Creating history – TEDxDelft 7 november 2011
on Wednesday, October 19, 2011
De ontwerpster van het mooiste boek ter wereld. De kristalonderzoeker die per ongeluk astronaut werd. De vrouw die de regels voor hoogtechnologisch draagmoederschap aan de kaak stelt. De kwantumwetenschapper die atomen aan de andere kant van de wereld kan omdraaien. De kunstenaar die van pvc-buizen beesten maakt die zelfstandig kunnen bewegen. De student die in zijn vrije tijd foto’s maakt van 12 kilometer hoogte. Allemaal schrijven ze geschiedenis. Allemaal vertellen ze hun verhaal op TEDxDelft.
Op TEDxDelft delen 20 sprekers hun history created volgens de beproefde TED-formule. Een TEDx is een ervaring waarvan je niet eens wist dat je die gemist had. Als partner van TEDxDelft nodig ik je van harte uit hierbij aanwezig te zijn. Je kunt je aanmelden via deze link: www.tedxdelft.nl/tickets Tot ziens op 7 november!
I just registered for TEDxDelft and I am totally looking forward to the first TEDx event I'll be attending! More info on TEDxDelft
Studying versus Research
on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
As I wrote in my very first post, research is not like making homework. In fact, even though a PhD is the third cycle of higher education (especially when taking coursework), there is large difference between studying and doing research. Research requires a different set of skills, and you can grow up to become a "researcher" once you master these skills.
Here's an overview of the main differences between a taught course and carrying out a long-term research project.
1. Regular checks versus less control
Midterm examinations, final examinations, homeworks and quizzes all give you the opportunity to frequently check if you are on the right track. For a research project, the milestones to achieve will need much more time until completion. This might give you the illusion that you have more time, but in fact you only have more time which you need to structure for yourself.
2. Staying in the field versus going into the unknown scary woods to hunt
When studying, all the necessary theory behind the problems to solve are documented and can be relied upon. They're tried and trusted methods which will -sooner or later- lead you towards the solution of you homework problem. This is quite different for research, in which you go out in the woods and you have no idea what you'll bring home from the hunt, if anything at all.
3. Different level of intensity
I could happily sit down and study an entire day from 8am until midnight with only a few breaks to feed myself. I simply can't imagine sitting through such a long session while working on my research - after a certain amount of time I start to feel as if my brain is "fried" and pieces of my brain start to crumble down and fall like snowflakes (I might be slightly exaggerating here).
4. Level of independence
While during a taught course, more deadlines have to be met and compulsory labs have to be taken, a PhD study has much less deadlines. There is no imposed deadline for when you should go and write your first paper.
5. Additional skills
Research doesn't exist until it's documented in some way. Documenting research in papers, presentations, a dissertation and other publications requires a large set of skills (for example: academic writing, public speaking, organizing material,...). Research also requires planning skills. You might pass an exam that you've only studied the night before, but you won't finish your dissertation if you only start putting material together the night before your contract ends.
Here's an overview of the main differences between a taught course and carrying out a long-term research project.
1. Regular checks versus less control
Midterm examinations, final examinations, homeworks and quizzes all give you the opportunity to frequently check if you are on the right track. For a research project, the milestones to achieve will need much more time until completion. This might give you the illusion that you have more time, but in fact you only have more time which you need to structure for yourself.
2. Staying in the field versus going into the unknown scary woods to hunt
When studying, all the necessary theory behind the problems to solve are documented and can be relied upon. They're tried and trusted methods which will -sooner or later- lead you towards the solution of you homework problem. This is quite different for research, in which you go out in the woods and you have no idea what you'll bring home from the hunt, if anything at all.
3. Different level of intensity
I could happily sit down and study an entire day from 8am until midnight with only a few breaks to feed myself. I simply can't imagine sitting through such a long session while working on my research - after a certain amount of time I start to feel as if my brain is "fried" and pieces of my brain start to crumble down and fall like snowflakes (I might be slightly exaggerating here).
