20/20 – Day 18: 20 things you unintentionally let get in your way

Life is tough.  Half the time you don’t even realise the things impacting upon your decisions.

Below is a list of what can get in the way without your full awareness.  It’s hardly an exhaustive list…If only that could be done!

  1. Friends. You love your mates. So you let them dictate some aspects of what happens in your life, even when you don’t realise.  Nothing wrong with this in small doses (hey, that’s why they’re friends).  But draw the line at peer pressure!
  2. Peer pressure. Drawing the line doesn’t always happen because peer pressure is not always easy to spot.  Doing something you wish you weren’t doing?  That could be down to peer pressure.
  3. Alcohol. Students and alcohol…the combination is a cliché in itself.  There will always be a number of students for whom a night of drunken revelling is the pinnacle of entertainment.
    But even if you only get a little tipsy on the rare occasion of craziness, that alcohol gets in the way of your thought process and your body.  As with most things, in moderation is unlikely to do much harm.
  4. TV.  Who doesn’t watch TV?  Few people can admit to watching nothing whatsoever.  I hardly watch television, but still make time for the odd show.  That’s all time sat in front of a box doing little else productive.
  5. Internet. All I need to mention is Facebook and Farmville and Mafia Wars and messaging and YouTube and so on forever and ever and ever…
    You know the Web’s brilliant.  But it can take over your life without you realising.  Be careful not to browse your last breath!
  6. Music. My big weakness lies here.  My taste in music is so eclectic that I don’t have enough hours in the day to listen to everything I love, even if I listened for 24 hours each day.  As soon as I realise the music is unintentionally eating up time, I cut down on my consumption.
    That lasts about a day… :-/
  7. Other people’s opinions and comments. If someone else hadn’t got in the way, you’d probably push on without a second thought.  But now a remark has stopped you in your tracks.  Be it a friend or a stranger, a thought out speech or a throwaway comment, it’s hard to let go of an opinion once it’s out in the open.
  8. Your own opinions.  You get in the way of yourself, you really do.  Adamant you’re right, unwilling to look at alternatives.  You seek affirmation for what you believe rather than finding new ways to succeed.  Who needs enemies when you’ve got yourself, eh?
  9. Outings. Go on, I’ll stay for one more.  Okay, I’ll stop working to see the others for a bit.  Fine, if everyone else is doing it.
    The most organised of people can succumb to unscheduled visits and staying longer than expected.  You can’t get that time back…
    …Neither can you afford to be totally rigid, so be aware of the changes instead of letting them get in the way and spin out of control.
  10. Relationships/Love.  There’s too much to say here.  I don’t think I need to explain, mainly because it’s impossible to find words.
  11. Money. A necessary evil.  The best we can do is temper the beast.
  12. Perfection. The word sounds pleasant enough, but don’t be fooled. Perfection may seem like the ultimate control, but perfection is actually losing control.
  13. Chaos & false perceptions of future certainty. You don’t know what’s around the corner and you don’t know how sudden changes will impact upon your life.  No matter, you probably try to plan abstract events in your head that are so far ahead it’s never going to turn out that way.  Why bother at all?  Because we don’t realise how random the future is.  If you want to see how random, just read “Fooled by Randomness” and “The Black Swan“.
  14. Weather/Time of year. We recently had a lot of snow.  It changed moods.  When you open your curtains and look outside, the state of the weather gets you thinking.  The weather is so changeable in the UK, no wonder we always like to talk about it. I’m not surprised we let it dictate our mood.
  15. What’s expected of you.  It’s rare to find someone who doesn’t care what others think.  For most of us, we aren’t doing what we want to do in isolation, we’re weighing up all sorts of decisions (real and imaginary) that sway what we’ll do.
  16. Your own expectations.  Do you cut yourself some slack?  You probably don’t as much as you think.
  17. Fitting in. It’s not always cool to stand out.
  18. Standing out. It’s not always cool to fit in.
  19. Sex. When it comes to impressing others romantically, we’re known for doing all sorts of crazy things.  Or is that just me…?
  20. Gossip. Hearing stuff on the grapevine is dangerous.  It changes perception, even if you subsequently find out the rumours were untrue.  The damage has already been done.
Title image: original by tiffa130 (cc)  /  Bottom image: InfoMofo (cc)

Students, Know Your Rights!

