In my years as a lecturer and researcher, I’ve often wished someone was there to offer advice or simply share stories about their journey. When there was someone to do that for me, it was a huge help and comfort. So here I pen down here my candid thoughts on the experiences and milestones I have gone through. I hope that, whether it is wise sagely advice or simply laughing over shared experiences, it may help somebody along in their journey.
University Awards 2025 – ATEA
Sep 2025
This year, in addition to winning the faculty-level FTEA 2024 award, I also won the university-wide Annual Teaching Excellence Award (ATEA)! This is the second highest award an educator can receive in NUS (!!) and I’m really grateful to have been selected (in my third time trying).
What has changed? One thing I’ve tried to do differently this past year is to try to improve student engagement by always (1) Having something worth saying; and (2) Saying it in a way worth hearing. Click to read/watch more in my Awards Citation.
Also, huge shoutout to Prof Peter Todd, my PhD supervisor, who won the Outstanding Educator Award (the highest award an educator can receive in NUS). It feels extra special to win the ATEA in the same year he wins the OE!
Invited Presentations – DBS Teaching Life Workshop & CTLT AI in Education Showcase
Apr 2025
Invited presentations to share on my work in an AI study.
First invited presentation! – DBS Junior Faculty Meeting
Apr 2025
Today I gave my first invited presentation at a seminar for faculty members in my Department of Biological Sciences (DBS). I shared with them a study that I did on how to facilitate my students working in groups in my classroom. Using this as a case study, I shared ideas on how we can collect data for pedagogical studies in our classrooms using pre- and post-surveys, and assignments that are graded with purpose-designed rubrics.
This is a study I did because of the “Collaborative Learning” principle in my Teaching Philosophy. Due to this belief, I regularly assign group work to my students. However, I noticed that there were many pain points when students have to do group work. Hence, I tried to improve the way I manage the group work process in my classrooms. To do this robustly, I tracked my students’ performance with respect to my learning objectives for my students, and this eventually led to a full-fledged study that I presented at the 16th Asian Conference on Education (see below) and which earned my this invited presentation.
So my advice for any young educator out there: Stick to your principles; Be intentional in trying to improve your teaching; and Go where the road takes you!
First presentation at an international pedagogical conference
Dec 2024
16th Asian Conference on Education in Tokyo, Japan.
Faculty Awards 2023 – FTEA & FAME
Jan 2024
This year, I won the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA) for the second time and the Faculty Award for Mentorship Excellence (FAME).
In particular, I’m really proud of the FAME award. I truly believe our role as educators, making a difference in the lives of our students, extends beyond the classroom! It’s tiring and often thankless work. So I’m really glad for this award that acknowledges my contributions as a mentor to my Honours students, the students at the LSS (see below), and the students at the DGSS and BSGC (see below)! My work and approach to mentoring them are highlighted in this video on the NUS website.
First presentation at a pedagogical conference
Dec 2023
Higher Education Campus Conference 2023 at NUS.
Starting a lab – for real?!
Aug 2023
This is the first year that I am the main (and sole) supervisor of Honours students. Hence, I think it’s time I officially start a “lab”. Some people may question whether what we have (a gathering of people who want to do science) can really be called a “lab” without a dedicated space to do experiments. But there is space – all around us! We do ecology and nature is everywhere to be found, if we only look. So, I’m proud to introduce to you the newly minted at NUS…
Animal Behaviour & Ecology Lab!
ONL231
May 2023
Signing up and experience.
Faculty Awards 2022 – FTEA
Jan 2023
Today I won my first ever teaching award: the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA) which is given out to the top 10% (thereabouts) of educators in the Faculty of Science at NUS. I don’t know exactly what caused the committee to choose me, but what I try to do with my students is to let them know that I care, so that they would care what I know.
It’s really great to have my efforts acknowledged and validated in this way, especially coming from my first year of teaching. It seems that I must be doing something right! And I will continue to improve moving forward!
