首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Postgraduate dilemmas [A]Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting(令人畏缩的)prospect. Even if you are sure
Postgraduate dilemmas [A]Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting(令人畏缩的)prospect. Even if you are sure
admin
2016-08-29
96
问题
Postgraduate dilemmas
[A]Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting(令人畏缩的)prospect. Even if you are sure you want to press ahead, the chances are you’ll have a list of unanswered questions about the best approach. That’s why New Scientist has asked those in the know to talk frankly about what postgraduate life is really like and how to make the most of it.
How do I choose the right project?
[B]One thing all postgraduates agree on is that you need to be passionate about your research topic if you’re ever going to finish it. Skirting off with fire in your belly will give you the best chance of seeing your work through "During your PhD you will fall in and out of love with your project many times, so it is important to choose something that fascinates you and that you will want to persevere with," says Katherine Reekie, who is in the fourth year of her PhD in genetics at the University of Leicester.
[C]Think, too, about the mode of research, advises Rachel Walker, a second-year PhD student at the University of Cambridge. "You should consider whether the project will require mostly fieldwork or lab work and whether you are happy with this." It is also useful for your project to have some similar aspects to those of other students working in your research group, she says, so that you can help each other out when you get stuck.
[D]Funding availability might influence the exact area you choose to focus on "Often there will be projects available with funding, waiting for a student to take them up. This was true in my case," says Jonathan du Bois, a PhD graduate from the University of Bristol. If you already have a specific project in mind, shop around for a department or supervisor that is interested in taking you on for that topic. Keep an open mind and spread your search as far as you can to find a university that fits your requirements.
[E]Watch out for projects that are linked to commercial ventures requiring students to sign a contract that limit their ability to publish, or narrowly define the scope of their research. "I know of one horror story where a student obtained funding linked to a project to develop a medical device," says Tristan Farrow, a fourth-year PhD student from the University of Cambridge. "Before he knew it, his hands were tied and he found himself working more on product development than science. His project took seven years and funding was a constant worry."
[F]Finally, don’t think too far ahead: the whole point of research is that you can never be quite sure where it will lead. According to Farrow, defining your research topic down to the smallest detail is like putting the cart before the horse. "PhD projects always evolve and final theses rarely cover the exact topics you thought you signed up for. You should have a clear aim but it’s fine not to know exactly how you’re going to get there," he says. "That’s not to say you should be casual about your choice of research topic, but there’s nothing to be gained by being too prescriptive."
Will I get a job at the end of this?
[G]"The market is worse than it lias been for a considerable number of years, so you are not guaranteed a job," warns Stephen Kennedy, from the pharmaceutical(制药的)giant AstraZeneca, where up to 70 per cent of staff have a PhD. "But having a postgraduate qualification will help you give examples of your strengths and attributes in an interview," he says. You’ll also have good transferable skills that you can take away from science and apply to a totally different area, such as business.
[H]Lorna Crombie, director of Durham-based science recruitment agency CK Science, agrees that postgraduate study can prepare you for employment—as long as you know how to show your new skills in an interview. "You need to be able to go in and tell them what you got out of the course," she says. Focus on abilities like project management or working independently—skills that require discipline.
[I]Kennedy believes it’s these skills that give postgraduates the edge. "They tend to be more active, and have the ability to work autonomously and decisively," he says. "They tend to have a better understanding of the working world than a graduate." Overall, he says, postgraduates are "more likely to hit the ground running", which makes a big impact in the pharmaceutical industry because the sooner new employees are doing their jobs well, the sooner patients receive the benefits.
Can I turn my PhD into a business?
[J]Ever been tempted to use a smartphone to lend a helping hand in the pub quiz? If so, then chances are you’ll still be stuck when it comes to the picture round. Now, Mark Cummins, a final-year PhD student working on computer vision at the University of Oxford has found the solution. For the last year, he’s been developing a new company called Plinkart—which has created a visual search engine application for smartphones. "You take a picture of an object with your phone, we recognise the object in the picture and return the relevant information," explains Cummins. For example, you can take a photo of a painting and the Plinkart application will find the relevant Wikipedia article.
[K]Because scientists tend to be good at finding solutions to problems it means that, like Cummins, they often come up with ideas that could work well in a business setting. But does that mean it’s easy to turn your science into a business?
[L]"Scientific training is intellectually rigorous so it is certainly not difficult for scientists to make a switch to business, but a significant shift in mindset is required," says Afua Osei of the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation—part of the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. Instead of focusing on pure scientific discovery, they’ll have to focus on context, applications, market needs and customer behaviour, she says.
