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Showing posts with label academic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label academic. Show all posts

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Random memories of childhood


As a kid, I was full of vim and vigor. I used to walk in this sprightly gait and my face always dazzled with some kind of mischief, so typical of kids. People used to see me as a weak child; nevertheless, I took no second thoughts ever to play the biggest of pranks to the most unsuspecting folklore. As I suffered with affliction of symptomatic polio, my formal education started quite late. I attended my first class when I was 6 years old; by that time most of my colony kids had known how to make genuine excuses for not doing their homework. Though my formal education took a toll by years, I didn’t really suffer much as my mother used to teach me at home.

By the time I stepped in my first class, I was familiar with every bit of academic knowledge that my classmates possessed. To my utter disappointment, I was allotted the front seat in my class. No ready-witted kid would ever want that sort of attention from the teachers and I was no exception. When I returned home the first day from my school, I popped up the question to my mother about the biased sitting arrangement. Her explanation was something I was least expecting; she said I deserved that front seat because of my weak physical state and brawny mental state. The journey of the world had just begun and I was started being judged.

Being a neophyte in this scholarly world doesn’t help you ad infinitum; you got to learn the rules fast or you run the danger of being labeled as a loser. The world for me had just started its ride, and with each passing day, I loved the company of my classmates and my neighborhood friends as there is no tomorrow.


Thursday, March 29, 2012

10 tips for attending a conference


Know the program schedule completely. It would help you in fashioning your expectations in a perceptive way. Only if you are well aware of the detailed program schedule, you can know what academic preparation you need beforehand to actively participate.

Select the sessions that you think would be most productive in your perspective. There is no point being there at the talks which are of no, absolute or relative, use to you.

Make is a point to get the basic idea about the conference probable participants. You may catch up with someone you have been looking forward to meet since long. It is always advisable to attend a conference with one of your colleagues; it would not just add you a company, but also help you in thin-slicing the essence of the sessions.

Try to be there for the entire duration of the conference. It doesn’t appear gentle when you attend a conference on the last day and come out with the certificate in your hands. A conference is a group effort to make progress for a vital cause; make your contribution by lending keen ears and wide pupils.

Carry a bag with you that contains a notepad, few pens and may be some hand books. Of course, you would be provided a kit, as soon as you settle down in your seat, with all the essential tools right in place to help you making notes; but then why to take a chance? I feel a lot of people feel best in holding their own pens, scribbling down in their own notepads.

Keep a check on your behavior. Don’t sound standoffish. Behave cordially and display a keen and pleasant personality. You have the power to make someone’s day. Ask pertinent questions and get involved in rendering replies.

Make it a point to know the route directions a day prior to the actual conference day. Eat light the night before and sleep sound. Aim to keep your concentration levels high the coming day.

Keep your business cards with you. In a conference a lot of professional people meet and business cards exchange hands. I remember I was in Boston few years back in SLS (Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgery) Conference, and I exhausted my reserve of business cards. It was not one of the best sights to watch me writing my contact details on small white sheets, provided by the conference coordinator.

Take a keen interest in conference materials (CDs, books, products) that are kept for purchase. Roam around the stalls with intuitive mind. You might find something extremely productive for your profession right there; always keep a budget for such expenses.

Don’t forget to thank the people around who made this conference possible. The high and mighty, the successful subordinates, the amateurish interns, and the people who had been serving you with snacks – all deserve an equal bow.