hmm... maybe u could write something on "how to foster better synergy between the academics and industry? a strategic approach to collaborative innovation!"

why?
because the synergy between the faculty and industry is a highly intriguing topic to both parties. with the advent of more researches, it is getting more and more difficult to get funding on a continuous basis.

as such, some people are predicting that in the near future, getting research grants from the government would no longer be a promising alternative. instead, there should be a close collaboration between academics and industry to sustain the viability of research.

all the best to u tashinga :)

hey nasmith,

there's a lot of menial work to be done at the university. u know, the kinda work that professors don't really wanna do. i earned a reasonable amount of $$$ during my undergraduate days by doing those kinda work, like taking care of the lab, finding papers for professors etc. i even taught basic maths to their kids LOL. they paid me 25 bucks / hour for that. easy money at that time :)

it's good money if u know which job to choose and which to 'diplomatically' decline. plus, it's also great for networking. by the time i graduated for my degree, i got plenty of offers to join the faculty. thanks to the series of recommendation from those professors.

with regard to ur time management in pursuing ur MSc, i recommend that u invest some time researching on how to optimize thinking and accelerate learning. for instance, i used to spend, like 2 hours reading a journal. however, with minimal comprehension.

alhamdulillah, after learning some of the advance reading techniques (no, not speed reading), i managed to peruse and understand articles within at most 20 minutes, with optimal understanding. the same goes with writing and other research related tasks. i found out that most of the time, we're doing things the wrong way and time is repeatedly wasted. so learn to optimize ur studying time as much as u can because balance can only be achieved that way.

they say that a little kindness goes a long way. help those around u but don't ask for reward from them. instead, ask from God and u will find that every sincere enterprise would often result to a fruitful reward.

hope it helps!

LOL i never thought anyone would bring up this topic. with the interest in green technology i find it VERY apt.

i use all of em printed papers to sketch ideas for my next research.

u know, the page is printed only on one side so i'm using the unprinted side to draw and brainstorm any new ideas that i have on research.

what can i say, use recycled paper and save the trees!

well, i do agree with the rest. u should try to get a job ASAP. it's time for u to start life and gain financial stability.

still, it's ok if u wanna do a 2nd phd but do it part time. maybe, for the fun of it? :)

i'm doing it for the sake of being in the research community. after a day's work of debating over ROI and what not, it's quite refreshing to attend a class on epistemology where argument is made just for joy of knowledge.

hey,

assuming that the quality of university can be estimated from its fees may not be entirely accurate. NYU boasts one of the highest tuition fees but it may not be as outstanding as an ivy league with cheaper fees.

maybe u could ask around or download papers on digital marketing. see which one of the universities is influential in that area of specialization.

just a thought. :)

hey there,

maybe i'm wrong, but wouldn't it be better to get a 2nd MSc only after u've gotten ur phd?

im currently doing a 2nd MSc in educational psychology after completing my first phd about 5 years ago.

i think u should consider doing a phd or professional doctorate because it carries a greater weight than a 2nd MSc. unless, this particular MSc can help u in securing a particular working position. u know like MBA and what not, which is sometimes essential in getting to top management positions.

just my 2 cents. :)

hey roton,

regarding the usage of terms to refer to the research, there are many ways to do this. it can vary from "thesis" to "project" to "research" as in "two different approaches were used in this research". most supervisors are not really that critical about it since those terms are all, quite interchangeable.

bout the methodology thingy, although the limitation was discovered after the implementation of the methodology, it should be mentioned within the methodology chapter and not in the result part. each chapter has its own role and the content should be consistent with this.

still, some researchers have the tendency to revisit the limitation, earlier mentioned within the methodology to discuss the outliers or erroneous data that may have occurred in the result.

hope it helps.

my friend who's doing his phd in spain is having the same problem. when he visited the place, everything looks peachy but now after enrolment, everyone speaks spanish. i'm not sure why the unie would advertise the doctorate program as being in English, when in reality everything would be in spanish. he's struggling just to keep up in class.

hey pineapple and keenbean,

thank you, for both of ur kind wisdom on this matter. i find clinical psychology very challenging because it dawned to me that the effort of isolating empathy at work is quite impossible with my kind of personality. i tend to allow emotional leakage to occur, in the sense that i'd be greatly affected by those i counsel. professionally, this could instigate frequent chaos.

by focusing on industrial psychology, specifically on process engineering, i roam in a safe zone :) .most of my work involves the training and consultancy on the integration of humanistic factors with technology, which is kinda cold and objective in some ways, but it does not demand a close encounter with the turbulence of dark emotions.

sometimes, i do fantasize on doing a doctorate on forensic or clinical psychology. hehe perhaps in a few more years when the segregation of emotions can be successfully attained. i wish both of u all the best and please be extra kind to ur patients. i've been to the psychiatric ward to accompany a few of my troubled friends. u wouldn't believe how *mechanical* some of these shrinks can be.

how did a mistake in occupational requirement get translated into the failure to understand English? seriously?? LOL then again, maybe cognitive psychology is not ur expertise.

anyway, u're both right on that account though, that having a BSc in psychology doesnt allow a person to be a psychiatrist. i've checked with a friend and she explained that the person(psychiatrist) i had in mind had gotten a 2nd degree in medicine and some license etc to become a psychiatrist, which i wasnt aware of.

i've always looked at psychiatrist ie shrink as a profession rooted in psychology but it isn't so. furthermore, there's some subtle differences between couples psychiatrist and couples therapist in term of qualification.
u can be a couples therapist with BSc in psychology by attending some clinical training programs but not a couples psychiatrist. check it out below :

hey stephen,

a superior softwareCommercial can't win against all the benchmark of softwareYZ
not in every single case of comparison.
u should consider the paradigm shift in 37signals' getting real philosophy.

there must exist a dimension or aspect where ur softwareYZ reigns supreme.
:) u just gotta zoom in a lot more and find ur focus.
else, all those years of research would be in vain.

despite the progressiveness of the commercial software, it wasn't built out of in depth research,
like what ur faculty did. therefore, there must be a niche not covered by this commercial software.
u gotta find that niche dude.

i beg to differ keenbean. u can be a psychiatrist with BSc, but u wont be dealing with medication though. a simple example would be couples psychiatrist that deals with marital problems.

yeah, vadro is quite right. im using the opportunity offered by the professional doctorate to be involved in a promising technological project between the university and the industry. if everything turns out well, im hoping to be invited as one of the consultants to the booming industry.

wow, maybe it's not wise to terrify the other postgrads with such a bleak projection of the future. i believe that ur phd is what u make of it.

u can choose to make it an asset by highlighting all that u have learned in the process of attaining it, and then turn this into a marketable niche. or..

u can denounce it as a mistake by reliving all the inconveniences it has brought u. living in rewind doesnt help.

decide to move forward and make the best of things.