Mentorship – Advisor and chaperone to DGSS and BSGC
Dec 2022
I have taken on the role of faculty advisor to both the Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Students Society (DGSS) and the Biological Sciences Graduate Congress (BSGC). These are both really close to my heart as I was the President of the DGSS in my time as a PhD student, and also the president of the BSGC organising committee in 2017. I really hope to see these two organisations, and the students behind them, grow in time!
An unpleasant conference experience
Jul 2022
Racism at ISBE2022.
Creating my first Teaching Video
Jan 2022
As part of my Tropical Conservation Biology (LSM4262) course, I wrote and narrated a video on a case study on the issues surrounding habitat loss, using a case study from Singapore: the golf course that was to be developed at Lower Peirce in the 1990s. Click to watch “The Battle Of Lower Peirce”.
Mentoring students – Advisor to the LSS
Aug 2021
I’m now an advisor to the Life Sciences Society. They are a group of passionate undergraduate students who look out for the interests and welfare of our 1000 or so Life Sciences students here in the department. They organise 50-60 events every year (!) and it’s amazing to me that they are all volunteers, putting in hours and hours of time and energy to write up proposals and make their events happen because they want to serve! It’s going to be a pleasure to work with them!
Developing a Teaching Philosophy
Dec 2021
Now that I have to teach, I’ve had to take a long hard look at HOW I want to teach. Funnily, the start of the process involved looking at how I DO NOT want to teach: I didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the teachers I disliked when I was a student. I thought back to the teachers who taught me Chinese in my primary and secondary school years: their didactic approach and inflexible adherence to formulaic practices killed any interest I had in the subject! I also remembered one lecturer in my polytechnic years who treated us with so much disdain that it got in the way of us learning anything he was teaching.
Then I remembered the teachers who really cared for and inspired me. Ms Chan: my English teacher who allowed me to read my novels under the table during her lessons. Ms Phua: my Physics teacher who reached out to me and let me know she cared about the difficult time I was going through. Prof Todd: my marine biology lecturer who regaled us with his endless supply of fascinating stories and fun activities. These are the educators I want to be like!
My Teaching Philosophy revolves around 3 principles:
1) Liberation Pedagogy as described by Paulo Freire (1968). Every student can contribute something valuable to my classroom, so I partner my students to create and articulate knowledge, inspiring them to effect change in conservation and sustainability.
2) Collaborative Learning. I create opportunities for my students to work together, learning from one another to enrich their learning experiences.
3) Authentic Learning. I use complex, realistic learning activities to produce both mastery of content knowledge and development of soft skills that will be useful in students’ future courses and careers.
HUGE NEWS: I’m now a Lecturer!
1 Jul 2021
I am really excited to finally be able to announce that I am now a Lecturer at the Department of Biological Sciences in NUS! I’m still working in the same building (and actually the same office although sitting at a different table), but doing something different now. Teaching has always been a big passion for me (even as a Research Fellow in Antonia’s lab, I kept looking for chances to guest lecture) and this is a huge opportunity. It’s a real dream come true and I’m super excited!
When I was 8, my parents asked me what I wanted to be and I said: “a university lecturer”. Today, that dream came true… #BlessedAndGrateful
@ianzwchan July 1, 2021
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be a “university lecturer”. I love teaching and making a difference in the lives of others and this is a huge opportunity for me to do just that! I’ll still be involved in research on animal colours and behaviour (still working on 2 papers and co-supervising an Honours student) but perhaps a little less now, and balanced with pedagogical research.
To all of you who are considering their future – whether you are graduating soon, just graduated, or already an RF for a few years – hang in there! Keep your options open, take little steps at a time, and just keep choosing the best option along the way. You can do it!
Featured in the Straits Times – am I famous yet!?
20 Jun 2021
A HUGE HIGH in my academic career – our work was featured in an article in Singapore’s leading newspaper, the Straits Times! It really helps with the imposter syndrome thing (although it still doesn’t totally go away). But I think somewhere along the way, we just have to realise that we are who we are. We don’t know everything there is to know about our field, but we do know a fair bit. If the world wants to call us an “expert” because of that, that’s great! But deep inside, we know that we are just explorers on a never-ending journey to learn just a little bit more.
