Category Archives: BLOG

TRANSITIONING THROUGH THE FOUR LEVELS OF COMPETENCES

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Hi there! Have you observed that whenever you are trying to do something for the first time – something as routine as trying to tie your shoelace, walking for the first time or other things like starting out on a new project, learning a new skill, starting a new business and so on- there are four stages that you go through. These stages are also called the four levels of competences and they apply consciously or unconsciously.

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The first stage is the stage of UNCONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE. At this stage, you are not even aware that the skill you are trying to learn or the activity you are trying to do exists. You don’t know anything about it yet.

The next stage is the stage of CONSCIOUS INCOMPETENCE. At this stage, you are now aware that the skill you are trying to learn exists but you still have not mastered it yet. Here, you only suddenly realize that there is indeed something you do not know or something that you have not mastered.

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At the next stage which is called the stage of CONSCIOUS COMPETENCE, you have submitted yourself to the demands of learning that skill and you are beginning to get familiar with it. The draw back however is that you still require a lot of time and attention to operate the skill or to do the activity.

The final stage is the stage of UNCONSCIOUS COMPETENCE. At this stage, you have attained mastery and you do the activity without conscious thought. It does not take you so much time and attention, compared to what it took you before, to get the activity done.

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Sometimes, the transition through the four stages may feel like a demanding process but you just have to stick it out. Do not forget that in the race between the stream and the rock, the stream wins not because of strength but because of persistence.

YOU WERE NOT RAISED YOU WERE ERASED

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My parent raised me with severe corporal punishment, therefore I will discipline my child using corporal punishment.

The above phrase is what most African parents use as their justification for the use of corporal punishment on their children, student or ward. Some parents further argue that the use of corporal punishment on them has made them who they are today. I often ask the question “Who are you now? What has corporal punishment made you become? The answer I often get is that- corporal punishment has made me very disciplined and focused in life. Yet, you are not as successful as you’ve always wanted to be in life, you are not a trust worthy person. Wait… do you think the children raised without corporal punishment are ill-mannered? I bet not, because the societies that are against corporal punishment are the world leading countries with less violence. We need to understand that violence and discipline are two different things. When you decide to make it a norm then you have decided to accept violence such as killing, fighting, slaughtering, raping, bullying and all other forms of violence into the society.

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I laugh really hard when I meet monster parents and not disciplined parents. How can a mother cut her child’s skin or whip the child until he/she faint🤨. The joy that some parents have when they instill fear or pain on their children is alarming. As a parent there is a certain period when you can no longer instill fear on that child, the reverse becomes the case and then, how will that make you feel?

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A child who thinks he/she was raised properly with corporal punishment was not raised but erased, because, that child grew up in fear without been able to make certain decisions or give opinions that affects his/her life. A child is not irrelevant, we need to understand that children are also humans and are kept in the care of an adult to guide them positively not abuse them.

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Feel free to share this blog post with friends, family and acquaintances. Also, share your thought or opinion in the comment section below.

5 PLACES I WOULD LOVE TO VISIT

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Visiting new places is something I am always excited about. However, there are limitations to where I/we can visit. This is either due to financial reason or others. Here are 5 places that I would love to visit, they are all unique and I hope one or two or all of them is/are also place(s) you would love to visit.

Dubai

Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I am fascinated about the heritage and tradition of Dubai. The lifestyle is definitely something I would love to experience, especially the shopping aspect. The world’s tallest building (Burj Khalifa) is an attraction I would love to see and take pictures of. Other places I would love to visit in Dubai are: the Nemo Watersports, Oasis Adventures and Sonara Camp, and Dubai Aquarium &Underwater zoo.

Bangkok, Thailand

An ancient Asian city. Bangkok is the most populous city and capital of Thailand. The museums and architecture are places I will be looking forward to seeing. I love heritage places such as Jim Thompson House. The floating markets is captivating as I have never had an experience of that before. Other things I would love to do are: buy the traditional clothes and take pictures with them, visit the roof top bars, and lastly, order some traditional food especially Thai-style stir-fried noodles.

Venice, Italy

It is dreamy and romantic. It is also called floating city because of the fact that the city of Venice consists of 118 small islands connected by several bridges and canals. I would love to go on the canal tour to enjoy the beautiful scenery. It would be amazing to be here with a spouse or partner and order a classic cocktails such as Bellini.

