The first PhD student to graduate from the University of Southampton Malaysia Campus was awarded his degree at Winter Graduation in December.
The University of Southampton Malaysia Campus was officially opened in October 2012, offering undergraduate degrees in engineering. Students benefit from studying two years in Malaysia followed by the final two years of their degree in Southampton.
Following the successful graduation of the Malaysia Campus’s first cohort of graduates last summer, Dr Sam Fishlock presented and successfully defended his thesis entitled: Development of nanocrystalline graphite for MEMS and membranes.
During his studies, he was under the primary guidance of Assistant Professor Dr Suan Hui Pu, who is actively involved in both undergraduate teaching and postgraduate research supervision, and Professor John McBride, CEO of the Malaysia Campus.
“We are very proud of Sam and all of the PhD and undergraduate students here at our Malaysia Campus,” said Suan Hui. “Sam put in a huge amount of sacrifice and effort in his studies and it was a great experience guiding him along the way”.
During his studies at the University of Southampton, Sam had the pleasure of studying at campuses across the globe. He spent his first year in Malaysia, his second year at Highfield Campus in Southampton and his third and fourth years at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) in Singapore.
The road to graduating with a PhD can be frustrating and exhausting at times. Sam reflects on his own experiences and gives his advice for anyone currently, or wanting to, study for the qualification:
‘’When I was going through a tough part in my PhD, with little progress, Dr Chong said: ‘it isn’t supposed to be easy, otherwise, everyone would be called doctor.’ When it’s hard going, just push on and find a way to not get too anxious about it. Talking through my problems with friends and other PhD students often helped me.’’
Now, Sam plans to be based in Singapore and to continue studying in the same broad area of materials and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).
Advance your engineering career, like Sam, with a PhD from the University of Southampton. Our academic lecturers in Malaysia are currently working on a number of exciting research projects and there are opportunities available to join them.
Alumni receive a 10 per discount on postgraduate study; find out more about this exclusive discount.
