‘How I won best doctoral thesis in Malaysian university’
Daily Trust: What was your academic experience in Malaysia like? Dr. Oluwaseun Adeyeye: Initially, when I arrived in Malaysia, I was quite concerned about finances because I was self-sponsored, and students were not allowed to work in Malaysia. However, the turning point for me was when I received the UUM Postgraduate Scholarship and this really assisted me to concentrate on my research. As a result of my performance from my Master’s degree in Nigeria, I was qualified to apply for the UUM Postgraduate Scholarship. Being one of the recipients of the scholarship, I was offered a very good stipend which covered my tuition fees, accommodation fees and also feeding allowances.
In addition, I was also a Graduate Teaching Assistant with the School of Quantitative Sciences (SQS), UUM, with financial benefits attached. My initial experience in UUM and Malaysia was positive. The environment is quite conducive for research and I was really glad for all the facilities provided by the university. The only challenge I had was adapting to the food.
DT: How did you win the Overall Best Thesis award?
Dr. Adeyeye: The criteria included having a good number of articles published or accepted in journals indexed by SCOPUS or ISI. In addition, the thesis contribution should be of national and global relevance. In this regards, my thesis titled “Generalised K-Step Block Methods for the Direct Solution of Higher Order Ordinary Differential Equations” is quite relevant to the global numerical community, as it introduced two novel approaches to develop block methods.
With the support and guidance of my supervisor, Prof. Zurni Omar, I was able to successfully produce well over 20 articles in which 17 of them were published or accepted in journals indexed by SCOPUS or ISI at the time of nomination for the Best Thesis award. In terms of challenges, I would not say I faced any, as I was able to graduate on time, completing my study within 33 months.
DT: What were your happiest and saddest moments during the journey?
Dr. Adeyeye: I would say my low moments were when I started feeling homesick. I was able to overcome that by going home to Nigeria twice during the period of study to spend time with my family, and gain a good level of emotional balance. My typical day involved me going to and from my hostel to the PhD room.
My other activities involved church services and occasional outings with friends. But mostly, I was always busy working on my research and publications. But my happiest moment also doubles as my proudest moment which was standing on that stage and hearing my name being announced as the recipient for the Best Thesis award 2017. I was really full of joy and I give all thanks to God for giving me that blessing.
I believe I could still have emerged the award winner even if I studied in Nigeria. The most important thing is to know the requirements to receive the award and then work towards it. So, with dedication and hard work, the feat is also achievable in a Nigerian university.
DT: What’s your view of the Nigerian education system?
Dr. Adeyeye: The Nigerian education system is affected by issues like lack of electricity and financial setbacks. In this tech-age, a researcher needs constant electricity to remain productive as most of the computations and analysis are done electronically. In addition, more allocation should be set aside for research and publications. I was able to produce a good number of articles because all publications were supported by UUM. So, I believe if the basic facilities are provided with good funding, researchers will be motivated to work more and that way the system will be improved. DT: What attracted you to your course?
Dr. Adeyeye: My attraction to my course would be my love for numerical computations. I have always loved Mathematics and Further Mathematics classes from my secondary school days. Those hours were the highlights of my day back then in school. I look forward to creating an avenue to give back to Nigeria as I have a passion for young minds who aim to pursue an academic career path.
So far, in my little way, I act as a counsellor to a good number of my students whom I taught at undergraduate level. Many of them are already pursuing their Master’s degree and one of them has already enrolled for his PhD degree in Nigeria. So, I do my best to make myself a good role model to them, so they can understand that whatever they set their minds to do is achievable. However, in the future I would love to have an organization that provides scholarships and awards to young academicians.