GRAD Centre’s Peer Consultations Gain Traction

The NIE Graduate Research and Academic Development (GRAD) Centre has a peer consultation programme dedicated to improving the academic writing skills of postgraduate students – who aren’t the only ones benefitting from the initiative. The peer consultants, themselves PhD student tutors who are trained by the GRAD centre consultant, are finding the interactions to be highly rewarding.

According to Ms Sun Xiaoya, a PHD student tutor, “The process of providing quality consultations requires me to identify potential weaknesses with tutees’ academic writing and suggest suitable ways for improvement. When my tutees tell me how the sessions have helped their work and how they would like to attend more of such sessions, I know I must have done something right!”

Also embracing the role of PhD student tutor was Fatema Anis Hussain, who said that the stimulating conversations she’s had with her peers, and the opportunity to read and understand academic writing across different domains, have been a valuable learning experience. For Mr Chen Yixiong, another student tutor, “The whole tutoring process has been a good chance for me to think about my writing.”

The peer consultation ideawas the brainchild of Dr Cheung Yin Ling and her team at the GRAD Centre, which also organises get-together for the PhD student tutors to share their coaching experiences with one another. Voicing her appreciation for the get-togethers was student tutor, Ms Angelia Wong: “It is effective support for us as we get to enjoy the camaraderie of learning alongside other students!”