[M]Lecturer Davin Yap co-founded his company, Transversal, when he grew fed up with his students at the University of Cambridge emailing him masses of questions. He produced a piece of computer software which allows users to submit questions—in their own words—which the computer will understand and provide an answer to. His clients now include the Royal Mail and BBC iPlayer, but how confident was he that it would succeed at the start?
[N]"Blindly confident," Yap says. "It’s essential that you just get on with it. You’ll soon recognise what’s lacking and find ways to fill the gaps but only if you’re ’doing’ rather than ’thinking’."
[O]Cummins couldn’t agree more. "Intellectually, we were well aware that a high percentage of start-up companies fail but, almost by definition, start-up founders believe that that doesn’t apply to their idea." Nonetheless, the risk of failure is still real and "it’s a huge commitment of time, effort and personal savings," he says. However, the biggest investment is probably the opportunity cost: "Initiating a startup means not doing a postdoc or taking a well-paid job. Some people manage to combine a start-up with a postdoc, but it’s very difficult, especially because many universities now claim ownership of any intellectual property you develop during your research."
Scientists are usually good at finding solutions to problems.
选项
答案
K
解析
根据Scientists和good at finding solutions to problems定位到K段第1句。本题句子与原文第1句的上半句内容一致,原文的tend to对应本题句子的usually。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/YaG7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
Bloggingisapastimeformany,evenalivelihoodforafew.Forsome,itbecomesanobsession(使人痴迷的事物).Suchbloggersoften【B1
A、Themanshouldn’thavepromisedtopickupNancy.B、NancyandPetershouldgotothesameclassforconvenience’ssake.C、The
Ahappymarriageapparentlyisgoodmedicine,buthostilespousesmay【B1】______oneanother’shealth.Couplesinconflict-ridden
DoctorsinBritainarewarningofanobesity(肥胖症)timebomb,whenchildrenwhoarealreadyoverweightgrowup.So,whatshould
A、Theyaregratefulstudents.B、Theyare"brains".C、Theyarehard-workingstudents.D、Theyarefunpeople.A女士说组织者都是些感恩的学生,并不是“
A、Notenoughmaintenance.B、Peopledidn’tcare.C、Alackofregulationsovervisitors.D、Badconstruction.C短文谈到,在林肯时期,白宫对外开放,各种
A、Thelibraryisquitemodernandhighlycomputerized.B、Therearesomebooksonpsychologyonthesecondfloor.C、Itservesbot
灯笼作为民间传统工艺(craftwork).现在仍受到全国各地的欢迎。灯笼艺术,作为中国珍贵的传统文化的一部分,在民间仍被继承(inherit)着。我们可以说灯笼在中国悠久的历史中发挥着巨大而不可替代的作用.它象征着灿烂的中国文化。中国灯笼不但在中国历史上
A、Tohelppeoplestarttheirownsmallbusiness.B、Toprovideaccommodationforholidaymakers.C、Tolinkprovidersofspareroom
随机试题
具有固表止汗作用的方剂是()(2010年第156题)
消化道肿瘤常用的多标志组合是哪几种标志的组合
甲、乙两国因历史遗留的宗教和民族问题,积怨甚深。2004年甲国新任领导人试图缓和两国关系,请求丙国予以调停。甲乙丙三国之间没有任何关于解决争端的专门条约。根据国际法的有关规则和实践,下列哪一项判断是正确的?()
下列选用的起重钢丝绳安全系数中,正确的有()。
甲公司有一台生产用机器设备,原价为608万元,预计使用10年,预计净残值为8万元,采用年限平均法计提折旧。计算该机器设备每月计提的折旧金额。
下列选项中,不可归入“其他应收款”科目进行核算的是()。
旅游知识包括()。
2010年山东省经济实现平稳较快发展。初步核算,全省实现生产总值(GDP)39416.2亿元,按可比价格计算,比上年增长12.5%。其中,第一产业增加值增长3.6%;第二产业增加值增长13.4%;第三产业增加值增长13.0%。产业结构调整取得明显成效,三次
使用采样频率为22.05kHz,样本值以8位精度存储,录制1秒单声道的WAV文件信号的数据量是(10)B。
(1)将考生文件夹下FIN文件夹中的文件KIKK.HTML复制到考生文件夹下文件夹DOIN中。(2)将考生文件夹下IBM义件夹中的文件CARE.TXT删除。(3)将考生文件夹下WATER文件夹删除。(4)为考生文件夹下FAR文件夹中的文件START
最新回复
(
0
)