Seychelles

I have always loved Seychelles, the serenity is astonishing. The island is a living natural history museum and I would love to visit Vallee de Mai National Park, the forest walk and definitely eat in this lovely environment. One scary thing I would love to do is diving and hopefully I don’t get to scream out the name ‘Jesus’ or my parent names.

Santorini, Greece

Santorini is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea. I’d love to go hiking, visit the famous red beach, go to eros beach, buy some sea food and fresh fish.

It would be great to hear your opinion. Kindly let us know your thoughts about the places you would love to visit or have visited. This will help me and readers to decide on places to visit or enlighten us more.

I love collecting moments and I enjoy sharing my memories 😊 The sea water takes away all your worries. Try it and thank me later 😊 My first time wearing a bucket hat 🎩 I pray for Afghanistan 🇦🇫 Are you planning to visit a beach… Go prepared and do not miss any of these things. 💕 Summer is taking me places 💕 It’s always my smile for me 💕 💕

LIST OF INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2021/2022; REQUIREMENTS, ELIGIBILITY AND OTHER VITAL INFORMATION

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UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA

There are various categories of scholarships in the University of Ottawa, Canada and they will be examined below.

  • THE PRESIDENT’S SCHOLARSHIP AND THE CHANCELLOR’S SCHOLARSHIP (THE CHANCELLOR’S SCHOLARSHIP IS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS):

They are part of the most prestigious scholarships at the University of Ottawa. The Chancellor’s scholarship is valued at $6,500 per year ($26, 000 in total) and it is awarded to one full-time undergraduate international student. The President’s Scholarship is valued at $7,500 per year ($30, 000 in total) and it is awarded to one full-time undergraduate student. The scholarships also provide a one-time award of $1,500 to applicants who emerge as the second, third and fourth most qualified.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for the President’s and Chancellor’s scholarship, prospective applicants must:

  • Hold a student visa
  • Have a minimum admission average of ninety-two percent (92%)
  • Demonstrate leadership qualities and a commitment to academic activities.
  • Maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 8.50 (to ensure the grant of the scholarship in subsequent years). Students who have a CGPA between 8.00 and 8.49 can renew their scholarship, only that it will be issued at 50% of its total value.
  • Must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident or must have a protected person status.
  • Must be enrolled for the first time in a university undergraduate program

The deadline for all the above mentioned scholarships (the President’s and Chancellor’s scholarship) is April 30, 2021.

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA; THE FACULTY OF ARTS DEAN’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is valued at $4, 000 and the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ottawa awards 10 of its kind. To be eligible:

  • Students must be enrolled full time, and for the first time, in an undergraduate program in the Faculty of Arts.
  • Students must have a minimum admission average of 90%.
  • Students who have been chosen for this scholarship must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 9.00 at the end of each term in order for the scholarship to be renewed.

UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA SCHOLARSHIPS, CANADA; THE FACULTY OF ENGINEERING DEAN’S MERIT SCHOLARSHIP

This scholarship is valued at $5, 000 (for students who have an admission average between 95 and 100%) or $4,000 ((for students who have an admission average between 90 and 94.9%) and the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Ottawa awards 35 of its kind. To be eligible:

  • Students must be enrolled full time, and for the first time, in an undergraduate program in the Faculty of Engineering.
  • Students must have a minimum admission average between 90 and 100% as the case may be.
  • Students who have been chosen for this scholarship must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 9.00 at the end of each term in order for the scholarship to be renewed.

REQUIREMENTS

No application is required for the Faculties of Arts and Faculty of Engineering Deans’ Merit Scholarship as all eligible students (including international students are considered for this award.

In order to apply for all the above mentioned scholarships, please visit: scholarships.uottawa.ca

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP U.K. (ALSO REFERRED TO AS THINK BIG SCHOLARSHIP)

The scholarship awards are valued at 5, 000 euros and 10, 000 euros at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels respectively. The scholarships are however given using the form of a tuition fee discount and no cash alternative will be offered. Again, if the scholarship award is more than the cost of the tuition fees, any remainder will not be issued. Finally, the scholarship does not apply to placement year (internship or industrial attachment) years.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for University of Bristol’s undergraduate scholarship, potential students must:

  • Apply for courses other than medicine, dentistry and veterinary science. Post graduate students must be applying to one-year, full-time postgraduate programme at the University of Bristol.
  • Be prepared to resume their undergraduate or postgraduate programme in the month of September (2021)
  • Prospective students must not be recipients of alternative funding, which when added to the Bristol Scholarship, would be more than the full tuition fees.
  • Owing to the United Kingdom Visa and Immigration regulations, Prospective candidates must be able to show that they have adequate funds to cover the remainder of their tuition fees and living expenses.
  • Students need to indicate that they are overseas students for paying purpose.

