LAST WEEK LOOKS LIKE ISDEV GRADUATE WEEK

Roslan Hassan

Last week, in particular from 4 to 5th May 2011, appeared to look like an ISDEV Graduate Week, though it was not called so.

On Wednesday the 4th, Roslan Hassan and Mohd Shukri Hanapi presented their Master and PhD proposals respectively. Both were given a nod to proceed with their research, the former on A Study on Conflict Management in Shah Alam City Council From Islamic Perpsective and the latter on Development Worldview in the al-Qur`an - A Study of Tafsir Mawdhi'y. I involved in both proposals - as an assessor to Roslan and as a main supervisor to Mohd Shukri.

Mohd Shukri Hanapi

On Thursday the 5th, I held a supervisorial meeting with all my graduate students, including those from Indonesia who purposely came for the week. We went through thesis write-ups of some of them, one by one, to be learnt together by others. It ended up with a drawing of guidelines for future works, to fit in ISDEV's encouragement to complete their study within minimum time, viz. one year for Master and two years for PhD. The Thursday was actually meant for all ISDEV graduate students, including from abroad, to meet their respective supervisors.

The climax was on Friday the 6th, with ISDEV Monthly Graduate (Collective) Supervision. I involved directly with it, in both sessions that have been scheduled. The first was the tazkirah titled Is It Too Difficult to Write A Thesis?, and the second was the lecture on Problem Statement and Its Relation to Background, Objectives and Research Questions.

The three days were joyful indeed, giving opportunities to all ISDEV graduate students, local and overseas, to interact formal and informally with their fellow students and supervisors, in accomplishing similar aim of producing excellent theses. Alhamdulillah.

Presenting "Is it too difficult to write a thesis?"

Parts of the graduates during the ISDEV Monthly Graduate Supervision

Mohd Shukri defending his proposal

ISDEV MARCHES TOWARDS BOOK WRITINGS

New publications by ISDEV members

On books again.

On 24-25 May 2011, USM School of Humanities with the co-operation of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka will hold a Manuscript Procument Workshop (Bengkel Perolehan Manuskrip). I am glad that 19 ISDEV members, consisting of lecturers, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Fellows of Academic Staff Training Scheme, graduate students and ISDEV alumni, have agreed to my encouragement to participate in the Workshop.

If each of them come up with a book manuscript from this Workshop, ISDEV will in the near future, God willing, has 19 books produced by its members, based on their respective researches. These would be a significant addition to the 20 edited books to be produced from working papers of ISDEV international conferences held for the past three years. Four titles of these 20 books are already in the consideration of two prominent publishers. Another three books by ISDEV members, plus a journal, have just been published (picture). The titles are as follows:

1. The Management of Knowledge, Economy & Development edited by Fadzila Azni Ahmad, Zakaria Bahari & Roselee Shaharuddin

 

2. The Management Methods of Islamic Development Institutions in Malaysia by Fadzila Azni Ahmad

 

3.Zakat Transformation - From Subsistence to Productive Zakat edited by Muhammad Syukri Salleh, Mohamad Salleh Abdullah & Zahri Hamat

 

4. Journal of Islamic Development Politics co-published by ISDEV, Universitas Utara & Universitas Medan Area, Indonesia

I firmly believe that knowledge advocated by ISDEV could be disseminated to a wider audiences, and ISDEV itself would be known widely, through writings. Writing is indeed a tradition of a knowledgeable, moreover a normal practice of a leader. Without writings, ISDEV would not be able to consider itself as a knowledgeable centre, let alone a leading institution. ISDEV members therefore must continously write and write and write.