4. Level of independence
While during a taught course, more deadlines have to be met and compulsory labs have to be taken, a PhD study has much less deadlines. There is no imposed deadline for when you should go and write your first paper.
5. Additional skills
Research doesn't exist until it's documented in some way. Documenting research in papers, presentations, a dissertation and other publications requires a large set of skills (for example: academic writing, public speaking, organizing material,...). Research also requires planning skills. You might pass an exam that you've only studied the night before, but you won't finish your dissertation if you only start putting material together the night before your contract ends.
Five pitfalls to avoid when working from home
on Monday, October 10, 2011
For the past two years, I haven't had much opportunities to work from home as I have been very busy with my experiments in the lab. I do have the habit to squeeze in some hours during the weekend, but only recently I've worked a full office day from home (either on purpose, or because I had to be at home for some maintenance works/expected mail/...).
Working from home has the incredible advantage that no one can come in and disturb you, but at the same time it might feel harder to work from home.
Here are typical pitfalls for working from home, and how to avoid them.
1. Not getting into work-mode
You might feel tempted to clean up the kitchen, put another load of laundry into the washer... Quickly, before you are "really" going to get started. And then you go and browse the interwebs... And before you know, it's time for lunch already. Even though I don't have a designated work area at home (I can use my desk, my computer desk, the living room or the balcony to work from), I do need to switch my brain into work-mode and ignore all other distraction at home before I really can get started.
2. Not setting boundaries
When you're already at home, it's harder to decide when it's time to call it quits for today and go home. I find it helpful to define my task for the day, and just be satisfied if I can finish it by the time I would typically leave my office. Admittedly, I find this one quite difficult.
3. Isolation
This one is more a challenge for students working from distance and/or working part-time on their PhD. Not being in your research group and having the regular chitchat with fellow PhD students can make you feel isolated, as described here.
4. Losing focus
The downside of having a day of quiet peace, is that it might be too quiet - which makes it tempting to doze off or let your thoughts wander unlimitedly. I've tried to solve this by changing my work-space in the house (giving me some variety) and by setting regular breaks (which is hard when it's so peaceful and quiet that you can get completely absorbed in material and forget about the world around you).
5. Missing tools
It might be out of your hands to solve this pitfall. I, for example, cannot remote control my office computer from home because of an incompatibility in the operating systems. However, when I plan to work from home, I check and double-check to see if I have all necessary data, papers and documents with me to carry out the task at hand.
Which pitfalls have you come across when working from home and how did you solve them?
Working from home has the incredible advantage that no one can come in and disturb you, but at the same time it might feel harder to work from home.
Here are typical pitfalls for working from home, and how to avoid them.
1. Not getting into work-mode
You might feel tempted to clean up the kitchen, put another load of laundry into the washer... Quickly, before you are "really" going to get started. And then you go and browse the interwebs... And before you know, it's time for lunch already. Even though I don't have a designated work area at home (I can use my desk, my computer desk, the living room or the balcony to work from), I do need to switch my brain into work-mode and ignore all other distraction at home before I really can get started.
2. Not setting boundaries
When you're already at home, it's harder to decide when it's time to call it quits for today and go home. I find it helpful to define my task for the day, and just be satisfied if I can finish it by the time I would typically leave my office. Admittedly, I find this one quite difficult.
3. Isolation
This one is more a challenge for students working from distance and/or working part-time on their PhD. Not being in your research group and having the regular chitchat with fellow PhD students can make you feel isolated, as described here.
4. Losing focus
The downside of having a day of quiet peace, is that it might be too quiet - which makes it tempting to doze off or let your thoughts wander unlimitedly. I've tried to solve this by changing my work-space in the house (giving me some variety) and by setting regular breaks (which is hard when it's so peaceful and quiet that you can get completely absorbed in material and forget about the world around you).
5. Missing tools
It might be out of your hands to solve this pitfall. I, for example, cannot remote control my office computer from home because of an incompatibility in the operating systems. However, when I plan to work from home, I check and double-check to see if I have all necessary data, papers and documents with me to carry out the task at hand.
Which pitfalls have you come across when working from home and how did you solve them?
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