Huge shout out to all my co-authors: we could never have done this without every single one of us working together! CONGRATULATIONS!
Hired: Research Fellow!
1 April 2019
It’s not an April Fool’s joke – I have a job! I have joined Antonia Monteiro’s Evolutionary Development Lab at the National University of Singapore as a Research Fellow! The lab focuses mainly on the development of butterfly eyespots and colours using molecular tools such as CRISPR) and I will be looking forward to learning about these techniques, even as my main work will remain somewhat closer to my training.
It wasn’t an easy process, and so many questions went through my mind at different times… Academia? Industry (see this documentary by the Cheeky Scientist)? Stay in my lab? Move away from NUS? Am I really a scientist!? I want to encourage you… you can do it! Just Keep Your Chin Up!
Graduating…
December 2018
It’s done! It’s been a real pain in the bum, navigating all the formatting issues, the various forms to fill and timings to meet … but it’s finally done! Holding that thesis in my hands, fresh from the printers, I was (almost) as proud as when I first held Anzel (my firstborn son) in my hands.
In this post…
and advice on how to prepare for your Defence.
Published! Am I a real scientist now!?
The first paper!
(or How to Survive Peer Review)
December 2018
After a ONE YEAR LONG review process, I finally published my first paper (from my PhD)! It was a pretty big part of my research and it really feels like my work has been validated (in no small part because it was a pretty good journal, even if I do say so myself, *ahem*).
But after a whole year of four reviewers, three submissions, two revisions (and a partridge in a pear tree), I think I’ve come out from it slightly wiser (and a lot more jaded) about the peer review process. So I’d like to share the lessons I’ve learnt in the hope that it’ll help you through publishing your first (or perhaps umpteenth) paper.
The final year…
December 2017
This is when things get really tough. I’ve heard so many of my forebears talk about it and seen its effects first-hand in a few friends, but only now as I go through it do I realise how easy it is to become borderline depressed. This is a topic I have come to feel really strongly about, and that’s why I spoke about it at my opening address at the 22nd Biological Sciences Graduate Congress on 19 Dec 2017.
Depression amongst graduate students is an issue that we should be more aware of. It’s not something to be ashamed about and if you are experiencing it today, do reach out to your friends and family around you, or else, to the healthcare experts in your university.
First big conference!
August 2016
The International Society for Behavioural Ecology had its 16th (biennial) congress (ISBE2016) in Exeter University and I attended (and presented a poster)! Exciting stuff!
It was pretty intimidating to be honest: first time at such a big conference (looked like at least 500 people) and interacting with so many big scientists, including Naomi Pierce (from Harvard University) and Roger Hanlon (of cuttlefish fame). Especially alone, it can be tempting to just keep to yourself, disappear after the conference and not talk to anyone. But that’s the last thing you should do!
If you’re attending your first conference soon, here are three things I wish someone had shared with me before I attended mine…
QE: checked!
May 2016
Look out world! Ian Z.W. Chan is officially a Doctoral Candidate!
It was stressful, but you know, it turned out that it wasn’t as rough as I thought it would be. If you’re preparing to take your Qualifying Examination soon, here are a few things that may help …
Things (not) to do in the first year of your PhD
August 2015
It’s been a year since the start of my PhD and it seems like I’ve checked of all the items on this list (well, almost). In the interest of having a laugh at myself, here’s a list of things I did in the first year of my PhD …
Should I do a PhD?
August 2014
Should I do a PhD? What’s the point of studying for another 4 years? Will you be over-qualified for most jobs when you graduate? At the end of my undergrad degree, I had a tough decision to make and I chose the PhD. Looking back, would I still do the same thing now? For those who may be in a similar position, here’s my take on the choice (with the advantage of hindsight).