new initiatives - Institute of Graduate Studies - USM

IPS Annual Report 2009 1

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC GRADE GUIDE 

The International Academic Grade Guide is a result of a comprehensive process and 

research carried out by the USM International Grade Equivalent Committee, chaired 

by Professor Boey Peng Lim. The document contains background details of the respective 

countries’ education system, key institutions, grading systems and recommended 

equivalent grades for postgraduate admission in USM. The grades are normalized to 

USM’s grading system. Recommendations are made regarding to grade equivalent to 

USM’s minimum admission requirement of CGPA 2.75 in a 4-point CGPA scale. 

The first edition of the International Academic Grade Guide was endorsed by the USM 

Senate as a guideline to the Schools/Centers of Excellence(COEs) in appraising the 

academic credentials of applicants from various nations. 

POSTGRADUATE STUDENT AMBASSADORS 

To quote Socrates, the great philosopher “The root of education is bitter but the fruit is sweet”. The pilgrimage to 

obtain knowledge in a strange country could almost be sacred. However, the barriers that lie ahead, especially the 

social and cultural ones should never be overlooked. 

One’s aspiration to excel by furthering his/her studies overseas is often overshadowed by the insecurities of venturing 

into an unknown territory. It may hinder one’s quest to gain knowledge. 

However, imagine having a group of fellow students appointed to assist one’s noble quest. These students are trained 

to guide and assist one’s voyage towards excellence and are always ready to clear one’s doubts, whether it is on 

local food or cultures. 

IPS believes that a Student Ambassadors Programme (SAP) will provide a platform for international and local students 

to receive and exchange information. Launched during the Welcoming and Oath taking ceremony at Dewan 

Tuanku Syed Putra (DTSP) in August of 2009, SAP was introduced to facilitate and encourage new international 

students as well as existing ones fit into life at USM by providing them with reality based information mediated by 

the selected ambassadors. 

The student ambassadors are Mehran Nejati Ajibisheh (Iran), Elmuradov Dilshod Baynazarovich (Uzbekistan), Yudi 

Fernandao (Indonesia), Annegowda Hardur Venkatappa (India), Pan Zheng (China), Muath Naser Mohammad Asmar 

(Palestine), Mohmmed Aliyu Paiko (Nigeria), Mahbub Ahsan Khan (Bangladesh) and Aishath Rameela (Maldives). Malaysia 

has three student ambassadors and they are the IPS Student Representative, Yusof Nordin, Ravi Mahalinggam 

and Koay Ee Ling. 

Mohammed Aliyu Paiko from Nigeria, a PhD candidate for Aquaculture Nutrition, School 

of Biological Sciences said, previously there were only 10 to 12 Nigerian students registered 

in USM, including the Engineering and Medical Campus located at Nibong Tebal and 

Kubang Kerian, respectively. Lately, he said, there has been an increase in the number of 

Nigerians in USM reaching to almost 35 students. 

According to him, this is due to the availability of reality based information provided by 

the former batch of students here. The availability of such information facilitates and 

encourages potential students to choose Malaysia, namely USM as their education ground. 

2 IPS Annual Report 2009

NEW INITIATIVES 

“Existing students would sometimes be scared and unsure to approach varsity officials on things such as administrative 

procedures. So, we act as the source of information or the medium to convey them,” he said. 

“The real challenge, however, is to convey the right message to them,” he added. 

These ambassadors therefore, can be considered as assets in fulfilling one of the goals in the Accelerated Programme 

for Excellence (APEX), that is, to increase the intake of international students for postgraduate studies. 

The selection processes be an ambassador however is rigourous. They were required to undergo three rounds of selections. 

The first involves the submission of curriculum vitae (CV) by interested individuals. Short listed candidates, 

then, undergo a written test concerning campus and local culture knowledge. Finally, successful applicants must take 

part in a brain storming session where they would be grouped regionally. 

“We were divided into four to five groups, mostly according to our region such as Middle 

East etc. And we were left to debate over issues and topics as our presentation were 

evaluated,” explained Mehran Nejati. 

Mehran Nejati who is a Research Mode PhD Student in the School of Management hopes 

this programme can facilitate the flow of information for applicants to USM worldwide 

and lead to talented students coming to USM to be postgraduates. Hopefully this flow 

can be sustained and nurtured. 

