This brief presentation describes: What PhD means? What level of skills one must acquire? How to get it gracefully?

1. 1
HOW TO EARN A PHD??

2. Disclaimer
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acknowledge their Original Source.”

3. DOING A PHD
TOGETHER, WE CAN RISE
Dr. Muhammad Saif Ur Rehman
Green Talent 2014 (Germany)
CAS PIFI Postdoc Fellow 2016
ISESCO-KSA Award 2017
Elsevier-TWAS Award 2018
Member, Global Young Academy 2018
Phd Environmental Engg, KAIST, South Korea

4. YOU NEED A PHD?

5. ‒ Creating Knowledge
‒ Mental Health Challenge
‒ Social Challenge
‒ Tahajjad Prayer
‒ Academic Job Market
‒ Entrepreneurial Mindset
‒ Impact Factor vs Impact
‒ Interdisciplinarity
‒ Application
PhD Challenge

6. RESEARCH SUPERVISOR

8. ‒ Senior vs Junior
‒ Helping vs Blood sucker
‒ Male vs Female
‒ Research profile
‒ Professional profile
‒ PhD graduates
‒ Funding
‒ Network
‒ Politics
‒ Mentoring
PhD Supervisor

9. ‒ Be lazy
‒ Expect spoon feeding
‒ Bring problems
‒ Joke/forward
‒ Misinform
‒ Skip plan
‒ Be over smart
‒ Love Prof
‒ Work hard
‒ Be proactive
‒ Come with solutions
‒ Bring opportunities
‒ Report
‒ Plan timelines
‒ Educate Prof
‒ Respect Prof
Do
Don’t
Working with Supervisor

10. ‒ Know expectations
‒ Know like/dislike
‒ Decide mode of communication
‒ Decide meeting frequency
‒ Meeting pattern
‒ Agenda
‒ Decision of previous meeting
‒ New results
‒ Decision
‒ Next meeting
Working with Supervisor
If you are proactive, I am active. If you
are active, I am passive. If you are
passive
then you ll graduate on the wedding day
of your 1st kid

11. ‒ Read University/HEC regulations
‒ Design timeline for:
• Supervisory committee
• Topic and research
• Courses
• Comprehensive exam
• Synopsis
• IRSIP
• Thesis defense, QEC, Foreign evaluation and Viva
‒ Conflict resolution
‒ Changing supervisor
PhD Rules

12. WHAT IS PHD??

13. PhD is a Training
Research Skills
• Literature search & review
• Experimental design
• Experimentation
• Data collection & analysis
Presentation Skills
• Data presentation
• Presentation design
• Presentation delivery
• QA & feedback
• Teaching skills
Writing Skills
• Research paper writing
• Research paper submission
• Technical & official writing
Management Skills
• Time management
• Project management
• Leadership
• Financial & inventory
• Networking

14. RESEARCH SKILLS

15. Literature Search & Review
Literature Search:
– Keywords/Potential topic
– Search engine
– Which journals to read???
– Catalogue
– Law search/Cover Letter/Resignation
• Literature Review:
– Review paper vs Research paper
– How to read a Paper
– Choose a Research Topic
– Research question
– Information scan i.e. Author Guidelines

16. Experimental Design
• Hypothesis
• Experimental space/limits
• Factors & Parameters
• Statistical design
• Modification

17. Experimentation
• Methods First
• Materials; supply vs purity
• Analysis Que
• Replication
• Execution plan; book lab equipment/arrange reagents

18. Data Collection & Analysis
• Updated Lab Notebook
• Data Catalogue
(Tables/Instrumental data etc.)
• Statistical data analysis
(Mean ± SD)
• Trends & Patterns

19. PRESENTATION SKILLS

20. Data Presentation
• Use appropriate Software MS Excel vs Origin
• Prepare experimental data into Graphs/Tables
• Presentable to paper & ppt formats
• Search for Trends/patterns
• Support with Statistical Analysis
• Meaningful data mining ~75%

21. Presentation Design
• Know the Audience
• Use simple & tailored design
• Use animations properly
• Use 1 slide 1 message
• Draw figures with readable information
• Use Master Slide concept

22. 22

23. Presentation Delivery
• Ensure your script
• Know your time
• Practice, practice & practice
• Maintain Body Language & Voice Quality
• Ensure Hardware & Software
• Fear vs Confidence

24. QA & Feedback
• Leave proper time for QA
• Listen carefully
• Confuse others
• Handle long questions tactfully
• Note shortcomings
• Prepare Checklist

25. WRITING SKILLS

26. Research Paper Writing
• Give a presentation
• Select the Right Journal
• Read/comply with Author Guidelines
• Write in sequence
• Write concisely and properly
• Review/feedback

27. Research Paper Submission
• Cover Letter
• Graphical Abstract
• Compliance
• Reviewers
• PDF review
• Handling Reviewer’s comments

28. Technical & Official Writing
• Project Funding Applications
• Letter to HR/Procurement
• Research Project Reports
• Email
• Lab Policies

29. MANAGEMENT SKILLS

30. Time Management
• IU Matrix
• Game Plan with schedule
• 80-20 Principle
• Energy vs Time
• Ibadat Concept
Urgent
Important

31. Project Management
• Project Plan via mindmap
• Constraints
• Agility
• Review
• Future Guidelines

32. Leadership
• Resources & Conflicts
• Learn the process & skills
• Lead in low risk environment
• Focus on transition
Leadership
PhD Student
Professor

33. Finance & Inventory
• Learn basic financial management
• Procurement & Audit
• Inventory management
• Risks & under-calculations
• 222222222222222222

34. Networking
• Network is Net-Worth
• Conferences
• Social Media
• Collaborations
• Research Paper citation

35. Survival for the fittest

36. References and Further Reading
1. Sharon Ann Holgate (2017) “The benefits of awards—even if you don’t
win” https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2017/05/benefits-awards-even-
if-you-don-t-win doi:10.1126/science.caredit.a1700044
2. C&EN Media Group (2016). How to Win at Winning Scientific Awards.
https://acsmediakit.org/blog/how-to-win-at-winning-scientific-awards/
3. Salena Rezvani (2014). “How To Go After Awards And Recognition (And
Win)” Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-
progress/2014/11/07/how-to-seek-out-and-win-awards-and-why-it-
matters/#58d32ccb3439
4. Marketing Magazine (2019). “Benefits of Awards – Even if You Don’t Win”
https://marketingmagazine.com.my/benefits-of-awards-even-if-you-dont-
win/