1 / 14

Independent Work

Independent Work. Fall 2006 Vivek Pai. Welcome. Junior ABs (both semesters) Senior ABs (thesis) BSEs (one semester). What Is Independent Work?. Research Advanced development Some combination of the two Literature survey leading to research. Goal: Fun, Profit, Enrichment.

joylyn
Download Presentation

Independent Work

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Independent Work Fall 2006 Vivek Pai

  2. Welcome • Junior ABs (both semesters) • Senior ABs (thesis) • BSEs (one semester)

  3. What Is Independent Work? • Research • Advanced development • Some combination of the two • Literature survey leading to research

  4. Goal: Fun, Profit, Enrichment • Opportunity to learn something in detail • More than you could do in a standard course • Differentiator • Grad schools • Jobs • Life • Fun • Why not?

  5. Milestones • Today: general overview • Forms due: Oct 3 (Oct 9 for thesis) • Proposals: Oct 6, 9, 10 (thesis Oct 16) • Checkpoints: Nov 13 • Possible checkpoint: early December • Projects due: Jan 9 • Presentations: Jan 10-12

  6. What This Means • Shop around, find something to do • Write up a brief proposal, get advisor’s OK • Make a pitch in front of others • Work on it • Slides in November, get feedback • Work on it some more • Write it up, turn it in, present it

  7. How To Have a Bad 12 Weeks • Delay project selection until last minute • Show no interest in your topic • Bluff your way through checkpoints • Write up some existential puff piece • Give incoherent presentation

  8. How To Have a Good 12 Weeks • Take some time to shop around • Read project ideas • Read web pages • Talk to grad students you’ve had as TAs • Come up with your own idea • Be clever, but not too clever • Do a decent sales pitch

  9. Start Early, Start Often • Pick something realistic • But don’t aim too low • Start work sooner rather than later • Lots of dead ends, especially on cutting edge • Don’t be afraid of change • Better to change course than dead end • Don’t change course too often

  10. How To Stalk • http://www.cs.princeton.edu/ • http://www.cs.princeton.edu/academics/ugradpgm/topics.php • http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~vivek/ • http://www.cs.princeton.edu/nsg/

  11. Be Imaginative • We tend to be somewhat boring • We’re old • We’re trained a certain way • We’re old • You have no baggage holding you back • You don’t know what you can’t do • You have different skills than us • You can see opportunities

  12. Be Prepared • Luck favors the prepared mind • Don’t have to see every opportunity – just one • Find your strengths and play to them • Sometimes you need preparation • So do a one-semester literature search

  13. Pitfalls • Starting too late • Rushed starts often bad • Delaying work • Any support over Winter break? • Giving up too soon • You’re not alone. Use help

  14. Questions • You should have lots of questions

More Related