New students often time asked me this question: How do I start research.
There are two critical elements that lead to the success. The first element is the ability to use tools. The second element is the ability of synergy or connecting dots.
The first element is easy to be improved as long as there is a good curriculum setup for students and as long as you are following a great instructor. If the subject area is optimization related, for every example discussed in the class, examine it and be able to extend this example to a different system or a large-scale system. This exercise trains a student to be a good programmer.
The second element requires many years of training. If you are lucky to follow a great researcher, this process can be made shorter. Synergy requires experience, good judgement, a big picture of the research areas, the ability of appreciating others' work, and the ability of capturing subtle details. Such a capability usually is not there for Ph.D. students yet. Thus, whether you are following a great researcher or not directly impact a student's outcome. We see many times, students under the guide of a greater researcher becomes a great researcher. On the other hand, many bright students end up with nothing significant after many years of study.
A colleague summarizes it well: To have a successful career, just make sure these two things: make a correct choice of your advisor; be humble and follow his/her words.
There are two critical elements that lead to the success. The first element is the ability to use tools. The second element is the ability of synergy or connecting dots.
The first element is easy to be improved as long as there is a good curriculum setup for students and as long as you are following a great instructor. If the subject area is optimization related, for every example discussed in the class, examine it and be able to extend this example to a different system or a large-scale system. This exercise trains a student to be a good programmer.
The second element requires many years of training. If you are lucky to follow a great researcher, this process can be made shorter. Synergy requires experience, good judgement, a big picture of the research areas, the ability of appreciating others' work, and the ability of capturing subtle details. Such a capability usually is not there for Ph.D. students yet. Thus, whether you are following a great researcher or not directly impact a student's outcome. We see many times, students under the guide of a greater researcher becomes a great researcher. On the other hand, many bright students end up with nothing significant after many years of study.
A colleague summarizes it well: To have a successful career, just make sure these two things: make a correct choice of your advisor; be humble and follow his/her words.
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