Students raring to return to their varsities

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Molecular Medicine doctoral candidate Lim Chia Chiu, 28, is eager to return to his campus workspace on June 9.

“I prefer the lab because it is the environment that allows me to intensify my focus on work.”

Lim promises to “religiously follow” the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by USM.

“I will also be preparing my own meals, avoiding crowded areas and planning my experiments to a tee so that other colleagues have a chance to use the lab space.

“The SOPs are not a hassle. It protects lab personnel and we should adapt to the new norm because it creates greater health awareness among the community and society,” said the Penangnite who’s been conducting data analysis, writing, reading and attending free online courses during the MCO.

USM Clinical Pharmacy doctoral candidate Abdulkader Ahmad Bawadikji, 34, from Syria, said he would be very careful when he conducts research at the laboratories. “It is comforting that USM provides hand sanitisers on campus,” said Abdulkader whose research project requires human contact.

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) medical imaging doctoral candidate Foo Lee Sze, 24, has been productive during the MCO.

“Initially it was challenging. I could no longer have face-to-face discussions with my supervisors, and I also could not directly access the workstation in the lab for heavy computation work.

“But since then, I have been having discussions with my supervisors through WhatsApp and email. They’ve also helped me set up remote access to our workstation so I can continue my work online,” said Foo whose research is mainly focused on data processing and analysis.

Staying at home for a long period of time just focusing on research has been stressful.

“To overcome this, I have been keeping in touch with my friends online. There are also some online non-academic and extra-curricular activities set up by our varsity counsellors to help us unwind from the stress,” said she said.

She, however, has been able to continue working on her project and has even started other online research activities using online tools.

Samira believes that the Covid-19 pandemic enabled researchers to think out of the box and seek new solutions to obtain the desired research goals.

Her initial research project design was face-to-face psychological training for older adults which was supposed to be conducted in public places.

“Due to the MCO, I decided to design an online training protocol for older adults using available online shopping applications which was actually better,” she said.

Sunway Psychology doctoral candidate Alyssa Ding Yen Lyn, 29, said she wants to start working in the laboratories again where she can enjoy time in solitude.

“I am able to think better in silence and it gives me greater insights. There are too many distractions at home.

“The bulk of the challenges were from the loss of attention and focus as well as physical data collection delays due to the MCO.”