Academic Report
Title: Research Advice for Graduate Students
Reporter: Ryan Loxton (University of Curtin, Australia)
Time: October 11, 2018 (Thursday) AM 10:00
Location: A1101# room, Innovation Park Building
Contact: A.Prof. WANG Lei
Abstract: University courses in science and engineering focus on subject-specific hard/technical skills. Soft skills related to communication, teamwork, organization, and leadership are much harder to quantify and assess, and are therefore often neglected by universities. Yet soft skills are critical to students’future career success, whether in academia or in industry. Graduate students in particular face the daunting task of transitioning from“learner”to“inventor”and this requires much more than just technical knowledge–for example, the ability to write and give presentations is crucial to success as a graduate student. This talk will provide graduate students with advice on enhancing their soft skills to complement their technical ability. The talk is based on the speaker’s personal experience as a young researcher who has worked with many graduate students in China.
The brief introduction to the reporter: Ryan Loxton is currently a full-time professor at the school of electronic engineering, computing and mathematics, Curtin University. Professor Loxton's research areas are complex processes such as mining, oil and gas fields, agricultural and industrial process control, and the design of new optimization techniques. At present, he has published more than 70 academic papers in important international journals and conferences, and serves as deputy editor-in-chief of" Journal of Industry and Management Optimization", an international SCI journal. Professor Loxton's work has won the Australian Research Council's highly competitive fellowships and the 2014 Western Australian Young Scientist Award. In addition, Professor Loxton has carried out a number of industrial research projects with many large international companies, such as Woodside Energy and Linkforce.