Whereas, Muath Naser Mohammad Asmar from Palestine, a PhD candidate at the 

Finance Section, School of Management, said that he found being a student ambassador 

very interesting. He even has students calling him up three times a day, asking for help 

on various issues. 

In a nutshell, the move to appoint a group of ambassadors is proactive in disseminating 

accurate information on USM. As a result, potential students, preferably postgraduate 

ones would find Malaysia, USM especially, an accessible education base. 

As the Dean of IPS, Prof. Roshada Hashim mentioned in her speech during the oath taking ceremony in DTSP, 

“Postgraduate students are indeed the core of a university as they play a vital role in ensuring the success of its research 

and innovation agenda. The collective outputs from your research are the most precious asset of the university 

and are critical to USM’s journey towards achieving its international status”. 

IPS Annual Report 2009 3 

USM’s pioneer Student Ambassadors


BEST PRACTICES IN SUPERVISION 

IPS formed a committee chaired by Professor Abdul Rashid Abdul Aziz from the School of Housing, Building and 

Planning to look into the best practices in the supervision of postgraduates. The committee members are: 

Professor Bahruddin Saad 

School of Chemical Sciences 

Professor Syed Hatim Noor 

School of Medical Sciences 

Professor Susie See Ching Mey 

School of Educational Studies 

Professor Radzali Othman 

School of Materials and Mineral Resources Engineering 

Professor Chan Lai Keng 

School of Biological Sciences 

Assoc. Prof. Abdul Rahman Othman 

Institute of Postgraduate Studies 

Assoc. Prof. Shakila Abdul Manan 

School of Humanities 

Assoc. Prof. Ishak Hj. Abdul Azid 

School of Mechanical Engineering 

Ms. Cik Izyan Yahaya (ASTS Fellow) 

School of Housing, Building and Planning 

The role of this committee is to : 

1. plan a strategy in developing the “Best Practices in Supervision” modules that will be adopted 

by USM staff who supervise postgraduate candidates. 

2. ensure that the “Best Practices in Supervision” modules used be comprehensive and able to 

improve the quality of supervision of candidates. 

3. ensure that the modules are updated regularly making them relevant and efficient tools to 

maintain the quality of supervision. 

4. propose to the university policies that should be implemented in improving and strengthening 

the quality of postgraduate supervision at USM. 


The committee summarized that the best practices in supervision of postgraduates can be divided into four areas. 

They are: 

• Selection of Candidates and Supervisors, and Issues Pertaining to Enrolment 

• Research Framework 

• Research Progress 

• Writing up the Research 

In order to improve and sustain the quality of supervision of postgraduates by USM’s academic staff, the committee 

proposed regular workshops focusing on these four areas. Training modules on these areas were subsequently 

planned, written and used in the workshops. Details and contents of the four modules were discussed at a workshop 

on Supervision of Postgraduate Students, held on 2 – 3 October 2009, at the Equatorial Hotel, Penang which was 

attended by 42 academic staff. 

Also present at the workshop was Dr. Catherine Manathunga from the University of Queensland who was appointed 

as a consultant for the development of the Best Practices in Supervision Modules which is based on the University of 

Queensland model. During her visit she conducted a workshop on Responsible Supervision for Postgraduate Students 

at IPS. 

Consequently, the first “Best Practices in Supervision” workshop for academic staff on Research Progress was 

held on 1 December 2009. Participants were exposed to procedures, techniques and best practices with regard to 

a student’s research progress. This was done through a series of open discussions, lectures, focus groups and quizzes. 

In addition, participants were also presented with case studies according to their disciplines to expose them to 

realistic scenarios during the course of supervising a student. This workshop was attended by 45 participants from 

17 Schools/COEs. The participants were academic staff with less than 7 years of supervisory experience. 

THESIS EXAMINATION AND VIVA VOCE EXAMINATION PROCESSES 


The University Senate approved the new proposal for the thesis and viva voce examination processes. The new 

proposal for the thesis examination process specifies three evaluation levels, namely “Pass, “Reevaluation” and “ 

Fail” to replace the current evaluation which was based on a scale of 1 – 4. With this, it is anticipated that confusion 

regarding the follow up actions to be undertaken after the viva voce examination panel by the candidate can be 

reduced if not, completely addressed. 

