[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 5, Session 1: Project Management and Time Planning #5855

Project management is very important and encompasses time planning too. Both the student and the supervisor should work out and manage the PhD journey efficiently to reap high quality desertions as well as mentor the students to be future mentors. However, project management does not come with fair amount of challenges such as excess workload when it comes to so many students as well as other responsibilities such as teaching or grant writing. If is important to strike a balance with the support of the university administration.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 4, Session 4: Food for thought #5852

The PhD examination structure for university of Antwerp is quite rigorous and strives to achieve high quality desertions. I like the pre-defense part where experts review the thesis critically. in addition, the committee comprises of non experts in the field under review which enables the thesis to be clear even to a layman who has no background in the area of study. The inclusion of public defense makes it open for members of the public to participate in an academic process.
In most Kenyan universities,there is usually one public defense with the candidate being questioned by both experts and non experts and later on, the verdict would be to accept the thesis with minor corrections, accept with major correction for reject.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 4, Session 3: Coaching and Mentoring #5840

In my opinion, coaching and mentoring are quite different aspects in post graduate supervision, however their differences is not clear cut line between black and white. As a supervisor, you are able to coach and mentor your students to be better researchers in future. There should be fluidity when it comes to supervision.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 4, Session 1: Ethics in Research #5625

Thank you for the detailed presentation on scientific methods and ethics. Ethics is a major component in research and it should be strictly adhered to especially with seeking approval when researching with human subjects, animals and environment. In addition, funding should be acknowledged. I would also like to add that all conflict of interest should be declared when writing research reports/publications. This helps the reader to interpret the outcome of the results having this in mind.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 3, Session 3: Research approach and design #5618

I totally agree with the above comment from Phemelo on the importance of interdisciplinary approach. It provides a wider scope of understanding theories and on the other hand, has a wider audience as other people can relate and understand your research making it comprehensive. I also wish that it gains popularity it academic and non academic set up globally and specifically in Africa.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 3, Session 3: Disciplinary differences #5616

In my view, disciplinary differences are important aspects to consider especially when undertaking research. I come from a natural science background and it is always good to undertake research considering different ideologies and explanations from other disciplines. Of course this can be subject to funding limitation and scope of the research but it is always good to check any interactions between disciplines based on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research approaches

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by Faith Kandie.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 2, Session 4: EPE resources’ assessment #5599

Thank you for providing such a vast array of information for us to peruse and learn. They are really useful. The issue of plagiarism cannot be under or overestimated and learners should be well informed of. In addition, the social inclusion aspect was a real eye opener. As instructors, we tend to assume that learners have already built in information and therefore making their learning more burdensome. I happened to have this experience while undertaking my masters degree where the instructor assumed we had sufficient background for the topic despite the class being so diverse with learners from every continent. This aspect is very important and I will definitely consider it in my journey as a supervisor.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 2, Session 3: Zoom discussion of key readings #5598

I have never kept a reading journal so it was good to gain information and insight on how to do it and use it. Am glad I have gained knowledge and will definitely use it in my line of duty as a supervisor. Thanks!

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 2, Session 2: Scholarly community of practice #5592

A scholar is a person with vast and immense knowledge on a specific area. As for a scholarship, this is a grant that is given to a scholar to give him or her an opportunity to expound their knowledge base. It can be monitory or non-monitory but the scholar is exempted from paying part or complete amount of money in order to gain more knowledge.

An active member of an academic community means that an individual contributes knowledge to the community through continuous research, publications, presentations in conferences and also mentoring young and upcoming researchers.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 4: National Policies #5460

I agree with the above statements relating with the Kenyan situation. Briefly, we have the Commission for University Education that is mandated to formulate the standards and guidelines for all universities. They normally follow up to ensure that this is well implemented by the institutions. In addition, there is also the Kenya National Qualification Authority that formulates the qualification guidelines.
Apart from national policies, institutional guidelines are also available to provide a framework for postgraduate studies.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 3: Models of supervision #5452

From my experience, co-supervision is the most commonly practiced form of supervision in our faculty. Two to three supervisors are assigned to a student and they guide the learner to the end. It normally works well although in most cases, conflict arises on the “how” to do a certain task. This leaves the student confused on which advise to follow. However, it has benefits including having different multi-disciplinary approach hence improving the research output. During my PhD, I experienced cohort supervision which helped a lot with peer-peer learning. However, this method works well in cases where the learners have a similar topic for their research.

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 1, Session 2: Supervision with a humanizing pedagogy #5447

Thanks a lot for the PowerPoint. It gave very good insights on exclusion. Some of these factors we easily do not consider them during supervision but end up being assumed. Quite insightful!

[Faith Kandie]

in reply to: Module 1, Session: Discussion #5285

Hallo Ingrid,
Thank you for sharing your sentiments. I totally agree with you especially concerning when the let it go. Every time I am faced with such a dilemma, I remember my Masters’ supervisor telling me, at one point you have to say enough is enough and let it go/complete it (and not continue with the unending cycle). It is indeed a challenge.

[Author]

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