NRP Symposium 2017

I was invited to be an independent assessor for a researach project at the Nanyang Research Programme (NRP) Symposium 2017. The NRP is an NTU outreach programme for Year 5 students from IP schools and 1st year JC students. The students will undertake nine months of research activities under the charge of an NTU faculty member. All the student participants at the NRP Symposium 2017 have to present their research findings to two independent assessors,one of which is me. 

I am really heartened to see so many young people interested in research! The project, NIE02 which I assessed was helmed by two intelligent gentlemen from two JCs. They gave a very good oral presentation of their project and were able to answer questions from the assessors. What really impressed me the most were their honesty about their mistake and how they failed forward. :) Truly inspiring. It was a really good learning experience for me too. After I have keyed in my assessment, I went back to chitchat with the two gentlemen and to learn about more about them and their project under less stressful situation for them lol. 

Thank you for the wonderful presentation! All the best for your A levels at the end of this year, Vu Hieu and Jun You.

Welcome to the Club!

My good friend and colleague had his PhD oral defense this morning. It was a "full house" as in all the chairs were occupied and extra chairs had to be brought in (about 20 people in all, excluding the panel of examiners). Some were his supporters (like me lol) and some were there to listen to his topic. His presentation lasted for 43 minutes and the Q&A lasted for 50 minutes! He answered all the questions very well. He also gave answers to comments even when the answers were not needed! He was definitely in survival mode and on auto-pilot haha. The panel only took a minute to discuss the outcome of his oral defense. He passed with no further amendments! 

Before oral defense: Tensed, going through slides again one last time

After oral defense: RELIEVED! HAPPY! :)

Welcome to the club, Dr Dennis Kwek! :)

PhD Dry Run

I attended a good friend's dry run for his PhD oral defense. Good stuff but overshot the 40 minutes time frame by 20 minutes. Need to cut down a few more slides and talk less lol. 
It was almost 2 years ago when I had my Phd oral defense but I could still remember the sleepless nights, the anxieties before the defense. Not something I would want to go through again. So I can totally feel for my friend. 
Good luck, Dennis! You are always the most articulate among us. :) You will do fine! :)

Finally, a DR!

At 11.20am, I am officially Dr. Wong Hwei Ming! :)
My oral defense started at 9.40am. There were four people in the panel, not including my supervisor who was present to give her support. However, the examiner is now in Hong Kong so we had to link via Skype. It was kind of unusual for me, presenting to four people and a computer lol. There was a small audience too, made up mainly of my friends and supporters and my PI! Haha.
I was pretty nervous when I started but the panel was really nice and put me at ease. It helped too that I could always look to the audience to see my good friends smiling at me and giving me the thumbs up. :) Thanks, Guys! Your presence really meant a lot to me. :)
Actually, the presentation was still not too bad lol. The most scary part was the Q & A. I thought I won't be able to get through it. But again, the panel was most encouraging. I got the better of my nerves and became more confident as I answered each question. Before I know it, it was the end. The audience and I were invited out so that the panel could discuss the outcome of my oral defense. My friends were really nice and waited with me even though they didn't have to. 10 minutes later, I was called back into the meeting room. The examiner was really cute and called me Dr Wong even before the Head of the panel could announce the results to me lol. :P
After the panel left, my friends came back into the room to congratulate me. It suddenly became overwhelming for me and I burst into tears. :P It's tears of happiness, tears of relief, tears of disbelief. After seven years, I have finally gotten my PhD.
Thank you to everyone who has given me advice, support and encouragement over the years when I was on my Phd journey.
It feels GOOD to have finally arrived. It feels GOOD to be called Dr Wong hahaha. :P

1st Run

I had my first dry run today for my oral defense. My sup said it was good - the number of slides were appropriate and the pacing was just right. I just need to add in a few lines to one of my existing slides.
Phew. I thought it would be a mess. Now I just need to do another dry run or two with my friends to familiarise myself with the pacing and my notes. :)

Dry Run

Made further revision to my slides for my PhD oral defense. It is now version 7. :P Gearing up now for my dry run with my supervisor this coming Friday.

Presentation Prep II

I am done with my Phd oral defense presentation. It is version 6 and currently stands at 56 slides. My earlier versions had far more slides! Haha. I either have to talk very fast in 40 minutes or I will have to cut it down further. I have sent it to my supervisor for vetting and approval. Awaiting her reply now.

Presentation Prep

Started working on the slides for my PhD oral defense. I have a maximum of 40 minutes for my presentation. Ideally it should be about 30-40 slides for a 40-minute presentation. However, at the rate I am going, I may exceed 40 slides! Let's see how it goes when I am done.