The deadline for the Bristol University Scholarship, is 29th of March 2021 (10am) Responses for this first batch of applications will be given by the institution’s authorities by 26th of April 2021. The deadline for the second batch of Bristol University Scholarship applications is 14th of June, 2021. (This is an extension of time for postgraduate applicants only.)  Postgraduate students are however advised to apply during the first batch of scholarship applications. Late applications will be unattended to and double applications (by postgraduate students) will be unaccepted. Responses on the second batch of applications will be given by the institution’s authorities by 9th of July, 2021.

To apply, please visit: www.bristol.ac.uk/international/fees-finance/scholarships/application-guidance

  • FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS USA

Originating in 1946, the Fulbright scholarship is sponsored by the United States’ Department of State. It is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program designed to foster common understanding with over 155 nations through educational and cultural exchange. Particularly, the scholarship is granted to people from economically disadvantaged groups, minorities and people who do not usually get enough representation. It is a fully funded scholarship that covers full tuition fee, a living stipend, full accommodation fee, airfare and health insurance for up to five years.

  • ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS OF FULBRIGHT SCHOLARSHIPS USA

It is open to all individuals of the world in all fields of study and it is awarded irrespective of the applicant’s race, sex, age or religion. Applicants must however be prospective Masters or PhD students. The Fulbright scholarship is not opened to undergraduate studies.

To be eligible:
A prospective candidate must be proficient in English language.

Such a person must belong to one of the 155 countries to which the scholarship is applicable.

  • SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP USA

Founded in 1891, Seattle University is a Jesuit Catholic University and law school located on 50 acres of land in Seatle’s Capitol Hill neighbourhood in the United States of America. It is home to more than 850 international students from more than 60 countries. The Seattle University Scholarship is valued at over $48, 000 and it spans over 4 academic years.

  • ELIGIBILITY AND REQUIREMENTS FOR SEATTLE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS USA

Individuals from all countries of the world are eligible to participate in the Seattle University scholarship.

Undergraduates applicants are however to have the equivalent of a United States Grade Point Average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale and to provide official and certified English language translations of all the transcripts from each educational institution attended.

Unlike other universities, Seattle University does not require the ACT (American College Test) or SAT (originally meaning Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores of applicants. However, these scores enhance the approval of an application.

Importantly however, applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English language regardless of their length of residency in the United States of America.

To apply: Visit: https://www.seattleu.edu/international/scholarships/#d.en.297644

  • YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP USA

Yale is the third oldest university in the United States Of America and it was established in 1701 at New Haven, Connecticut. The Yale University Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship which is open to undergraduate, masters and PhD students from all countries and is valued at over $50, 000 on the average. The award meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without any loans and 64% of students receive financial assistance.

  • ELIGIBILITY FOR YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

Individuals from all countries of the world are eligible to participate in the Yale University scholarship.

ELIGIBILITY

To be qualified for Yale University Scholarships, the following criteria are to be fulfilled, viz:

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) scores of at least 100 on the internet-based TOEFL, 600 on the paper-based TOEFL or 250 on the computer-based TOEFL

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) and Pearson Test scores of 70 or higher.

REQUIREMENTS FOR YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP

The scholarship is open to individuals from all countries of the world, however, since it is a need-based scholarship, one or more of the following requirements must be met and a statement from a school official, college access counselor, financial aid officer or community leader could be gotten to attest to the fact that such individuals:

  • Must have been enrolled in or eligible to participate in the Federal Free or Reduced Price Lunch Program (FRPL)
  • Must have received or be eligible to receive a SAT testing fee waiver
  • Must be enrolled in a federal, state or local program that helps students from low-income families. For example, TRIO programs like Upward Bound.
  • Must be a ward of the state or an orphan
  • Must have an annual family income that falls within the income eligibility guidelines set by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
  • Must live in a federally subsidized public housing, a foster home or must be homeless.
  • Must receive financial aid from the public.

PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION: Prospective students can apply for the Yale University Scholarship by visiting: https://admissions.yale.edu

                               REFERENCES

global-scholarship.shoptorsi.com/

global-scholarship.shoptorsi.com/2021/01/28/study-in-uk-university-of-bristol-international-scholarship-2021-apply-online/

https://admissions.yale.edu

https://world.yale.edu/admissions

scholarshiproar.com/yale-university-scholarships/

scholarshiproar.com/seattle-university-scholarships/

scholarshiproar.com/Fulbright-scholarships-usa/?amp

SECOND YEAR OF MY PHD PROGRAM

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It’s been a year and 8 months since I started my Ph.D program. I wouldn’t say it has been easy especially with the global pandemic caused by the now infamous COVID’19. I faced a lot of difficulties in passing through my second phase. One major difficulty was my mental health. I will start this story from the beginning of when I moved into the second phase of my research.

I was supposed to be registered for my second year by May 2020, however, I was unable to register that month. This caused me to apply for an extension. In summary, I registered for my second year by June 2020. This is when my journey began. Due to my late registration, I was unable to meet up to certain deadlines which made me tighten up my buckles. The pressure of my year 2 deliverable was too much and I was battling with concentration. There were lots of distractions/hindrances at that time such as the fear of contacting the virus, worrying about family and friends, no access to the library. To be honest I felt the world was coming to an end, but it wasn’t. I managed to submit my RDDA, which normally entails an agreed plan of you and your supervisors towards the next phase of your research.

Going into my second year, I thought about several conferences, paper articles, seminars and many other research activities I would like to participate in. Sadly, all of them were canceled , however, I was able to participate in online workshops and training that were organized by the university. Examples of workshops I attended are data collection, data analysis, career planning, ethics, research planning and so on. And yes, the 3MT competition I participated in and was able to reach the finalist stage.

These issues aside, my thesis focused on my theoretical discussion and continuation of my literature review. I had a full grasp of my research, better than my first year. I was supposed to commence my data collection, however, my ethics was denied three times. I am literally still on my ethics process and I do hope to get done with it as soon as possible. My ethics was denied due to different reasons such as the vulnerability of some of the participants, travel restrictions, ambiguity of my research questions.

Honestly, my second year was a marathon but I am excited I passed through it. I am looking forwards to commencing my third year and the higher marathon that might come with it.

I am concluding this by using this opportunity to say a big thank you to all my family and friends that have always trusted and believed in me.

Cheers xx

3MT Competition

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Yes, I participated in the 3MT competition. If you do not know what the 3MT competition is about, it is a 3 minutes thesis competition that started at Queensland University, Australia. The intention or aim of this competition is for Ph.D students to be able to present their thesis to a wide range of audience within a limited time.

The moment I saw the opening for the competition, I was excited to participate but I was not sure I would be able to catch up to it due to too many activities I had on my list. As always, I was determined to try. However, I was not able to attend enough training and feedbacks that were organized by the doctoral college at Coventry University but I attended 2 sessions and presented during one of the sessions. The feedback session was very important because I got relevant feedbacks and opinions from both the organizers and other participants, this helped me in restructuring my content to fit the understanding of the audience.

I was glad to be amoung the finalists at the Coventry university finale. The news caught me unaware and I got really good feedback from other participants, lecturers and organizers of the competition.

One mistake I realised I made was that I was talking too fast during my presentation.

The key things I addressed in my presentation are

  1. An engaging topic and introduction. I started my introduction by saying ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. This is a popular religious phrase, however, I briefly explained the use of that phrase in my presentation. My advice is that when preparing for your 3MT, you should use a catchy topic and introduction.
  2. I involved my personal experience in the presentation and I made the audience feel what the victim
  3. The presentation was simple and straightforward. The presentation had a coherent and consistent flow by explaining why I decided to work on my thesis, what my research is addressing, the methodology that I used and that will be used, the importance of my research and who or what organisations it will be beneficial to.

I hope you enjoyed readng this and you have been able to have a broader understanding about the 3MT competition.

WHAT IS THE WORST ACADEMIC OFFENSE?

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PLAGIARISM!!! This is what I believe to be the worst academic offense. According to the University of Oxford[1], Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or idea as your own, with or without their consent. My reference to the university of oxford is an example of how to acknowledge a source. Plagiarism is very common, and it proves a lack of understanding or knowledge in your essay or academic work.

