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Issue no. 2 | 2021

Playing the Part of a Mentor

BY ASSOC PROF DR SUSAN PHILIP

And finally, on April 8th, I
Given that I have reached a certain level of seniority, it is
took part in the virtual
perhaps not surprising that I find myself playing the part of
launch of the KISAH Futures
several
mentor or adviser more often. Mentoring takes
short story anthology. This
forms – introducing new ideas and approaches to junior
anthology came out of a
academics, sharing publication tips, offering advice to
short fiction writing
Form 6 students, and engaging in public discussions. The
competition organised by
latter two examples I consider to be a form of engagement
UNDP, MiGHT (Malaysian
with the public beyond the confines of the university. The
Industry-Government Group
past couple of months have proven quite rewarding for me,
Assoc. Prof. Dr Susan Philip
for High Technology), in action on Didik TV
as I have taken part in several such activities.
ThinkCity, and Universiti Malaya.The competition focused
On March 5th, I gave the Keynote address at a conference on the theme of post-Covid futures, and aimed to try and
on “Modern Paradigms in English Language and find out how ordinary people are reacting to the pandemic,
Literature”, at the MSU-Constituent Model College, how they visualise the post-pandemic future, and what
Nagalapuram, India. I spoke on diaspora identity in they hope for.
Malaysia, which was new for the conference attendees as
they have looked at diaspora mainly from the point of view We received over 400 entries in English, and over 200 in
of those moving to the West. Later that month, on the 26th Bahasa Malaysia. Universiti Malaya was involved in the
of March, I spoke to younger academics from Universiti initial conceptualisation of the competition, as well as in
Tenaga Nasional, on how to write book reviews for judging the stories. The launch included an informal panel
ISI/Scopus publications. discussion, focusing on the idea of ‘futures’ in multiple
with
contexts, in which I took part as a panelist along
On 31st March, I made my television debut, presenting on representatives from the other organisers.
the Literature in English STPM paper for Didik TV – an
initiative started by the Ministry of Education to help Form 6 Each of these events has taken up my time in terms of
students overcome some of the problems they have faced preparation, so it’s been a busy time, but being able to
during this difficult, disrupted school year. share my knowledge and experience has been rewarding.
Visiting Senior Research
Dr Helena Varkkey, who is currently on sabbatical leave
Fellow at ARI, NUS
from the Department of International and Strategic Studies,
has taken up a six-month appointment as a Visiting Senior
Research Fellow under the Inter-Asia Engagements Cluster
at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of
Singapore.

Dr Helena has been working closely with researchers at ARI
and the Department of Geography, NUS since 2017. She
joins them in Singapore to continue work as Leader of
Work Package 1 (Biomass Burning/Haze) for a Singapore
Social Science Research Thematic Grant-funded project on
“Sustainable Governance of Transboundary Environmental
Commons in Southeast Asia” (see TECSEA website).

For the final funded year of this project, she will lead the
production of a series of policy briefs for both Work
Packages (Biomass Burning/Haze and Hydropower in the
Members of the TECSEA project (L-R PhD Candidate Ms Tan Zu
Dienle, Research Fellow Dr Rini Astuti, Dr Helena Varkkey, Senior
Mekong) that will translate the project’s findings into policy
Research Fellow Dr Michelle Miller, and Department of Geography
recommendations for improved transboundary
Head Prof Dr David Taylor) with staff of Walhi (Friends of the Earth)
environmental governance across Southeast Asia. Riau, Indonesia.

6 | Pulse @ FASS