In light of news that a student did not own the copyright to her dissertation, it pays to be aware of your rights.

You may be asked to sign away the copyright and ownership of your work when you begin studying.  This could be through signing an intellectual property (IP) release. Your work may no longer strictly be considered your work.

photo by threephin

photo by threephin

All institutions have different rules.  Some let you keep all rights while others want you to give up ownership.  Students are not properly briefed on this in most cases.  The strange situation generally leads to no issues, but that doesn’t mean there’s no problem in this.

I recommend you do the following things:

  1. Don’t sign any document/contract/agreement unless you understand what you’re signing.  If you don’t understand, question it.  It’s hard (if not impossible) to later argue that you didn’t realise what you were signing.  However, if the understanding is fundamentally changed or the contract is simply unfair, the contract can be argued and could be worth nothing.
  2. Check your university’s IP policy.  If you’ve already signed away rights, it’s best you know.  Even if you haven’t, it’s best you understand how the university regards work that you consider your own.

Due to the recent case mentioned above, I question whether universities should be granted an individual, unique say in regulations.  Surely it would be reasonable, easier to understand, and in the interests of students for the issue of copyright and ownership to be made standard across all institutions?

There is an ethical point in this particular case and I don’t have enough information to understand whether or not large parts of the student’s work was used without enough attribution to the author.  The author was apparently credited as the third author on the paper, but was this enough?  Is this even relevant?

Some people argue this is all standard practice.  I don’t think that’s the point.  Deeming something standard practice doesn’t make it reasonable.  Until a case like the one above gets properly tested in court, I fear there won’t be a proper resolution to the problem.

Whatever the score, make sure you’re in the know.  If you have a choice, don’t automatically sign away your rights.

20/20 – Day 17: 20 ways to improve induction

The first days at university are daunting.  With so much going on and so many things to do, the induction process is either a whirlwind of excitement or a whirlpool of horror.

In today’s 20/20 post, I highlight 10 ways institutions can improve the induction process and 10 ways students can get the most from the first days in a new place.  Some unis are better than others at welcoming their students.  If everything on the below list is already covered, a shiny gold star to them!

10 tips for universities

  1. Stop bombarding.  The Fresher experience is overwhelming at the best of times.  Throwing every last possible piece of information in our direction is not going to make us feel at ease.
  2. Make it fun, not frantic.  The phrase “There’s loads to do!” can be spoken both positively and negatively. Let’s make it the former, please.
  3. Improve the registration process if it’s not already quick and easy.  Hours of queues, hours of paperwork, hours of boredom.  If that’s how students see their university for the first time, it’s not a good sign.  Give them a great experience from the outset, even when completing necessary administrative tasks.
  4. Explain the university ethos. What sets this university apart from the others?  How do you shine as an academic institution?  If your students don’t know, how can they help your identity flourish and how can they set themselves apart from any other student in the country?
  5. Highlight what’s expected from undergraduate study.  The transition between school and uni is a big one.  It’s not good enough to mention that in passing as you welcome everyone through the door.  Introducing a primer on undergraduate study should be a priority.
  6. Make introductory sessions short and snappy. And INTRODUCTORY! No need to bamboozle and talk about concepts we don’t yet know or care about.  Give a brief outline without the jargon and leave the detail for the literature or later sessions.
  7. Work with the Students’ Union, not as well as them.  Overlap is pointless, it’s money down the drain, and it highlights an imperfect bond.  Give students the confidence that the university and the Students’ Union operate on similar terms and similar ground.  The student experience should start with collaboration, not clashes.
  8. Introduce a one-stop query shop for incoming Freshers.  Many new students don’t know where to turn, even when they’ve been given the tools.  Remember the first point about bombarding?  Help students with a central point for any and all queries.  And keep improving student ambassador and new student outreach schemes.
  9. Get students acquainted *before* they arrive! The online possibilities are massive. Use them!
  10. Stop playing cool and exciting. Be informative and welcoming.

