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Speakers
Iman Soltani - Professor of Engineering
Mohammad Sadoghi - Associate Professor: Computer Science
Martin Hilbert - Associate Professor: Communication
Ian Korf - Professor: Molecular Cellular Biology
✒️ -> Scratch Notes
Hilbert Question
People are always motivated by their funding / backing. Take advantage of being a student and only being propelled by your curiosity.
Hilbert self-directed
What makes a good undergraduate project:
- Showing initiative, easiest to do this in something you’re interested in. Do what you love, don’t work a day.
Ian Korf - self-directed
Why take on an undergrad? He could do the project faster.
- The appeal, is its more fun to do it with someone else and show them. A good undergraduate project is fun.
- The undergrad won’t be given the most sensitive / important project, they’ll be given the long shot project. Have fun with it, undergrad projects don’t have expectations with them.
Mohammad Sadoghi - self-directed
Why do research? Research is searching for something, so what are we searching for?
- Really ask yourself why you’re there, and what you want. What are your capabilities and what can you contribute?
Iman Soltani - self
Mistakes in reaching out for research
Soltani
You’ve given an impression to a PI that they cannot depend on you. Assign them responsibilities that they could proably do themselves quickly, but choose to delegate it. However, if delegating it turns out to be more work, or the outcome is bad there is a negative effect.
- They understand that undergrads are busy, but make sure you can do the work if you’re taking the position.
Hilbert
- Do: Show drive, propose ideas, drive things forward. Don’t just do whats assigned like a student and homework.
Korf
If you want a position DONT, write vague form letters (don’t just fill in the blanks for an application/email). Or use ChatGPT to fake effort. Show effort.
Your career is like raising kids, you don’t want to raise 10 kids, and you don’t want to neglect 2. Put effort and attention, and don’t burn out.
How to keep updated on latest developments in domain?
Soltani
Used to work in research, things largely dictated by what management wants
Now, research is self-directed. He researches latest challenges in industries, and come up with practical solutions. That’s how he selects topics.
Sadoghi
Reading. Anything. Read as widely as you can. More effective if the reading is farther away from your comfort zone / domain. Computer science should read social science. Vice versa too. A lot of inspiration comes from that.
Hilbert
Agrees with the above, also recommends to talk with books through LLMs.
Youtube videos too..
Korf
Consumes a ridiculous amount of Youtube, can multi task it with whatever he’s doing. While cleaning, working out, etc. Doesn’t sit down to read very much/enough.
Gives advice that professors aren’t normal, and there is a strong survivorship bias. Following the advice has potential to lead to poverty/failure. Industry is a very different world to this.
Watch out for survivorship bias in advice.