Rubbing shoulders with big name educators

By Mohamed Elmie Bin Nekmat

Elmie is currently pursuing his masters degree in Communications and New Media. Supervised by Dr Lim Sun Sun, he has once again embarked on another thesis studying youths critical media literacy in their Internet use. And he is still hoping to make a difference in society.

Communications and New Media Masters student Mohamed Elmie Bin Nekmat

WHEN I was asked to share my experience of presenting my thesis at a recent conference, I thought to myself, what could be so exciting. Well, I did almost miss the flight due to some slip-up -- and I was almost knocked down by a taxi when trying to cross the road, dodging unfamiliar left-driven Philippine traffic.

Such excitement aside, it was indeed a great opportunity to present my thesis at the 17th Asian Media and Information Communication Centre (AMIC) Annual Conference. Jointly organised with the Philippine Association of Communication Educators Foundation (PACE), the conference attracted participants from leading universities, media industry professionals, government and non-governmental agencies and policymakers worldwide to Manila recently.

Urban legend has it that submitting papers for conference presentations can be a harrowing experience, especially for new graduate students like myself. Undeterred, and with the strong support from my supervisor, I re-worked my thesis and got it accepted for presentation.

During my third year as an undergraduate, I was intrigued by a few friends who were placing heavy bets on soccer matches online. This situation is potentially harmful, and I wanted to understand what it is that people, especially youths, find attractive gambling online. Motivated also by my belief to increase the awareness of this highly addictive habit, I embarked on a thesis during my honours year. The thesis was titled: Youth and Online Gambling: The motivations and gratifications of online betting amongst Singaporean youths.

But just as I was getting caught up in the excitement, a bombshell dropped. I learnt that I would need to fund the travel and conference costs. Fortunately, the student grant provided by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences supported the costs for my conference presentation. So off I went.

At the conference, I had the opportunity to present among a panel of distinguished regional scholars. Imagine, they were names which I only previously had chance to cite in my research not to mention rubbing shoulders with them! I experienced also the charisma and poise of the keynote speaker, his Excellency Fidel V. Ramos, former President, Republic of the Philippines. Above all, I gained valuable experience and forged new ties as I met and communicated with fellow students and researchers from different countries.

And if these were not enough for an enriching experience, my paper eventually got picked up by a major Philippine media which further highlighted its significant findings. You may click on the link to read more.

This experience has significantly enriched my academic perspectives as a student, and has helped me realise an important dimension to my interest in research the potential to create awareness for the benefit of society. This could not have been possible without the resources, faculty and financial support provided by NUS.

From this experience also, I realise that the pursuit of knowledge starts by taking ownership of a question one may have. The excellent academic support provided by NUS will inevitably help you in this quest for knowledge.