Postgraduate Support Group
What We Do
Postgraduate Support Group
We have initiated a postgraduate support group as a support system for postgraduate students conducting action research studies. We encourage members who are conducting their Master’s or PhD theses to sign up for the group. Members can also get involved in our regular writing retreat sessions and biannual postgraduate research forum.
Virtual Writing Retreat
Our virtual writing retreat is organised regularly to give dedicated writing time to writers for the purpose of progressing their action research writing projects in a supportive environment. We invite our members to write and offer them the opportunity to speak to and seek feedback from fellow writers.
Postgraduate Research Forum
The Postgraduate Research Forum is held biannually, and is an important part of the Postgraduate Support Group’s work. We invite postgraduate students who are currently undertaking action research studies for their Master’s and PhD thesis to present their ongoing work. We also welcome prospective students and other members to participate in the forum and to act as critical friends.
Postgraduate Support Group
Virtual Writing Retreat
Writing retreats have long been known to increase and improve scholarly output and develop research capacity and activity (Murray & Newton, 2009). The aim of a structured writing retreat is to offer dedicated writing time to writers for the purpose of progressing their projects in a supportive environment. It allows writers a distraction-free setting to write, as well as the opportunity to speak to and seek feedback from other writers.
Following Rowena Murray’s protocol (see Bell & Murray, 2021; Murray, 2017; Murray & Newton, 2009), the MARNet Postgraduate Support Group will organise a monthly writing retreat for its members, which will be run in a virtual format. The session will take place every Friday and Saturday at the end of every month. All members who are currently writing up manuscripts, reports or theses (particularly postgraduate students) are invited to attend the sessions on a regular basis.
15 minutes: Introductions and writing warm up
15 minutes: Setting goals and planning
60-90 minutes: Writing session
15 minutes: Discussions about next steps and wrap up
- Focus exclusively on writing
- Agree not to use the internet/a mobile phone during the writing session
- Define specific goals and sub-goals i.e., sections of a paper/chapter, number of words
- Define and discuss the content and structure of the writing sub-goals
- Take stock of your achievement of these goals throughout the programme
- Discuss your writing-in-progress through mutual peer support
- Decide on a writing project
- Read the Murray and Newton (2009) article
- Review the retreat programme: begin to plan writing tasks for timeslots on each day
- Do as much of the reading and other preparation as you can
- Gather necessary notes, plans, outlines, etc. Outline the structure of your project
- Download what you need
Laptop, power cable, any relevant papers or notes, memory stick
Bell, M., & Murray, R. (2021). Structured academic writing retreats in healthcare professional practice. The Clinical Teacher, 18(3), 243-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/tct.13287
Murray, R. (2017). How to Write a Thesis. McGraw-Hill Education.
Murray, R., & Newton, M. (2009). Writing retreat as structured intervention: Margin or mainstream? Higher Education Research and Development, 28(5), 541–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360903154126
Participating in a MARNet virtual writing retreat session:
- The session will be held via Zoom, and you will need to register with a Zoom account in advance.
- The session is exclusively for MARNet members, and you will need to enter your membership ID on the registration form.
- You will be sent the link to the session at least 3 days before the event. If you register during the last few days, you will be sent the link within 24 hours.
- Make sure you attend the session on time; late arrivals may not be allowed to enter the session.
- You will have the opportunity to ask questions or to share your ideas with fellow writers.
- Everyone will be expected to actively engage during the discussions, and we recommend turning on your camera.
- It is best to check your internet connection at least 10 minutes before the event, and the MARNet Postgraduate Support Group team will attempt to assist with any problems.
- For MARNet members, participation in the session will also be recorded as a MARNet CPD point and a transcript certificate will be issued at the end of the year.
- Participation from the Ministry of Education’s officers will be recorded in the Sistem Pengurusan Latihan Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (SPLKPM) merits, as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) activity.
Past Event | Virtual Writing Retreat
March's Virtual Writing Retreat
The Structure of the Writing Sessions
Day 1 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (morning)
8.30 a.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 a.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 a.m. Writing session (60 minutes)
10.00 a.m. Break
10.30 a.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
12.00 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Event Details
- Dates
- 25 March 2022 (Friday)
- 26 March 2022 (Saturday)
- Times
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- Venue/Platform
- Online (Zoom)
- Prices
- MARNet Member* RM0.00
- *Exclusively for MARNet members only
Past Event | Virtual Writing Retreat
February's Virtual Writing Retreat
The Structure of the Writing Sessions
Day 1 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (morning)
8.30 a.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 a.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 a.m. Writing session (60 minutes)
10.00 a.m. Break
10.30 a.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
12.00 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Event Details
- Dates
- 25 February 2022 (Friday)
- 26 February 2022 (Saturday)
- Times
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- Venue/Platform
- Online (Zoom)
- Prices
- MARNet Member* RM0.00
- *Exclusively for MARNet members only
Past Event | Virtual Writing Retreat
January's Virtual Writing Retreat
The Structure of the Writing Sessions
Day 1 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (morning)
8.30 a.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 a.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 a.m. Writing session (60 minutes)
10.00 a.m. Break
10.30 a.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
12.00 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Day 2 (evening)
8.30 p.m. Introductions and writing warm up
8.45 p.m. Setting goals and planning
9.00 p.m. Writing session (90 minutes)
10.30 p.m. Discussions about next steps and wrap up
Event Details
- Dates
- 28 January 2022 (Friday)
- 29 January 2022 (Saturday)
- Times
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (MYT)
- 08:30 - 11:00 p.m. (MYT)
- Venue/Platform
- Online (Zoom)
- Prices
- MARNet Member* RM0.00
- *Exclusively for MARNet members only
Get In Touch
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Secretariat or fill the form below.
Mr Muhammad Zulfadhli Kamarudin
postgraduate[a]marnet.my