Marking METE1153 ODL Occupational Safety in Energy System

Today is Saturday—an off-day—but official responsibilities still call. Knowing that next week will be packed with activities, I’ve decided to make full use of today to complete the marking for my final exam scripts for METE1153 ODL: Occupational Safety in Energy Systems. There are 28 students, and all their answer scripts are in PDF format, which means I have to do all the marking on my laptop—a task that is both time-consuming and mentally demanding.

In addition to that, I also need to start thinking about how to manage UTM’s FRGS (Fundamental Research Grant Scheme) proposals—an overwhelming total of 598 submissions. Of course, it’s not something I’m handling alone, but within my capacity and scope, I have to contribute as best as I can. We’re all hoping that UTM secures as many FRGS grants as possible. The application process itself has already been delayed since February this year due to persistent issues with the MyGRANTS portal, which had been inaccessible for months.

Despite it being a weekend, the work must go on.

Other tasks of the day include Service Marsya’s Axia’s and Major grocery shopping

#20242025 Day 026

#Saturday

Sharing Session with RC and RG from Faculty of Civil Engineering (FKA) on Research Grant Opportunities

Date: 15 July 2025 | Time: 2:30 PM | Venue: BMU, Faculty of Civil Engineering (FKA), UTM

I was invited by the Faculty of Civil Engineering (FKA), UTM to deliver a sharing session on available research grants during their Research Centre (RC) and Research Group (RG) meeting. The aim was to provide exposure to RC and RG leaders on potential funding avenues that can support their research initiatives.

Although initially requested to speak about UTM internal grants only, I broadened the session to cover:

  • National grants (e.g., FRGS, PRGS, TRGS, etc.),
  • International funding schemes, and
  • UTM’s internal research grants, including preliminary insights into the 2025 internal grant planning, which is informed by MOHE’s allocated budget.

The session, originally allocated 30 minutes, extended to about 45 minutes due to active engagement and questions from attendees. I shared the PDF version of my slides with participants for future reference and further reading.

Follow-up Invitation

The next day, I was contacted by Prof. Safuan from FKA, who requested that I deliver a similar presentation to a group of new academic staff (under 5 years of service). Insha’Allah, I have agreed to support this initiative, as it aligns well with efforts to strengthen the awareness and readiness of early-career researchers in securing grants.

Other Activities on the Same Day

9:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Attended and actively participated in the Jawatankuasa Pengurusan Dana (JKPD) meeting.

#20242025 Day 015

#Tuesday

Day 321 Task – My Research Management

I have various activities and tasks that I need to managed in all my research grants. There are things like payment for chemicals that my student purchase, adding supplementary documentations for claiming the ICCME2020 conference fee that I participated last month, managing to pay my research student allowances, appointment of my new graduate research assistant (GRA) student, payment of analysis fee carried out at Unit Perkhidmatan Makmal Universiti (UPMU) and few more.

I just need to ensure that I am managing it well. The money for research need to be utilized as best as we can for research purpose.

Read all my “1 Official Task Per Day Record Challenge for 2020” —> https://people.utm.my/zakiyamani/category/1-activity-1-day/