Waiting for the call

I haven't been able to update my blog for quite sometime now. The past few days have been quite hectic with work, meetings and other stuff.

I am now waiting for a call from the UK. It’s from my prospective PhD supervisor.

Yes! I have decided to continue with my PhD in the UK. I was pursuing it part time in University of Malaya but made the choice to discontinue it here and start all anew in the UK after taking several factors into consideration.

It’s a tough choice considering that I have to leave the security of my present job and the fact that have covered nearly a year in University of Malaya. And in the end I may end up changing the whole topic based on the area of interest of my prospective supervisor.

Another factor that adds to my feeling of insecurity is that even if I do get selected as one of the PhD candidates, I still may not be able to accept their offer if I cannot come up with the funds to support my study. I don’t have enough funds for the study and I would have to apply for a scholarship. And I can only apply for a scholarship after I get accepted into the University. There are only a limited number of scholarships and I would be fighting for them with people from all around the world. That’s why obtaining strong support from a supervisor is very important.

Fortunately, living costs and other expenses won't be a problem as my wife is going there too supported by the Malaysian Government.

I am not sure what he is going to talk about. I am praying that everything goes OK.

UPDATED 20 Oct. 2005:

I received his call while I was on my way to pick up my wife from her office. Talk about lousy timing. And my prediction was right, he expects me to incorporate some of his research areas into my proposal if I want him to be my supervisor. Now I am cracking my head wondering how I am supposed to do that. Guess I have to change my whole proposal.