By Fatin Roslan, a Postgraduate student from Laboratory of Vaccine and Biomolecules (VacBio), Institute of Bioscience, UPM

​A postgraduate student is someone pursuing advanced studies for an advanced degree. They must be eager and possess strong willpower to pursue this knowledge. Not all students will reach the end of the road; some might step back for a few semesters, and some will make a U-turn to pursue a better opportunity that suits them. There will be a moment when giving up seems like a better option, but the enormous support from my parents, my siblings, my supervisors, VacBio’s lab staff, and my friends hinder me from stopping. Hence, I am sharing part of my ups and downs during my PhD journey.

​I started my PhD in Microbiology in October 2022 at the Laboratory of Vaccines and Biomolecules (VacBio), specifically VacBio 7. Here, I found solace, hope and friendships that helped me become a better researcher. Endless encouragement and advice received from my supervisor, Prof Dr Zunita Zakaria, Dr Yu Choo Yee, and Prof Dr Nurulfiza Mat Isa kept me going throughout this tough journey. Prof Zunita would always be there for me in terms of encouragement and any financial support for my project’s purchases and conferences. She always put full trust in me in conducting my research and often offered a way out whenever I had a problem relating to my project.  Not to forget, the presence of the friendly lab staff who allowed me to work late into the night kept me company and believed in me especially Madam Wahida, Madam Nadia and Dr Mazni. They had become my second family in the UPM.

Like all postgraduate students out there, I stumbled upon my hardest moment when one of the methods used did not generate any outcomes. I spent almost a year optimising this method and ended up having to change it to a totally new method not once but twice. This drained my willpower and brought me closer to giving up. Just like how the rainbow comes after the rain, I was very grateful that during this tough time I was given an opportunity by Dr Yu to explore more molecular biology techniques like next-generation sequencing (NGS) and RNA extraction from multiple sample types. It enhanced my laboratory skills, as NGS specifically required meticulous pipetting precision and stringent quality control to produce a high-quality sequencing data. The success of this “side project” has enlightened the little fighter spirit in me and allowed me to see a fresh perspective on my own project. Dr Yu also entrusted me to become one of the facilitators on NGS workshops organised by VacBio and other research institutes such as the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) and the Institute of Medical Research (IMR). This opportunity not only increased my knowledge and experience as a researcher, but it also widened my view of what was happening in real-life scenarios once I graduated.

​The other way I used to cope with my failed experiments was to join community-based projects organised by VacBio lab. I was lucky enough to be on one of the committees in VacBio’s CSR programme and in one of the MAIWP programmes. This programme has strengthened my relationship with all VacBio staff and improved my communication skills, as it required me to deal with communities from different backgrounds. Joining this programme has opened my eyes to the fact that being a researcher is not solely focused on our own research, but also on contributing our knowledge and skills to help the community.

​The responsibility of postgraduate students is not only to ensure the success of our own project but also the projects of FYPs and Interns.  I know that most of us did not actually sign up for this, but after handling a few FYPs and interns, I could say that this experience is worth it. We could explore other disciplines of study that are very different from ours. For me, through my FYPs and interns, I learnt about the ways to produce nanoparticles, isolate bacteria from insects and much more. At first, we might look at it as a burden, but eventually we will realise that without them we won't have any opportunity to explore other fields.

One of the important things as a postgraduate student is to keep a good relationship with your labmates. I was fortunate enough to have my degree classmate, Aqilah along with me throughout this journey. I made a lot of new friends too, those who shared same interests, passions and would offer companionship and advice without any hesitation. Thank you to all the students in the VacBio 1 and 7 labs for welcoming me and being my good friends. I would not be here without these good spirits and positive attitudes from all of you!

To all my fellow postgraduate friends, do not give up. If you’ve stumbled into hardships, just take a step back from your project. Go home, meet your parents and probably find a new hobby. The enormous support that I received from my family in terms of financial, mental and physical support keeps me going on this path. I believe that family is our strongest backbone, the place we can pour out our real disappointment and tears. Hence, seek their advice too; they might not be able to give an answer to our scientific problems, but they will be able to put our troubled hearts at ease.

Finally, the most important thing for anyone with faiths, always place your prayers with a sincere heart to your God and trust Him. Personally, I always memorised the sentence from Chapter 26, verse 62 in the Quran, which means “Indeed, my Lord is with me; He will guide me”. Your Lord will never leave you alone on this path. Instead, for every hardship we are going through, He replaces it with good friends and the best experiences that end up shaping the version of us that we always pray for.

​In short, you being here is not a coincidence, but it’s part of your fate. Your little hardships might shape a better version of you in the future. You just have to trust the process. I am not at the end of the road yet, but I could tell it would be the best thing I ever got myself into. Hang in there, fellow postgraduate fighters!

Date of Input: 03/09/2026 | Updated: 03/09/2026 | azah