Considering a PhD but unsure if it is the right path? Or just starting your candidature and feeling uncertain about what lies ahead? Join our panel session as we demystify the PhD application process and share honest insights from current PhD candidates.
Hear their personal experiences transitioning into graduate research, overcoming challenges, and maintaining well-being throughout their studies. Learn how a PhD can build valuable technical and soft skills that open doors in both academia and industry.
Here's what you will take away:
Application Demystified: Understand what it takes to apply and get accepted.
Navigating Candidature: Overcoming research challenges, managing expectations and prioritizing well-being.
Skill Development: Leveraging your PhD for high-impact technical (hard), transferrable (soft) skills and acquired attributes.
Plan Your Future: Explore non-academic and academic career pathways post-graduation.
Who Should Attend?
- Undergraduates (Years 2 & 3): Considering PhD studies in the future.
- Final-Year & Master’s Students: Preparing to start a PhD soon.
- Early PhD Candidates (Years 1 & 2): Looking for guidance and fresh perspective.
This is a post-event workshop for NUS Career Fest 2027.
Speaker(s)
Prof. Ignatius Rasiah
- Current Roles: Professor of Practice & Programme Director, Institute for Engineering Leadership (College of Design & Engineering) | Professor of Practice (joint appointment), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS) | https://cde.nus.edu.sg/idel/staff/dr-ignatius-rasiah/
- Advisory & Leadership: Faculty Advisor for the Medical Grand Challenge | Advisor to the Centre for Innovation in Healthcare (CIH, NUHS) | Adjunct Professor, National University of Ireland, Galway
- Specializations: R&D Management, MedTech & Digital Health Incubation, Deep Tech Commercialization, Engineering Leadership
- Education & Credentials: PhD in Physics, Postdoctoral Fellow (University of Toronto) | Member of the American Physical Society (APS) and the CPMT Chapter of the IEEE
With over 25 years of industry R&D management experience, Prof. Ignatius Rasiah operates at the intersection of engineering, medicine, and technological innovation. At NUS, he leads postgraduate training in Engineering Leadership while advising key healthcare innovation initiatives across the university and at the National University Health System (NUHS).
Prior to his academic appointments, Prof. Rasiah served as Vice President for Breakthrough Research at Medtronic, where he established global external technology incubation efforts and co-launched MindUp, a premier Israeli Digital Health incubator formed alongside IBM, Rambam Hospital, and the venture fund Pitango. His corporate tenure also includes leadership roles as Chief Technology Officer (Asia) at PerkinElmer Optoelectronics and Global Technology Manager at Honeywell Electronic Materials.
A trusted advisor across industry and government, Prof. Rasiah has held key positions at the national level, including the Cardiovascular Taskforce in Singapore, the National Lung Cancer Taskforce in Malaysia, and as a panel member on the SGTech review board at Enterprise Singapore. He also serves as an Innovation Advisor to Singaporean companies through IPI, sits on the Institutional Review Board at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and is a member of the Industrial Advisory Board of the Engineering Science Programme at NUS. He actively consults for multinational enterprises across the US, Europe, and Asia on medical, electronic, and optical technologies.
Dr. Aik Beng Ng
- Current Role: Senior Regional Manager, NVIDIA AI Technology Centre (NVAITC) | Co-Director, SIT-NVIDIA Joint AI Centre | Adjunct Associate Professor (Singapore Institute of Technology)
- Specializations: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Ecosystem & Strategy, Human-AI Collaboration, Augmented Intelligence, Natural Language Processing (NLP) & Computer Vision, Deep Tech Ecosystems
- Education & Credentials: PhD in Artificial Intelligence (SUTD) | BEng (NTU) | Lead Inventor on Patented Software Methodology
Dr. Aik Beng Ng brings over two decades of cross-sector experience across SMEs, multinational corporations, and public agencies, spanning tech innovation, IT management, and enterprise growth. As a technologist, researcher, and ecosystem builder, he leads a regional team of researchers at NVIDIA driving cutting-edge advancements in generative AI, foundation models, and human-AI collaboration.
