Enhancing Presentation

8/8/2019 Enhancing Presentation

1/51

UNDERSTANDING

THE JOURNEY

Prof Dato Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman FASc

Director of Corporate PlanningUniversiti Putra [email protected]

PPL, UPM29 July 2010

Enhancing Postgraduate Student Experience Workshop

1

Technology Oriented Business Driven Sustainable Development Environmental Friendly

Prof Dato' Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul RahmanPutra Sarjana Programme


2/51

Success

Success

Success

Success

Success

Professionalism& Caring


Professionalism &Caring Professionalism

& Caring



EXCELLENCE

2Prof Dato' Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman

Putra Sarjana Programme



3/51

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Infrastructure &

other resourcesEnvironment

SUPERVISOR

RESEARCHER

Plan

Do

Evaluate

Learn &Improve

QUALITY

OUTPUTS3




4/51

The Research Process Effective supervision/mentoring

Research Skill Development program

Availability of resources Expertise

Facilities

Research & Publication Culture

Support system monitoring, assistance, etc.

4Prof Dato' Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul RahmanPutra Sarjana Programme



5/51

DREAMS AND GOALS





6/51

RESEARCH JOURNEY

RESULTS

(SUCCESS)

Satisfaction

Relationship

Love$$$

Hope Joy

(Adding & Giving Value)





7/51

SUCCESS

DESIRE

CAPACITY(KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS)

RESEARCHWORK





8/51

ATTITUDE (80%)

SUCCESS





9/51

QUALITY EQUATION KEY VARIABLE IS PEOPLE

QUALITY BEGINS AND ENDS WITH THE

INDIVIDUAL SELF MOTIVATED

SELF ESTEEM

SELF EMPOWERMENT

INTEGRITY

PASSIONATE





10/51

ALL RIGHT

DO THE RIGHT THING

THE RIGHT WAY

AT THE RIGHT TIME

THE RIGHT PLACE

WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE

FOR THE RIGHT REASON





11/51

ALL RIGHTHAVE THE RIGHT MIND

(A CRITICAL MIND)

HAVE THE RIGHT EMOTION

(PASSIONATE)

ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS





12/51

LEADERSHIP FORUM,

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THINKING 2009 (ICOT),KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 23 APRIL, 2009





13/51

A researcher needs to be

a person who.. has vision (who can see the wood for the trees so to speak);

is creative in the process;

has the ability to acquire the necessary resources;

is self-motivate; Can work with the technical staff;

can check on and coordinate the various activities that need to beundertaken in the research journey;

monitors the progress;

can nurture, create capabilities; and

is able to foster growth of other individuals.




14/51

The Journey (ESQ)

Emphasizes the need for integration of:

rational intelligence (IQ),

emotional intelligence (EQ), and

spiritual intelligence (SQ)





15/51

The Journey requires a transformation

It is not easy for it demands diligence,

focus, hard work and determination.





16/51

Purpose and Meaning of LifeLife of Serving, Giving/Adding Value as:

A Good servant of God

A Good citizen of the world

A Good husband/wife, father/mother,

son/daughter, neighbour, worker (research

scientist etc)





17/51

Nor shall they discover anything of His knowledge,

except as He wills





18/51

Personal Conscience

Meaning

Beliefs Morals

Ethical Behaviour

Values Principles





19/51


20/51

Sources of Motivation3. Views his work as a form of virtuous deed (amal salih), the

key to the attainment of (falah) true success in this world

and well-being in the Hereafter;

4. Views his as a form of (ibadah) servitude to God in the

broader sense of the word,

5. Views that the reward for his good deeds is not confined to

this world, but extends to the Hereafter, and

6. Views that the punishment for bad deeds is not restricted

to worldly life, but also takes place after death.





21/51

Expectations of a Researcher Hard work

Enthusiasm

Confidence

Innovative

Creative problem solver

Resource-oriented

Work-focused

Decisive21




22/51

Scenarios

Motivated but lack of effort

Motivated, hard working but incompetent

Hard working but lack of research ability

Competent but not motivated

Competent but lack of management skill





23/51

Success model for Research Excellence Researcher inputs Competence + personality + motivation +

good management + effort

improved research ability SUCCESS Research Output

completed project

Publications

Products

patents





24/51

Qualities of a Good Researcher Independence & confidence

Theoretical knowledgebroad & specialize

Competence in research method or specificresearch skills

Ability to construct logical argument

Ability to write clearly

Life & management skill

Social skills network





25/51

Qualities of a Good Researcher Have strong fundamentals

Willing to self-study and self-learn

Able to identify opportunities to make a contributionto knowledge and strong desire to do so

Able to take up ownership of the ResearchEnterprise

Capable of critical thinking Creative, able to innovate





26/51

Qualities of a Good Researcher Has desire to stay up-to-date

Has desire to be a team member and lead teams

when required Logical, ethical, amicable, resourceful,

helpful to others, willing to share knowledge,

good in oral communication skills

analytical and good in experimental techniques Interested in life long learning





27/51

Critical thinking is the practice of processing information in the

most skillful, accurate, and rigorous manner

possible,

leads to the most reliable, logical, and

trustworthy conclusions





28/51

Novelty:

The newness or unusualness of an idea

Appropriateness:

The degree to which the idea fits or meets the

needs of the problematic situation

Synthesis:

The degree to which the idea combines with unlikeelements

Critical Thinking





29/51

Critical Thinking

A person who thinks critically

asks novel questions,

ask appropriate questions,

gather relevant information





30/51

A Critical Thinkeris characterized in terms of his

knowledge,

abilities,

attitudes, and

habitual ways of behaving.





