
Our Training Experience on ToT
The first official experience of ToT1 in the Royal Thimphu College (RTC) made me realize qualitative research was something I was interested in. Of course, I was a bit nervous and tempted on the first day of the training as a freshman, but with time, the process got a little bit easier. As the training progressed, I found myself excited to explore this amazing field of qualitative research. I came to understand that what sets qualitative research aside is its approach in getting a deeper understanding of social interactions and processes.
At around 9 am, I reached Royal Thimphu College which was located 6 kilometers away from Thimphu city in a secluded and peaceful environment. As I got out of the car, I was welcomed by the fresh and chilly winds of RTC and the excitement it sparked off was beyond words to describe. The first day of the workshop kicked off at 9:30 with the registration of the participants, followed by a very warm welcome by the organizers. The participants were divided into groups with members from different HEIs. A QRM knowledge pre-test was done on the first day to assess the participants’ knowledge on QRM, followed by an introduction to qualitative research. The various sessions consisted of a series of lectures on QRM by the local and international experts. To make the sessions more interesting, interactive and to provide some hands-on practice, peer group assignments, group discussions and Q & A sessions were included.
The sessions on QRM delivered by the experts were enriching, insightful and comprehensible. At the end of each day, the participants were asked to reflect on the day’s session by completing a knowledge survey. This has also helped to evaluate the training effectiveness. Furthermore, the hands-on practice on participant observation, in-depth-interview planning and design provided the participants with an opportunity to apply the theory into practice. Towards the end of the training, all the groups were required to come up with a mini-research topic along with a planning towards. The data collection from the mini research was to serve as an input for the ToT 2.
Overall, I really enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the 1st ToT and even more so to undertake a research project. It was a very rewarding experience to work in groups, researching on a topic of interest and also exercising qualitative researcher’s skills such as aptitude for listening with intention, establishing rapport quickly and team building. I look forward to learning more on qualitative research in the next ToT.
Deki Choden and Karma Zam, Sherubtse College