“POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AND ACHIEVING PROFESSIONAL DREAM” Prof Stella Williams

1. “POSTGRADUATE STUDIES AND ACHIEVING PROFESSIONAL DREAM” Prof Stella Williams Founder, NiWARD (www.niward.org) Vice President, Mundus marisasbl (www.mundusmaris.org)

2. Who are Graduate students? • The graduate student population has changed profoundly in the last 20 years and will continue to do so in the 21st century; • In the case of Nigeria Graduate Student Population as demonstrated here at UNIMAD changes are evident in the overall student demographics as well as in new market demands for graduate training; • Such changes vary from institution to institution and among institutional types, • Thus, we cannot assume that the typical graduate student is a full-time, or part-time? Or a male or a female; In addition, mentors and protégés should not assume that every Ph.D. graduate has prospects for immediate employment in a research institution upon degree completion or in a private company or in the Government, whatever, the case may be?

3. Age Diversity • From Google search: the average age of graduate students is on the rise, our interactive discuss today will confirm or refute this information • According to data from the 2000 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey, the average graduate student is 33 years old or less in age • However, 20% of all graduate students are over the age of 40? Is this true here at UNIMAD? • Thus, many of your peers already have marriage or life partners and dependents (with corresponding family responsibilities), and prior work experience; • In addition, close to 57% of all graduate students maintain some form of employment outside their studies? Is this true here at UNIMAD? Why?

4. Gender Diversity • Women now pursue advanced study in record numbers, constituting approximately an increase in population size of who earn master's degrees and Ph.D.s, respectively; • However, gender representation by field of study varies considerably. The physical sciences and engineering struggle with this problem more than disciplines in the arts, humanities, and sciences or the professional fields; Experts predict further increases of women and other stakeholders pursuing advanced study during the next decade. WHY?

5. Bystudyingfor apostgraduate degree, it is envisage it is based on ones personal DREAM! And it is assumed that you will develop skills that will support you through daily life, such as • Soft skills - personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. • Leadership Skills. Companies want employees who can supervise and direct other workers. ... • Teamwork • Communication Skills • Problem Solving Skills • Work Ethic • Flexibility/Adaptability • Interpersonal Skills.

6. Research skills- refer to the ability to search for, locate, extract, organise, evaluate and use or present information that is relevant to a particular topic • Communication. • Attention to detail. • Critical thinking. • Technical skills. • Statistical and Graphical Analysis of Data. • Ability to maintain quality, safety and/or infection control standards. • Planning and scheduling. • Interviewing.

7. A few key competencies for research: • numeracy (the ability to work competently and effectively with numbers) • the ability to draw meaning from qualitative and quantitative data. • the ability to interpret economic data. • the ability to organize and report on data findings. • financial literacy. • the ability to manage a research project.

8. Presentation skills • Remember the audience - The most important aspect of making a presentation is to consider the needs of the audience • Use visual aids • Keep it short and sweet • Rehearse • Tell stories • Lose the bullet points – don't put your speaker notes up on the screen • Have a back-up plan

9. Writing skills - are an important part of communication. Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations - sentence formation - punctuation - paragraph breaks - sentence breaks

10. Mentoring matters in postgraduate studies Essentials of mentoring • Career timeline – It resents the key positive and negative events that have shaped one’s career to date. The concept comes from historical timelines which is a participatory tool • Purpose Roadmap – with components such as • Purpose – The overall intended contribution to development which must be written out using the what, why, who, where, when and how • Research – Knowledge generation and dissemination • Skills – Scientific and interpersonal skills • Career path – through different levels and jobs

12. Step One: Decide on a Career • Let me assume that as per your persoanl dream, each pf have given this a great thought before your choice of Graduate Studies Programme? Based on my personal experience - It takes great effort and determination to position yourself for your dream career? • The first step is figuring out your true career aspirations • What do you ultimately want to be doing in ten years? Fifteen? And Beyond? • How will you get to that place?

13. Step Two: Be a Hard-Working Intern? • Internships are often a key to help students prepare for their future careers. Whether they are paid or not, they are mostly on volunteering basis in Nigeria • Internships can help you gain critical skills that are necessary for one to succeed in one’s profession; • Not only will you receive real-life experience in your potential career, but also you can build relationships with the companies or organizations you are interning for; • At the very least you will be able to get a great reference, and in the best-case scenario, your internship could turn into a full-time job! • At this point I wish to assume that you are all in this programme for the long-run!

14. Step Three: Create a plan with goals • Once you have determined what you want to do within your dream career, Ask yourself the following questions: • ::  Where do you see yourself post graduation? • ::  Are their certain companies or organizations you would like to work for? • ::  Do you have any connections at companies or organizations that might be able to help? • ::  Is working in a specific industry important to you? • ::  If so, what about that industry enthuses you?

15. Step Four: Build your personal brand • In the job market nowadays, it is all about one’s personal brand; • Make no mistake; potential employers will certainly research you before they bring you in for an interview. They will examine your social media profiles, see if you have a website and read your blog. Since you can expect prospective employers to do this, you should be prepared and try to impress them by having a professional presence on social media sites.

16. Step five: Don’t give up • Don’t give up on pursuing your dream career; • The only way to make your career dreams a reality is through persistence and honest effort; • If you feel defeated, think back to what you are working so hard for: your dream career

17. Graduate Students’ need Mentoring • Many graduate students seek high-level analytical tools and intellectual development to market themselves as future leaders in a wide range of "knowledge economy" sectors;

18. Need for Mentoring cont’ • Such developments bolster the case for re-examining the structures of graduate education and students' needs for mentoring. In this context of change, the oft-relied on separation of students into "traditional" vs. "nontraditional" categories is no longer useful.

19. Need for Mentoring cont’ • In all likelihood, if you do not fit squarely into either category. Because there is no single recipe for good mentoring, your best approach is to engage in ongoing, reflective assessment of your needs, and to learn strategies to interact with your mentors effectively. • Does UNIMAD have a “Mentoring Programme for the Graduate Students? • If not, Dr. BintaIliyasu, an AWARD Fellow 2014 will share the AWARD Mentoring Programme in her presentation!

20. AWARD Courses

21. The AWARD Story

22. AWARD Fellowship Applications

23. AWARD Fellowship Footprint

24. AWARD Mentoring Model

25. ASTI Data - Female Researchers

26. Success Stories

27. Impacts of Advanced Science Training

28. Benefits of the AWARD Fellowship

29. GRARD Training for Partner Institutions

30. GRARD Partnering Institutions • Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR); • Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (FUNAAB) Nigeria; • LUANAR, Malawi • Mekelle University, Ethiopia; • Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), Tanzania; • CSIR, Ghana • Pwani University Kenya; and • Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI)

31. AWARD Country Chapters

32. Q & A? • I would like to allow for an interactive session through Q & A to answer some questions in order to expand on my presentation on the topic so that each participant gets an opportunity to fully grasp the critical aspect of being a Graduate Student and what it takes to achieve a Dream?

33. Conclusion • “Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” ...  • “Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. ...  • “Strive for progress, not perfection.” ... 

34. Conclusion cont’ • “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” ... • “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently

35. Thank you for your Participation • In simple terms, a postgraduate student is anyone who is studying a course, including a masters course, an MPhil and a PhD, that requires an undergraduate degree as part of the entry requirements! Do you agree? Thank you very much.

36. Group Photo with Love from MSU