Research seminar overview
How does one find the balance between applied and academic knowledge? This seems to be the key question in Asian Studies nowadays if we want our graduates to have real options, which are
- Working for government or company, or
- Pursuing an academic career.
Our Master’s program in “Socio-Political Development and Challenges in East Asia” is aimed at training researchers to be able to conduct interdisciplinary research and to use the newest methods of study in the political, economic, social, cultural, ethnical, religious, and linguistic patterns of Asian countries and peoples.
In our program, we emphasize the research element which enables students to
- Produce masters’ papers conforming to the international level in terms of quality and thus the response of the academic community
- Give the students key skills which are adequate to today’s global needs, as Asian countries are increasingly playing stronger roles,
- Help students form the habit of systematic analysis, necessary in various fields, such as economics, politics, and finance.
The text below gives an overview of the “Comparative Asian Studies” research seminar, of what it is aimed at and how it is carried out.
The seminar is aimed at developing analytical skills in students, centred on the methodologies and processes in Asia. This will assist in preparing the master’s thesis planning the future for those wanting to continue on in post-graduate studies, and also forming the basis for further development in students wanting to work in non-academic fields. Thus the seminar is aimed at supporting student achievements in both the short and long term.
The main tasks of the seminar are the following.
1. Guidance – the students choose the field and the topic for their thesis, and then their research methods.
2. Teaching – the students learn to conduct academic research.
3. Discussion – the students learn how to discuss their ideas and projects with their colleagues.
4. Training – the students learn to present their research results.
The tasks of the seminars are similar to those of all the research seminars at HSE, making the students’ research a key element of the educational process, so they can enter the academic community by mastering the techniques of research and making the results public.
As part of the master’s program will eventually be carried out in cooperation with the City University of Hong Kong, there may be some requests from our partner to further its interests in research and analytical work. This cooperation benefits both parties, among other things giving our students an opportunity to use the first-rate library of the City University of Hong Kong.
The seminar is carried out across the entire two academic years. Technically it consists of 25% of classwork according to the schedule, and 75% self-study.
As we seek to make our research seminar an interdisciplinary and highly complex one, it seems natural to carry out only one seminar for all the students of our master’s program. Taking part in the seminar is obligatory for all students.
Most of the seminar’s time is dedicated to the master’s thesis. But the thesis also serves here as a model for any future analytical project of the student.
The research seminar shouldn’t be understood by the student as other courses, where the class work can be more important than self-study. The core of the research seminar is the research conducted by the student out of the classroom, while in class the following functions are realized.
- Consulting – the teacher acts as a consultant for the students, helping them to articulate the topic of their research, to choose methods, to figure out which sources of information could be useful.
- Setting the task – finding out where the student should start.
- Controlling – the tasks should be solved in time and according to HSE standards.
- Discussion – not only the teacher but all the students discuss the projects, thus modeling an actual situation in a research lab.
- Presentation – developing the skills of presenting one’s results.
The seminar is designed as a two-step structure. During the first year, the student chooses a topic for the future thesis, collects existing research in the field, and writes a paper, which will be part of the final thesis. The second year is used for writing and at the end defending the thesis. 13 and 11 credits are given for participation in the research seminar in the first and second years respectively.