From emotion to words

7 May 2024tazeek at a restaurant

by Tazeek Abdur Rakib, PhD student
School of Information Technology

1. Tell us about this scholarship.

I am a recipient of the Graduate Research Excellence Scholarship (GRES) at Monash University Malaysia. This scholarship comes with a tuition fee waiver and a monthly stipend. I am also given the opportunity to contribute to academic support and research activities. The duration of this scholarship covers until the submission of my thesis.

2. In what ways do you believe this scholarship aligns with your academic and career aspirations?

This scholarship has equipped me with better research skills by focusing on what is more important at hand. In addition, I can connect with other individuals at the School of Information Technology and other Schools, which allows me to gather various ideas. It has also allowed me to improve my communication and leadership skills in interacting with students and giving them feedback as part of my marking duties.

3. What motivated you to pursue this particular scholarship opportunity?

I worked in the corporate sector for four and a half years and wanted to try something different. During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to engage in research work, and that experience instilled in me a passion for the research field. When I expressed my interest in research work to my supervisor, I was informed about this scholarship for PhD studies. Given Monash University Malaysia’s renowned reputation in the research field and my personal motivation towards the research topic, I saw this as an excellent opportunity to pursue.

4. In what ways has the scholarship played a role in shaping your overall university experience?

GRES provides a lot of financial incentives and allows me to focus on my research better. In addition, GRES has allowed me to build connections with many different people who have supported and inspired me throughout. Moreover, it has aided me in finding areas for improvement in life and my profession. It has also allowed me to grow and evolve from time to time.

5. Are there specific challenges or milestones that stand out as crucial to your growth?

Transitioning from a corporate setting to research was a significant challenge. Other challenges were being more involved in the process, marking, and giving feedback. I've come to view my journey as a continuous cycle of learning, applying knowledge, receiving feedback, and learning from setbacks. If I don't start now, then I will never start. Starting and failing is better than not starting and waiting for something to happen.

6. Drawing from your experience, what advice would you give to students considering applying for scholarships?

Just apply for it, regardless of how intimidating and scary it looks. Ask your supervisors what you need to do and how to fulfil them. The key is that if you don't try, the answer is no. If you try, you will know what you need to do. If you tried and failed, at least you tried and learned. You gain more if you try, irrespective of the outcome.

7. What research topic are you currently working on?

My research is in the field of natural language processing. My focus is on emotion recognition in conversations, where the main objective is to identify the emotions felt by the speakers throughout the given conversation. My project aims to contribute to the development of methods on how we can better understand the emotions of speakers and aid in different domains of digital health, such as psychology and counselling.