10 tips for students

  1. Take stuff. You may not realise you need it. And if you really don’t need it, someone else you meet might need it (and will be ever so grateful).
  2. Read stuff.
  3. Keep stuff.
  4. Focus on the newness, not the overwhelmingness. The whole clichéd “You’re all in the same boat” is a cliché because it’s true.
  5. Understand that you’re allowed to find it daunting. Everyone should be a bit afraid and out of their comfort zone if they do it right.
  6. Never be afraid to ask.
  7. Got an unsatisfactory response? Ask someone else. Keep asking until your question is properly answered by someone. It won’t take long; there will be lots of people happy to help.
  8. Think baby steps, one step at a time. You don’t have to understand everything straight away. You’ve got several years for that.
  9. Prepare a checklist of what you want to do, need to find out, and require in order to prepare.  Slowly, but surely, start ticking things off as you go along.
  10. Don’t act clever or play the fool.  You’ve got years to impress people and go crazy.  Rushing in like a loon on Day One won’t impress anyone.

How would you improve induction for Freshers?

Title image: original by tiffa130 (cc)  /  Bottom image: David Reece (cc)

20/20 – Day 16: 20 networking nuggets

You need other people.  Nobody succeeds alone.

Engagement is crucial in everything we do.  On your own, in a dark room, it wouldn’t take long before you came to a stop because you needed skills that you didn’t have.  From learning how to do it yourself, to finding someone who will do it for you, other people need you and you need other people.

How do you make contact with these people and begin a relationship?  It’s not that difficult.  Below, I list 20 top tips toward mastering networking.

  1. Don’t judge, remain open.  Opinions only seek to close off opportunities.
  2. You won’t know unless you try.  Don’t be afraid to make the first move.  Waiting for people to come to you doesn’t work.
  3. What have you got to lose? You won’t lose anything if you reach a dead end, yet you’ll gain so much if you find an in.  Your choice.
  4. Do it all year round.  Quiet moments can yield huge gains.  Busy times bring everyone out.  There is no specific networking season unless you count ‘always’ as a period of time.
  5. If networking with a specific purpose, prepare beforehand.  General networking is pretty open once you have a basic set of openers and ideas.  For more specialised pitches or a focus on targetted individuals, you need to have a plan.
  6. Don’t think of your contacts as useful, see them as people.
  7. Introduce other people to the conversation.  Have you ever heard that you should act like the host at events, even if you’re not the host?  I’ve used this trick a couple times before.  Not only will you be memorable (for the right reasons), but you network by bringing others together to network too.  When this technique works, it works incredibly well.
  8. Focus on the person, don’t let your attention slip.  I think of it as paying ‘Bill Clinton attention’.  When Clinton communicates with people, it seems as if his entire attention has turned to that one person.  It’s like he switches off the world around him, but not to the point where he’s just staring in an uncomfortable manner.  While I haven’t spoken to Clinton personally, I’m pretty sure if I did he would come across this way.
  9. Help others. Be useful.  Just take Twitter as an example. One of the best things about Twitter is when people help others by offering recommended links, answering people’s questions, and putting in a good word for others.
  10. Keep tabs and remain on track even when an association naturally ends.  Unless you don’t like the person and you’ve totally moved on from that line of work/life, there’s no point in burning bridges.
  11. Don’t expect from others without trying to make an impact yourself.
  12. By all means find as many people to network with as you want, but focus on the quality of the contacts rather than the number you’ve collected.
  13. Don’t expect the world. It’s not like you’re owed a favour. Asking isn’t ordering.  If you’re turned down, accept it.
  14. Don’t expect instant results. Networking takes time.  That person you’ve known since you were 6…who’d have thought they would be the perfect contact now you’re 34?
  15. Be kind.  People like to be complimented and like to know you care.  Don’t be false, but do be appreciative and thankful when you can.
  16. Talk about the weather. We’re human.  We don’t talk shop all day.  Smalltalk is not just reasonable, it’s required.
  17. Show an interest in others.  An interest…not an obsession.
  18. Go gently.  A pushy attitude won’t get you far.  You’re building a network, not recruiting soldiers.
  19. Change with the times.  It’s easier than ever to network.  You have access to millions of wonderful minds via an Internet connection.  You don’t need to leave the house. But wherever you are and whatever platform you use, be prepared to go where the people are.  They don’t come to you, you go to them!
  20. You are the key…Not your tools, not your business card, not the money spent, not the gifts you lavish upon them, not anything else.  YOU are the key.
Title image: original by tiffa130 (cc)  /  Bottom image: Lumaxart (cc)