The Third Degree

Defending THE Institution?   Maybe I am trying to defend a fallen castle, but I don’t quite believe it’s at that stage yet! While applauding businesses, big and small, embracing alternative qualifications to facilitate employment opportunities, one must remember that the University itself is not only a centre of learning – it is an entire socialisation and networking experience that has significant value-add over and above the content of learning and assessment.   Encouraging short or modular online learning is perfectly fine, but we must not kid ourselves that it provides a holistic approach – either to topic or to social inclusion. Nor does it pave the way to successful remote working. There’s far more to those jig-saw puzzles than just a course.   There will always be value in a full university degree.   Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet. __________   Google Plan To Replace The Need For College Degrees With Six-month ...

Money for Nothing? Well, Not Quite! Advancing the ‘Value’ of Your Research Project   Applying for Research Grants are part of the academic right of passage – an exercise many of us go through, too many times. Seeking contributory funding to support research, but to also bring revenue to our department, enable us to recruit and hire research assistants, or offer targeted PhD positions and scholarships, not to mention the more mundane purchase of equipment or funding of travel expenses. At PhD-student-level you may not be directly involved in submitting research grants, but you may be a component of one (either individually, or based on your research agenda), and it’s certainly never too early to grasp their significance. You certainly will have the opportunity at post-doc level.  But the lessons here are deeper too – the same approach is transferable to our PhD journey and to our justification of it. At the end of the day, our research, at whatever scale, has value, mak...

Of Voyeurism & Social Research   A research student stood guard in public toilets as he watched other men engage in sexual activities. He followed them to their homes; months later interviewing them about their family life and circumstances.   Laud Humphrey’s research was both ground-breaking and rule-breaking.   A foundation case study for research ethics and social science methodology, it’s a must read for new researchers.     

WEBINAR | Introduction to Historical Research In the early days of my postgraduate student journey, I was involved in two projects - one of them my own research; the other, being a research assistant for one of my supervisors, Gordon. My own research required me to work in unusual conditions, especially for a novice researcher. I was undertaking business-embedded research in Singapore, and because I had to explore corporate history, found myself in the archives of not only the National University of Singapore Library, but also deep in the archives of the Singapore National Archives. The NUS library was fantastic. A meticulous collection of texts, transcripts, manuscripts and working papers, along with a Newspaper Room - collating and curating newspaper clippings, but subject, by person, by company, from over half a century of publications. Armed with a discounted photocopy card, I spent days in the room, carefully filtering through the plethora of bound collections, identifying article...

The Third Degree | The Very Very Early Days | Our First Interview The evolution and development of The Third Degree has been nearly a year in the making so far, with a much longer journey still ahead of the team. The concept has crystalised from a loose idea into a solid platform and business, with exciting potential laying ahead. Early on in the play, The Third Degree Principal, Dr Craig J Selby was interviewed by seasoned IR4.0 advocate and the Director of Abundent ( https://www.linkedin.com/company/abundent/ ), Tarun Sukhani ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/tsukhani/ ), where they spoke about the foundation for The Third Degree, along with issues and developments in the wider tertiary education and Edutech spheres. Have a listen to the interview here:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/1042228/3905309 Warning: it's long, but it's good!

Memories Make The Startup Journey The # startup  journey is way different to business as I know it (or should I now say, 'knew it')! Zoom zoom zoom, after  #Zoom , sharing our platform plans and how we can collaborate with Universities and Academics and Research Students. Last week alone we spent time speaking with academics, resource managers,  #edutech  entrepreneurs, research students, and associations from our neighbourhood - Malaysia & Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia & New Zealand; and even as far afield as the States and the Middle East.  All a fantastic learning curve to hear perspectives on  #HigherEducation #Problems  from around the globe, and explore ways to help  #ResearchStudents  develop and reach to their fullest potential. Certainly enjoying this  #Journey  with  Farrell Tan  and  Tyler Chin  as we build  #TheThirdDegree  from the ground up. Just a few  #Memories ...

Webinar Alert | PhD Pathway Series At The Third Degree, we are all about empowering research students and enhancing the student journey. We've been through it ourselves, and we know just how tough it is. We also know how rewarding it is too! Our mission is to share knowledge. Our specialty, research methodology . Whilst we are running pilot programmes with universities, and getting our platform up-and-running (watch this space over the coming months) during the remainder of 2020, we will also be running a weekly webinar series, the PhD Pathway Series.  Our Principal and invited specialists will offer insights into different aspects of the PhD journey, as well as discuss issues and challenges with select research methods. Whilst we encourage in-person online attendance (oxymoronic, almost), a recording of each webinar will be posted here on our blog. Our aim is to give a balance of interesting discussion topics, which will continue every Wednesday from 14 October onwards. If you hav...