Akib Mohammad

The globally-recognised reputation for statistical research of Wellington’s School of Mathematics and Statistics gave Akib the confidence to study his PhD here.

“Knowing the amazing applications of statistics in various biomedical fields such as clinical trials, genetics, sequencing analysis and other disease-and-health related issues have made statistics a cardinal field in my eyes.”

After completing his PhD at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, Akib plans to dedicate himself to addressing important health and disease-related issues using his statistical research and applications of statistical methods. “Among the significant areas in Statistics, I would prefer to put more emphasis on Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Public Health. My PhD study is on survival analysis. Basically, our research is focused on the efficient estimation approach in survival study which can be used in medical studies for things like cancer and AIDS.”

Akib has had a great connection with his supervisor Dr Yuichi Hirose. With their parallel research interests, Akib has received great academic and research support alongside the guidance and feedback he is receiving on his projects. So far, his work has been presented twice at New Zealand Statistics Association (NZSA) conferences. In 2019, Akib’s presentation, “Efficient estimation for the joint model of survival and longitudinal data,” received an Honourable Mention at the 2019 NZSA Conference. “This win gave me so much positivity and motivation to move forward,” Akib says.

Akib was drawn to the University due to its leadership in statistical research and education in New Zealand. “I am confident that a PhD from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington will help me fortify my research career in the field of statistics.” While studying, he has found the University to be a strong, dynamic environment in which to improve his knowledge, skills and career development, “Because of the globally recognised School of Mathematics and Statistics with highly qualified faculty members, reasonable tuition fees and generous scholarship opportunities.”