Stories about People

Rohini Matzin

Hi, My name is Rohani Matzin and I'm a university lecturer teaching educational psychology courses at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam in Brunei.

I had done my Masters in one of the western countries in Europe and when I decided to study for my Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the year 2000, Australia was my first choice of destination particularly Perth for a number of reasons. One of them is that, its convenience in travelling in terms of distance as it takes only five hours to fly from my country to Perth. The other is, the favourable weather in Perth which is to my liking. Most important is by the warmth and helpful persons and academic staff whom I contacted when I was searching for supervisors who would be willing to supervise my thesis. It is these friendliness and helpfulness that made me decide to apply to this school and these same attitudes were shown to me when I arrived at this university.

I was also attracted by the flexibility of the program offered by the school in terms of residential requirement. This flexibility enables me to do my research project in my country and thus be able to be with my family at the same time. I have no problems in communicating with my supervisors either through seeing them personally or via e-mail. They are always readily available and willing to see me whenever I need them. Furthermore, my supervisors are also very helpful and friendly and very supportive especially during the difficult times such as proposal presentation, candidacy application and human ethics application. Overall, I am very satisfied with the quality of supervision so far. Currently I am working on the project entitled "Teachers' Differential Behaviour, Self-Concept and Perceived Competence of Children with Learning Difficulties and High -Achieving Children in Inclusive Education" and hopefully would be able to finish the project on time.

One of the things that impresses me most is the high standard of work expected of the PhD student. Everyday is a learning experience for me but through hard work and supportive supervisors, life as a Phd student is exciting and bearable. So come and join us, you won't be disappointed. This school offers quality as well as friendly atmosphere.

Best Regards,
Rohani