Students who opt to show their ability to run high-impact independent research with critical thinking, and enunciating difficult concepts in a meaningful way, thesis at university level could be the first step to pitch in the knowledge creation diving deep on a certain specialised field. Thesis -- a long-form piece of academic writing, generally needs more than a full semester to complete at master's level education in most of the universities of our country, and some of them are accepted at graduate level. It demands a high level of endeavour, attention to details, and the propensity to express intricate ideas more effectively.
Students can reap multifaceted favour from completing a thesis in their academic life - planning project, managing project, analysing market, managing time, and most probably, skills to communicate managers/customers in a real business world through comprehensive fieldwork interviews for thesis. Likewise, it also has a potential perk to gain a robust understanding on certain subjects and may ease the path for foreign scholarship to study e.g. masters and PhD through publishing it in an international journal. If a student plans to grow his/her career in the specialised field, then doing a thesis can help a student become a strong candidate in the industry relevant to that specialised field.
Shaharin Akther, having completed MBA in banking and insurance at University of Chittagong, was nominated for the prime minister gold medal award for her excellent result in the business faculty, defined academic thesis as a platform to utilise a student's in-depth academic knowledge. She believes, "Developing a thesis project at the academic level builds some necessary skills in a student's life, such as critical analysis, time management, problem-solving, and communication skills. Additionally, data analysis, statistical knowledge, and the knowledge of different software as well as lab experiences not only make you compatible for professional life but also allow you to specialise in a particular area of interest within your field, especially giving a competitive edge in that niche."
Ms Shaharin narrated that students often invest full attention in securing CGPA, not knowing that research can help them in building career, involving with extra-curricular activities, even building connections worldwide. "Many students complete their degrees but don't even have the basic knowledge of research, correspondingly, blocking their own opportunities for higher studies despite the fact that they are equally competent. In our country, there is no hands-on recognition for researchers, consequently making students away from this journey," She adds.
Ms Shaharin shared her experience that the major problem she had faced during her thesis was the lack of funds and equipment necessary for developing a thesis project. The unavailability of data, and not having access to different statistical software like STATA or plagiarism prevention services like Turnitin were the main barriers for her. She believes that supervisors' critical role, neoteric lab facilities, deploying funds, and involvement of students during their undergrads can contribute to create a positive impact in developing a quality thesis; in the long run to engrain research interest among university students.
Ahnaf Muttaqi Munif, a graduate in anthropology from the University of Chittagong, recounts that pursuing a thesis at an academic level enables students to find something new and be more efficient in research in the near future. He took part in a graduate thesis on internal migration where he conducted in-depth interviews to collect data especially from working class people. He asserts that the prevalent domains of universities in extending budgets for research much demotivate the young bloods and added that lacks of proper supervision, idea of plagiarism, paucity of fund, and unavailability of appropriate structure for thesis generation are main impediments to instill research inclemency among university students.
Another academician from University of Chittagong, striving for his PhD in the United Kingdom, denounces the leading environment for developing thesis at universities where producing high-quality work in a very limited time frame is extremely challenging and the thesis evaluation process appears to be heavily influenced by nepotism and subjective impressions. Many faculty members like him shared a concern that there was a noticeable gap in students' foundational understanding of research project management, and it appeared that statistics and research methodology played no worthwhile role in the thesis generation.
Panel discussion, rigorous workshop, sufficient allocation of funds, recognised framework to complete a thesis from beginning to end, and supervisors' critical role on data handling, writing thesis statement, using statistical software and evaluation can lead to developing quality theses in academic institutions. Consequently, such development will add much positive vive to the existing depressed scenario in the field of research at universities.
Faculties often recommend that the thesis process should begin at the start of the aligned semester and extend over six months for better results. Further advice is that there should be thorough evaluation by external faculties from different universities or departments that can play an indispensable role to develop standard thesis. This will contribute to inculcating vehemence for research in the long run among the university students and enrich their university education journey.
The writer is doing MBA at University of Chittagong.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