31/51

A Critical Thinker

investigates problems,

asks questions,

challenges the status quo

discovers new information that can be used for

good or ill,

questions authorities and traditional beliefs,

challenges received dogmas and doctrines





32/51

A Critical Thinker asks: What is the evidence? What can one reasonably deduce from that

evidence?

Could there be a simpler explanation? Could this have happened by chance?

Can we do an experiment to test this?

Whose story can we trust?

Is this a hoax?

What are the facts?





33/51

A Critical Thinker: loves tough questions

maintains that there is only one way to findtrustworthy answers i.e. to use reason and

experiment.





34/51

Teamwork Foster collaboration

Involve other experts

Integrate well into research group

Enhance professional development through

joint paper writing




35/51

5Ps of Research Journey

1. Propose

2. Plan

3. Play

4. Present

5. Publish





36/51

Propose To propose a suitable project that is relevant,

of current and potential interest and ,in manyinstances, fundable

Proposer must be up-to-date with currentstate-of-the-art

No short-cut to uncovering, accessing andstudying critically relevant research

Literature - must cover broader range ofsubjects





37/51

More on Defining Project

Define objectives and scope - these are dynamicespecially over 3-4 year span of PhD work

Work elsewhere can impact researchscope/objectives/methodology

Develop continuous network involving researchgroups around the world





38/51

More on Defining project

Share research results when feasible to avoidduplication and get feedback from experts

Think globally but act locally

What is relevant or important in one part of theworld may not be so in another part

Think about producing an excellent research





39/51

More about proposal Be realistic match resources (quality and

quantity) with objectives and scope!

Evaluate human resources carefully

Be ambitious but goal posts should bereachable!

Steer clear of ROM (run-of-the-mill) or Me-Too research!





40/51

More about proposal Collaborate if necessary expertise is brought

in by collaborator - or else work may simplybe slowed down

Have real cooperation.

No point in having collaborator with same or

less skill level in same area - will dilutepublications and delay work!





41/51


42/51

Play: Project Execution

Allow mistakes but not the same repeatedly!

Learn from experience of team members- critical for

multi-disciplinary projects Hold formal/informal group meetings

Encourage critical discussion- not at personal level





43/51

Play: Project Execution

Researchers must keep abreast of literature continuously-not just in initial phases

Evaluate literature critically- do not read it like a novel ornewspaper!

Prepare summaries of relevant papersto be cited in your

work Benchmark against high quality work in same area.

Attempt to achieve similar or higher level ofAccomplishment

Do not repeat earlier work except to compare/validate yourwork

inject element of innovation and creativity in your research43




44/51

Play: Project Execution No substitute to hard work!

Researchers must be able to multi-task i.e. carry out

several tasks in parallel and in Series Often delays can occur over which one has no control -use this time productively

Analyze data critically (and statistically!).

Take ownership of results.

Researchers must take their project as their businessenterprise





45/51

Play: Project Execution Be productive thinker- coupling creativity with

productivity

Research value is time-dependent typically decays withtime.

Half-life of research results depends on area-some may be short ( 1 yr) while others may be 10 years!

Basic work lasts longer than applied work,in general

Rapid publication is essential for short half-life areas.





46/51

Presentations Research in progress may be presented at Conferences Presentation of work to proper audiences at right time is

key to success.

High quality presentation is key to attract and maintain

audience interest Do not make false claims- worse , do not claim someone

elses work as yours!

Always cite and credit earlier work- not just in passing butwith a high quality citation.

Follow ethical and professional guidelines rigorously. Choose conferences carefully





47/51

Publish Thesis is a public document of limited visibility hence

important to publish injournals

Do not focus on number of papers- it may measure extentof research but not its quality and impact

Remember the adage: Publish or perish!





48/51

Publish Critical in academic life

Only results of archival value (not transient value) shouldbe published

Study good papers carefully- identify why you thinkthey are really good so that you can use them as models

Be original but benefit from past experience of others

Papers must be clear, concise and correct (3Cs!)





49/51

Publish Choose journal based on its acceptance in audience you

wish to address.

Some work maybe more appropriate to large-circulationprofessional journals

Engineering papers in physics journals will be largelyignored- although ISI may gave it high impact factor!





50/51

Publish

Reviewers comments can help improve quality of thepaper and also research itself.

Third party comments are useful

Negative comments must be accepted professionally andshould not be taken as personal attack!

Ensure that appropriate credit is given to earlier work-

Do not just list reference but actually refer to it in text

Quality of citedness is important.





51/51

THANK YOU

Prof Dato Dr Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman FASc

Director of Corporate Planning

University Putra [email protected]




Documents

Enhancing Presentation