1 phd seminar | ime faculty | trondheim, norway | october 24, 2011 mauritz panggabean...

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PhD Seminar | IME Faculty | Trondheim, Norway | October 24, 2011

Mauritz Panggabean ([email protected])Department of Telematics, NTNU

PhD Seminar, IME FacultyOctober 24, 2011, Trondheim, Norway

The (not-so-)long and winding road to PhD: some lessons learned so far

PhD

Piled Higher & Deeper (?)

The (not-so-)long and winding road to PhD: some lessons learned so far

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About me

• b. 1980, Indonesian citizen, married• Education:

– B.S., EE, Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Indonesia (2003)

– M.Sc./ir. (ingenieur), EE, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), The Netherlands (2008)

• Full scholarship from the Dutch government• One-year full-time intern at Philips Research Eindhoven

– Ph.D., telematics, NTNU, December 2012 (expected)• Full scholarship from NTNU and The Research Council of Norway• PhD topic: Compression of color images by network and synthesis of

transient input traffic for discrete event simulation• Advisors: Leif Arne Rønningen and Harald Øverby• (Co-)author of 14 refereed conference papers (to date)• Journal articles and conference papers in preparation for submission

” Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” - Søren Kierkegaard

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Some facts about PhD at IME

• % PhD at IME to total number at NTNU?

• Max years* by regulation to complete PhD at NTNU?

• % PhD candidates at IME who– Never finish their PhD?– Get PhD within max years after start date?– Get PhD long* after contract end date?

• Objective: successful PhD completion (possibly within contract)

ca 20%

ca 20%

ca 20%

ca 60%

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”Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” - Albert Einstein

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Starting PhD

• Always begin with the end in mind... to know ‘the true north’ and to avoid the pitfalls of PhD myths

– What is the true essence and goal of a PhD program?

– Why did you decide to do a PhD instead of other things?

– What after PhD? (affect e.g. plan and publication)

” An unexamined life is not worth living.” - Socrates

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Strategy and execution (1)

• Develop a healthy sense of urgency– 3 or 4 years for PhD: short or long? (‘just’ vs. ‘still’)

• Fail to plan is plan to fail (but don’t plan too much...)– PhD plan in the first six months: a good start (but be flexible too)

– Agree upon requirements on publication for PhD defense ASAP

– Short and long term: divide et impera

• Find your own ways to maintain spirit and confidence– E.g. short-time deadlines such as conferences and progress meetings

– People (supervisors, partners, friends, family, spouse, etc.) & hobbies

– Beware of burnout, procrastination, time wasters and bad habits

“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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Strategy and execution (2)

• Play the rules of the game: novel ideas and publication– Find ASAP your own best ways to foster novel ideas and creativity

– Kind of a treasure hunter: seek and dig your scientific ‘gold mine’

• First, construct and understand what is the research question you address. Then, do always know how or where to find the answer you need (self-propulsion)

• If possible, go an extra mile. Be ambitious, yet realistic.– E.g. increasing levels and types of publication over time

– Focus, focus, focus: know and keep ego to the limit

“Science may set limits to knowledge, but should not set limits to imagination.”- Bertrand Russell

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Handling culture shock

• Around 60% foreign PhD students at IME• Be always careful with underlying (cultural) assumptions

– Know your rights and wisely benefit from them

– Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’ (but try to motivate it, if necessary)

– Don’t be afraid to ask; the worst you can get from asking is ‘no’

– Check and re-check to the source and authority (e.g. regulations)

• Relationship with people, especially supervisors

”All things are difficult before they are easy.”- Thomas Fuller

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Thank you

The real voyage of discovery consistsnot in seeking new landscapes,but in having new eyes.- Marcel Proust

1 phd seminar | ime faculty | trondheim, norway | october 24, 2011 mauritz panggabean...

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