In the past years as both an undergraduate and a postgraduate student, I have been a victim of plagiarism unknowingly and knowingly lol. This was either due to my impatience or lack of interest in a particular essay. However as a research student, I have learnt that the same time I spent paraphrasing a particular term would have been the same time I would have spent to think properly and have a good understanding of the topic. A lot of students are victims of this act, I do understand that as students there are times we can’t meet up to deadlines and want a shortcut but that is very wrong and not an excuse. Apart from the academic sanctions for perpetrators, education is quite expensive which a lot of people/students have sacrificed a lot to be in the academic world, therefore I believe we should be very focused and willing to think or create new ideas instead of borrowing or using someone else’s knowledge.

There are several types and forms of plagiarism, however, I will be explaining the forms in the context of the types of plagiarism, which are:

 Self-Plagiarism: Submitting his/her previous work either it is part of the work or the full work. Using myself as an example, I had my master’s dissertation in the topic ‘Corporal punishment of children in Nigeria’ which is related to my Ph.D. thesis ‘How does the Nigerian government enforce the security of child’s rights? An analysis of corporal punishment in public schools’. I got tempted to use some part of my master’s thesis into my PhD thesis, but it is wrong, and I avoided doing such, this is also to avoid academic dishonesty. YES, I am sure some people will say I can do anything with any of my academic work, sorry, you can’t except in situations where approval is granted. Another example of self-plagiarism is submitting the same work in two different academic institutions or authorities. Even though they are the same or similar topic, the context must be different or referenced properly.

 Direct Plagiarism: This includes word for word quotations without referencing the source, the act of cutting and pasting from the internet is wrong in the academic realm. For example, as a law student, there are several laws that I cannot paraphrase because they are laws, therefore I quote them with inverted commas to indicate that words are exactly the same from the same and then I reference them accordingly.

 Mosaic Plagiarism: The act of using phrases from other sources without using quotation marks or paraphrasing or writing it in halves. Paraphrasing is reasonably essential. However, it is wrong to paraphrase a work with the intention of claiming ownership of the idea.

 Accidental Plagiarism: In instances where the source is not mentioned or is incorrect. It is important to use the correct referencing style, depending on the discipline.

Avoiding plagiarism will help to have an opinion of oneself, instead of relying of other scholarly work or writers. It is difficult to have a personal view or opinion, however, that is why you are in academics.

[1] https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism

Importance of Literature Review in Social Sciences/Humanities

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Literature review is an essential part of academic work. My deep understanding of literature review emerged from my Bachelor’s degree up until my Ph.D. degree. As students we are not believed to be experts of the topic, therefore, the following are what I have learnt about the importance of literature review;

  • Identify contribution to knowledge: This is a key fact in any research work, most topics have existing knowledge which are vital to broaden ones knowledge as a researcher. According to my Ph.D supervisor (Dr. Brian ), understanding the existing knowledge of your research through scholarly works will help you in identify your contribution to knowledge and setting research question. The essence of every research work is to address something different or discover something new. This will give an affirmation to the audience that your work is valid and you have done your home work properly before concluding or having a position on a topic. The more the scholarly works, articles and books, the more expertise you will be.
  • Understand your Methodology & Theoretical framework: Adopting the right methodology to your research is very important and can be achieved by understanding the existing knowledge. Research methodology across disciplines differ, it is necessary to put that into consideration and read through previous works in order to adopt the right methodology. This also applies to the theoretical framework as the theories that will be adopted needs to be understood thoroughly.
  • Improve Writing and Critical thinking skills: It will be difficult to enhance this skills if you do not expand your knowledge. My personal way of improving my critical thinking skills is by reviewing a literature review, writing my contributions about the scholarly work, what I expect from the author, understanding the validity and reliability of the research. This has helped me in analyzing my personal research work as a third party. This is an idea acquired during training sessions at the Centre of Academic Writing at Coventry University. The understanding of how to place arguments in a research will be ameliorated, not everyone are good at writing. Therefore, if you are in that situation, it will be of great importance to read as many literatures as possible, this way you can understand how writers write.
  • Networking: In the context of networking, I denote relating with scholars in your field. A personal experience is when I started my Ph.D., I found great a significant book ‘Corporal Punishment of children: A human rights violation’ by Susan Bitensky, she is a professor of International human rights. My interest aligned with hers, I couldn’t help but get in touch with her for advice and to commend her work as well. I wouldn’t have come across her work if I didn’t engage in a lot of literature review. In addition, networking is needed for collaborations, publications and so on.

My conclusion is that in academic work especially in the social sciences, reading is a vital tool.