Through strategic partnerships with institutes of higher learning, government bodies, and industry players, Dr. Ng plays a pivotal role in accelerating AI adoption and bridging the expertise gap across Singapore and the broader region. Beyond his research and academic duties at SIT, he serves on the Singapore National AI Technical Committee, contributing to the nation's AI standards, talent development, and governance initiatives. Dr. Ng is currently pioneering research into the Intellective Exoskeleton (“IntelliExo”), aiming to create intelligent AI assistants that boost cognitive capabilities for knowledge workers. He has also mentored six PhD students to the successful completion of their doctoral degrees.
Dr. Joanna Hioe
- Current Role: Adjunct Faculty (Singapore University of Social Sciences)
- Specializations: Disaster Risk Governance, Community Resilience, Digital Ethnography & Media Studies, Public Understanding of Risk
- Education & Credentials: PhD in Southeast Asian Studies (National University of Singapore)
Dr Joanna Hioe holds a PhD in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore, where she studied how communities cope with disaster. She turned her research into Just One Door Away, a documentary series for disaster responders. Dr. Hioe combines her background in media, storytelling, and higher education with a deep commitment to environmental justice and community resilience. She is also a piano coach at HearandPlay, an online play-by-ear piano school, and the author of four books on growth and change. Before pursuing her doctoral research, she built six years of professional experience across industry sectors, bringing practical cross-sector insights to her academic and field research. Beyond her research and teaching at SUSS, she is active in student leadership and public engagement through creative media and independent scholarship.
Dr. Christabel Chan
- Current Role: Postdoctoral Fellow, AbbVie
- Specializations: Toxinological Sciences, Structural Biology of Ion Channel Receptors, Protein-Based Drug Discovery for Neurological Conditions
- Education & Credentials: PhD in Biological Sciences (National University of Singapore)
Dr. Christabel Chan holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the National University of Singapore. Her research in the toxinological sciences explored how to target receptor subtypes with precision by harnessing the toxins and venoms produced by living organisms, with the aim of uncovering a drug lead for conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Her guiding philosophy reflects the very essence of her field: that toxins are nature's weapons which, once understood, can be re-engineered as nature's medicine - transforming what was once harmful into something healing.
Dr. Chan's work was recognised with the Overseas Research Immersion Award, which placed her in a structural biology laboratory at the University of California San Diego to study the structure and mysteries of ion channel receptors alongside expert scientists and graduate students. Grounded in rigorous laboratory science and driven by a passion for translational research, she faces scientific challenges with resilience - holding firm to her conviction that true scientific growth comes from the strength to pursue a new solution when a hypothesis falls short.
Moderator: Dr. May Koh
- Current Role: Postgraduate Career Advisor, NUS Centre for Future-Ready Graduates
- Specializations: Career Coaching, Advisor & Mentor, Talent & Human Capital Development,
- Education & Credentials: PhD in Materials Science & Engineering (Nanyang Technological University) | Postdoctoral Fellowships (Linköping University & Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS)
Dr. May Koh combines over a decade of deep scientific research experience with a strong passion for human capital development. She has lived and worked across diversified cultures in Sweden, Germany and Canada. Having completed two postdoctoral fellowships, she successfully pivoted from a research scientist in the MedTech domain to a career advisor, where she now guides postgraduate students on journeys of self-discovery and career development.
At the NUS Centre for Future-Ready Graduates, Dr. Koh leverages her background to empower postgraduates to unlock their potential and navigate their career trajectories. Beyond her professional work, she is now volunteering with Singapore Mentorship Committee (SMC) in mentoring youths to empower the young talent to lead with purpose, global competence and humanity.
Register by 11 March 2027.
(Registration will close once all slots are filled)