Consequently, the Senate agreed to approve the new proposed recommendations of an examined thesis to be as 

follows: 

Pass 

The candidate is awarded a PhD/Masters Degree subject to changes/ corrections to the thesis as listed in the Panel 

of Examiners’ report. 

Reevaluation 

The candidate is allowed to re-submit the thesis for re-examination after the candidate has made changes/corrections 

to the thesis as listed in the Panel of Examiners’ report. The thesis must be re-examined and the candidate must attend 

another viva voce. 

Fail 

The candidate is not awarded a PhD/Masters Degree and is not allowed to re-submit the thesis for examination. 



TERMS AND REFERENCE FOR THE VIVA VOCE EXAMINATION PANEL 

The main focus of IPS is to ensure that a candidate’s viva voce examination is conducted 

in a systematic and an effective manner by the Examination Panel. To achieve this 

objective, IPS prepared the Viva Voce Guide, a comprehensive guideline as a reference 

for the panel during the viva voce examination. This complete guide defines the roles of 

the Chairperson, the Examiners, the Dean or the Dean’s Representative, the Supervisor, 

the Co-supervisor(s) and the Assistant Registrar acting as the Secretary of the panel 

throughout the viva voce. 

FORMATION OF MARKETING ADVISORY PANEL FOR IPS 

The advisory panel was formed to strategically plan and implement marketing activities for the university’s postgraduate 

programme. The roles of the panel are to: 

1. advice IPS on marketing affairs covering promotion, communication and image building. 

2. evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing programmes 

3. spearhead marketing programmes introduced 

The panel members are: 

• Prof. Osman Mohammad, Chairperson 

• Prof. Roshada Hashim 

• Prof. Badaruddin Mohammed 

• Prof. Fauziah Md. Taib 

• Assoc. Prof. Adnan Hussein 

• Assoc. Prof. Wan Fauzy Wan Ismail 

• Mr. Alias Ibrahim 

• Mr. Abd Hamid Majid 

• Ms. Marina Mohammad, Secretary 

The panel proposed two projects: 

1. Attracting quality postgraduate students into USM 

2. Corporate video and Web TV led by Prof. Badaruddin Mohammed and Assoc. Prof. Adnan Hussein, 

respectively 



PROCEDURE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR THE 

SUBMISSION OF PhD THESES BY RESEARCH MODE CANDIDATES 

To ensure the implementation of the alternative PhD thesis examination method for research mode candidates is carried 

out effectively and efficiently, the University Senate approved the procedures for its implementation 

(Appendix A). 

The following is a brief outline of the process for the alternative method for the submission of PhD thesis by Research 

Mode referred to as the Thesis and Publication Route. 

Documentation: 

1. The content of the thesis is an integration of a collection of published articles 

2. The number of published articles in the collection must be at least three. They must be published 

in refereed publications present in a list recommended by School/Centers of Excellence(COEs) 

3. In the Arts, one of the publications has to be a refereed journal. The other two can be any 

publications present in the list recommended by the Schools/COEs 

Examination Mechanism: 

1. The thesis is examined by one internal examiner and one external examiner 

2. A viva voce will be held 

Examination Panel: 

The examination panel will be comprised of: 

1. The Chairperson 

2. The Dean/representative of the Dean 

3. The External Examiner 

4. The Internal Examiner 

5. The Supervisor and the Co-supervisor 

6. The Assistant Registrar 

Thesis Content: 25,000 to 40,000 words 

Remarks: 

1. Publications in the form of reviews are unacceptable. In the event that a School/COE wants to 

allow such publications, then the School/COE must give a strong justification 

2. Publications must be relevant to the submitted thesis 

3. Publications must be published during the candidature period 

4. The format of the thesis follows the traditional thesis 

5. A Special Evaluation Committee (SEC) at the School/COE will evaluate and approve the 

application to submit a thesis by this method 

6. Final approval must be obtained from the MPSU

new initiatives - Institute of Graduate Studies - USM

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