I hope you find this helpful? kindly let me know your suggestions, thoughts and experiences, as it can be useful to me and to other audience.

Thanks.

Some path will be lonely, learn in time to walk alone

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“No one achieves great things by following the crowd. Have a spine. Strike your own path.” Robert Kiyosaki

“The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone is likely to find themselves in places no one has ever been before.” Albert Einstein

There are times in life when we need a lot of people to walk with us, as human are social beings. Many decisions are being made that involves others, as life goes on, it is impedient that some paths are better walked alone. It will be lonely. There is a point in everyone’s life, the crowd cannot help in fulfilling, regardless of the number, they won’t just be enough.

There is a popular saying that “it is better to walk alone, than walk with a crowd in a wrong direction”. It is not literally walking with the crowd, it also includes advice from people and doing things as the norm requires. Some reasons why some paths will be lonely includes making a cogent decision about one’s life, low self-esteem, life disappointments, when passion and desire is being followed, once there is a question about the rightness or wrongness of decision of others, when there is a fault or wrong in the value shred by people.

Regardless of your circumstances, always remember that a lot of people are passing through the same phase or even worse phases that yours. I believe we owe ourselves the courage and determination to always overcome the bad times, I am of the opinion that it is never wrong to be alone during setbacks, as long as you discover yourself and become a better person.

Everything and everywhere that is worth discovering is where no person has been. Everything that is needed to be discovered is where no person has been. That is why you must set forth on this journey. You must say goodbye to what has been home.Majority that walks with the crowd,get lost in it.

WHAT I LEARNT DURING MY FIRST YEAR OF Ph.D

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It was a struggle and it is a progress not yet done. I was super excited to have started my Ph.D. and so far its been nothing less than I expected except the fact that sometimes I get lost during the Ph.D. adventure. The enthusiastic nature in me has kept me on my feet and I am always curious discover new things. Cutting the story short, below are the 10 main things I have learnt during the first year of my Ph.D.

  1. Self-Motivation: I have learnt that my motivation is key to the progress of my research. We all have a reason for choosing a particular research area and this should always motivate us. There have been times when I feel tired and confused but I persist in putting so much effort to achieve my goals. It is very important to have passion in ones research work, this will keep fueling the research energy.
  2. Accept rejections: There were several rejections I encountered, an example is journal article rejection but I have only learnt to work on it better and not to be disheartened.
  3. Seek assistance: Seeking advise from senior colleagues, lecturers and staff is very necessary. We can’t always assume to find answers without asking the more experienced persons.
  4. Identifying research aims and objectives: It is important to understand the reason why the research is been conducted, the contribution to knowledge and how the objectives will be achieved. This is major guide through the research.
  5. Accept new directions: There are lots of times my research was adjusted. An example was when I had to change my theoretical framework, this was a major challenge. Most times, new directions lead to positive results.
  6. Public speaking: I have never had fear of public speaking but this is one thing I have constantly engage in during my Ph.D journey. It is important to be happy about your research and willing to always talk about it. There are lots of presentations to be done either at the faculty or external events, although they are most times not compulsory but they are very good for personal development. I was always excited to make presentations, which hearten me to present at 2 different conferences in my first year.
  7. Discipline: Occasionally, I am tempted to spend time on distracting things instead of my research. I have realized that distraction is a tool that should be avoided and can self-discipline is a tool to fight it.
  8. Literature review: This is a continuous progress, it is important to keep up to date with the literature of your research. You can click on this link for the importance of literature review https://tobioyefeso.com/2020/05/12/importance-of-literature-review-in-social-sciences-humanities/ .
  9. Confidence: Having confidence in ones research work is awesome, this shows that you are conversant with your research and you understand the direction your research is going.
  10. Good relationship with supervisors: This can be tactic but it is very important to establish a good working relationship with supervisors.
  11. Organization: Staying organized is very important, I have always loved to work with a plan and prepare ahead of my days. Therefore, I didn’t find it difficult in organizing my research work. It is necessary to keep your calendar up to date, as there are lots of activities that will be occurring. Having said that, there are different tools that researchers use to organize their research such as Mendeley, Evernote, Microsoft One Note and so on.
  12. Social and Mental: There is more to life than just a PhD, I usually engage in other activities such as attending moot courts, tea breaks, catching up with colleagues, blogging, visiting places around, going to the gym, watch movie and others. I believe this helps to keep the social and mental health good. As a famous proverb says that ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’.