Scholarly Life

David: One of the nice things for me is that because the team that Teresa is going to be joining back in Singapore is part of this international project that I coordinate, it means that our professional relationship will continue on after Teresa finishes her period as a student here. This whole notion of us being colleagues is going to continue certainly for the next two or three years, and we are already anticipating presenting at a conference later next year. I think there are, yeah, it's mutually beneficial. It's the ideal relationship.

Teresa: Yes definitely, because when I came here as a coursework student, I thought, OK, there's assignments and projects and OK, off I go home, but it is very rewarding to think that your hard work has given you something more than you expected, as in a job back home, plus a relationship with your professor even after you have left the university, to work with him and other colleagues. Also, when I came in as a coursework student, I never ever thought that I would be working on a publication or actually be involved in a presentation in a conference. I thought that is what research students do, which leads then to a PhD. In that way it has been really rewarding for me.