Driven by his passion for science and science education, Dr Mohamed Faizal bin Badron joined the teaching service, and has served for 15 years and counting. Throughout his career, he was afforded numerous opportunities in exposure to research, which included his involvement in the Professional Learning Committees (PLCs) at the schools of his employment, as well as his secondment to the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NIE NTU, Singapore) as a Teaching Fellow. It was his growing interest in research that fuelled his decision to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) with NIE NTU, Singapore.

At NIE, Dr Faizal had the opportunity to learn and work alongside like-minded faculty in his chosen area of research. “Doing my doctorate in NIE, I worked with esteemed professors who had done remarkable work in science education research and shared the same passion as me in Science,” said Dr Faizal. He also liked the fact that he could pick and attend graduate courses that were relevant to him. “The flexibility in choosing the courses that were relevant to my research focus deepened my knowledge in my field of study,” he added.

“One particular course which I found useful was Academic Writing for Postgraduate Students,” recalled Dr Faizal. The course touched on writing skills in academic papers. At that junction of his research, he was struggling with how to write his thesis well. The course delineated the structure of a thesis and the components in each section of the thesis. “It was such an “a-ha” moment and the knowledge gained from that course allowed me to structure and begin my writing proper.”

The experience gleaned from NIE’s PhD programme had allowed Dr Faizal to make an impact on his school. The research curriculum for secondary two students was reviewed and as a result, the students were now exposed to conducting literature review for their research projects. Furthermore, Dr Faizal had the opportunity to oversee 4 PLCs in his school, and to share his knowledge as well as support colleagues in their action research work.

When asked if he would recommend the PhD programme in NIE, Dr Faizal replied, “This is a definite yes. If you want to learn the ropes of conducting research at the graduate level and perhaps the opportunity to publish papers with your supervisor, NIE is the choice of institution for you. The assessment process of the thesis is rigorous and the feedback given by the professors or supervisors helps to refine your research focus.”

“Choosing NIE for my graduate programme is far more than just completing my PhD. NIE sharpened my thinking, allowed me to build rapport with my supervisors, and grew my confidence as a budding researcher,” he added.

NIE’s PhD programme can be completed in up to a maximum of five years on both full-time and part-time basis. Other than sciences, students can also pursue research work in diverse areas of study, covering arts and humanities, education, mathematics and physical education.

The National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore is an autonomous institute under the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). It has been consistently ranked amongst the top 20 education institutions in the world and top 3 in Asia by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking. For more information on the range of graduate programmes offered by NIE, please visit www.nie.edu.sg/ge.