Postgraduate Research Seminar

IBC organised its first postgraduate research seminar for postgraduate students to present their research progress in front of the faculty and their peers. The seminar was attended by the the supervisors of the students, IBC faculty, administrators, Ph. D., M.A. and B.A. students from IBC and Malaysia. The seminar was held in a sunday afternoon to enable working professionals from outside IBC or further away in Malaysia to make the journey to participate and interact with the professors, faculty and students.

Ven Zhen Yuan, a Ph. D. student presented her progress in her research on Buddhist Education in Malaysia. Her presentation focused on the Penang Phor Tay School, the first Buddhist school established in Malaysia in 1930 by Venerable Fang Lian, and its subsequent development and expansion to a complex of kindergarten, primary and secondary schools that we see today. The success of Ven Fang Lian's vision and the Phor Tay School motivated many other like-minded nuns, monks and Buddhadharma workers to further develop and establish BUddhist schools elsewhere in Malaysia and beyond like International Buddhist College founded by Venerable Wei Wu with support from his contemporaries.

Mr Saengmane Sriponpa, an M.A. student gave a presentation on the progress of his project on propagation of Buddhadharma in Maharashta, the support from the local people, the trials and tribulations in establishing a devoted community that helped their organisation and each other to grow.

The professors, faculty and administrators present also answered questions and discussed with the newer students their various options of study; choices of topics for research for independent study or thesis; major references to rely on for their initial research; and how to organise themselves; and setting up schedules on consulting their supervisors; etc. The afternoon of interaction had been a successful one. The session ended with a series of one-on-one meeting and consultations between the students and their supervisors.