of the three major universities in Kuching, namely Swinburne Sarawak, UiTM and Unimas. Our long-term aim is to get all the institutions of higher learning in Borneo to be actively involved,” he said, adding that the conference is intended to be a regular event.
Ismail said the conference is relevant in the context of the Malaysian government’s policy of innovation-led economic development and its target of producing 60,000 Malaysian PhD holders by 2020 through its MyBrain15 programme.
Those interested to attend the conference are requested to register by 8 August.
For registration and more details, log on to: http://www.swinburne.edu.my/brec/index.html