The second Postgraduate Research Colloquium for May 2010 semester open to students, staff and the public, organised by the School of Graduate Studies was held at AeU on 17th July 2010.

The primary objective of the colloquium is to assist postgraduate students in preparing their research proposals for defense. It is also a platform for students to present their preliminary proposals in a mock proposal defense session with their supervisors and peers as part of the learning process.

In his welcoming remarks Prof Dr Siow Heng Loke, Dean, School of Graduate Studies, reiterated AeU’s full support to the students who were also advised to time manage their studies well to complete their postgraduate degree within the stipulated period.

Prof Dr Miles Barker, Department of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, School of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, set the tone with his talk on ‘Exploring Other Worlds: Carrying Out Quality Qualitative Research’. He discussed the origins, purposes, strength and limitations of all qualitative research, especially in comparison with quantitative research.

This was followed by two parallel sessions of proposal presentations by four students from Business Administration and Education under the guidance of Professor Miles, Prof Dato’ Dr Sayed Mushtaq Hussain and Prof Dr Siow Heng Loke.