ACADEMIC NETWORKINGEvangelos Triantaphyllou Department of Industrial Engineering 1995 INFORMS DOCTORAL COLLOQUIUM INFORMS Fall '95 National Meeting New Orleans, LA October 28-29, 1995 Academic Networking is a very time consuming process Academic Networking is important (only) in finding a good job Academic Networking is the topic of this presentation Only one of the above statements is true! What is Academic Networking? Academic
Networking is the development and maintenance of
a
network of contacts of people who have access to
different sources of potentially useful
information. These
information sources may be related to new research
ideas,
publishing and funding opportunities, teaching
strategies, or new developments / trends in your
profession or job. Academic Networking can be useful in:
Efficient and effective ways for Academic Networking: 1) When Publishing a paper 2) Going to or after a Conference 3) In the job place A) Publishing a paper Make the paper as easily understood as possible. Make it short and concise. In this way you make it appealing to the reviewers to read it soon. When you send it back with revisions, clearly state your revisions and demonstrate how they map to the reviewers' comments. In this way you expedite the process. Throughout the reviewing process, make sure that your paper has been received by the editor and the time table is followed. When your manuscript is ready and you have submitted it for publication, also send copies of it to people who may be interested in this work. Create mailing lists of other people who may be interested in your work. How do you find such people?
Caution: If you are concerned of the possibility that someone may publish your work (or part of it) before you do so, wait until your paper has been accepted for publication. Your paper has been accepted for publication. Congratulations! Try to help your paper to be printed as soon as possible Do not delay to send the original figures or tables (if you have been asked to do so). Send a computer file of the paper, even if it is only ASCII. They can still download the plain text and use it. Ask the Editor to do a BIG favor for you: To send you other people's paper to review for the journal. If those papers are pertinent to your work, you may want to suggest the author(s) to reference your work. Send letters to the editors of similar journals to do the same (favor). Eventually your paper has appeared in the open literature. Again, congratulations! ... however, the process is not over yet... In a few long years some people may reference your paper. You can find them from the Citation Index in your library.
Your goal is to make as many people aware of your work as early as possible. B) Going to or after a Conference Always go to conferences related to your research area! Why? After all, you can always get the proceedings/bulletin and ask the authors for reprints! The answer is the human dimension of meeting people face to face. Plan ahead of time, at least one year ahead. Find the names of the conference organizers and ask them to organize a session in your area. They will give you the name(s) of the session cluster chair related to-your topic to call. Invite people from your mailing lists to present their results in your session(s). Go for lunch and talk about your common interests. Even if you are a student, you can still have business cards. You can make the easily with today's laser printer technology. Include your phone and fax numbers and your e-mail address. Ask for the cards of other people. Write on the back of the card the date and place you met. If you write to this individual some years later, you can always mention that information. If a presentation is interesting to you, do not hesitate to ask for more papers to widen your understanding. You may even want to send a brief letter to various authors asking for their paper(s). You can do it before or after the conference. However, when contacting with people, be discreet. People have heavy workloads and may feel uncomfortable to get unsolicited mail. C) Networking in your job place You got a new job. Congratulations! Spend some time and money to go for lunch with colleagues during the first couple of months. It is better to do it at beginning than later. Your M. Sc. or Ph.D. student has just graduated. Congratulations! Keep in contact with your ex-students. After all, you may need them in the future... ALSO... Do you believe that the INTERNET is important? If so, then use it! Create a repository of your papers for other people to access them. Create your own WWW home page. Some Psychological Issues while working on developing your Academic Network and contacting with people... Are
you shy? If you answered with NO to all the above questions, you are not brave. Simply you are not aware of what is going on. What to do to avoid the above symptoms? Do NOT try to avoid them. Exhibit all of the them, in the above order or in any order you like. Even add more symptoms. Anyone had/has the above symptoms. Why should you become an exception? However... Exhibit these symptoms when the meeting/presentation is over and you are alone in the comfort of your room. When is the best time to start YOUR Academic Networking? 1) Today, now 2) Tomorrow 3) During the INFORMS Fall '95 National Meeting in New Orleans 4) After I go back to my school 5) None of the above ... obviously, the correct answer is... |