Useful Study Tips for Exams

It's that time of the year again ….. caffeine filled nights getting ready for exams. I know that this subject may be overdone, but I've decided to summarize a few tips to make this month a bit easier for you.

The first piece of advice that anyone will tell you is to pay attention in class, take great notes and start studying really early in the semester, and not at the last minute. If you are anything like me, that is never going to happen... so, I'll move onto some more useful ideas (If my mother is reading this, I am clearly lying and do all of the above).

I'll start off with my six general steps and then a few specifics tricks that may prove to be helpful. Overall, stress is the worst thing for exams so positive thinking, lots of sunlight and chocolate are a great way to start.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dr-mike-hart/
8-reasons-to-sleep-more_b_3641933.html

 1. SLEEP First thing first, sleep! I know, I know, everyone tells you this but I bet you ignore this every year. Two hours of studying when you're exhausted will do more harm than good! This is  because  you'll be even more tired the next day, and will remember very little of what you studied. Studies show that students should get 8-10 hours of sleep every night. But, if that's not possible, I'd recommend at least 6 hours of sleep. On that note, don't take this as an excuse to sleep the day away (I have been guilty of this).

http://wejungo.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/organize.gif

2. CLEAN AND ORGANIZE
I'm well aware that this can be both a foreign notion to some of you and a way to procrastinate for others, but it is important! Before you start the never-ending studying session, clean your work area. Declutter, hide the distractions (including your phone), remove any dirty dishes, and give it a quick wipe down and vacuum. This won't take long but it can make all the difference. Please, do not turn this into a three hour cleaning session (or a three hour session of thinking about cleaning). Something else that I find useful, is making lists (I might be addicted) and plans. Make a quick outline of a study plan for the 2-3 weeks of you have left (or more if you're lucky) before exams. Separate the days into hours for specific course subjects, rest, work, etc. You should also make a quick plan for each day of study right before you start that day (ex. get through ch.3-5 of mechanics for today). This will give you a goal to achieve and make it easier to stay on track. Note: DO NOT be like me and spend hours doing this while achieving nothing on the lists.

3. STUDY GROUP As an antisocial and extremely awkward person, this is a hard concept for me to grasp but it really is worth it ; join a STUDY GROUP. Study groups will give you a bit more structure, motivation and focus while you study. It's also great because you can ask your peers for help when you need it and you can help them when they need it. Teaching other people is a great way to cement the knowledge in your brain and ensure that you understand the material. Try to ask some friends or people in your tutorial classes to form a group. In the case that you cannot find a group, remember you always have your TAs and professors that you can go to ask any questions. Also, give yourself or a group of invisible people (I know it sounds silly) a presentation on a topic that you just finished studying. Go full out; diagrams, talking out loud, writing down notes, etc. This will honestly help in the long run.

http://www.pak101.com/c/funnypictures/view/12410/Funny/Group_Studies 

4. BREAKS Breaks are very important to take or you'll burn out and you will not retain as much information. Taking breaks will improve performance, relieve stress and increase your overall well-being. The research differs in terms of the agreed length, frequency, and number of intervals a person should take a break for that will be most beneficial. I personally like to study for long periods of time (roughly two hours) and then take a 30 minute break. In reality a thirty minute break every two hours may be too long of a break, but it’s what has worked best for me. Another great idea which has been instrumental in my studies has been to create a study music playlist. Create the playlist for the length of time you intend to study for and turn it on shuffle. When the playlist ends, you know that it's time for a break without ever having to look at the clock (try not to spend time watching the time on the clock). Also, try not to pick music that will distract you. Ideally, choose music that is instrumental or calming, but make sure to pick something you like. I personally love classical music, orchestra music and soundtracks (they're not necessarily calm but at least you don't get distracted by the music too much).

5. DANCE PARTY This brings me onto my next subject; what to do during those breaks. Have a dance party! Put on some fun music and just start dancing (don't worry if you can't dance, this is why you do this in private). You may think I'm joking but I'm very serious and expect to see a lot of dancing students once this trend catches. It's a great stress reliever; a quick way to loosen up your stiff joints and a great way to have your endorphins released. Doing some exercise and going outdoors are another way to achieve the same benefits. Unfortunately, in the real world (in Canada), there's already snow on the ground, and no one in their right mind wants to go freeze their behinds off for fun. If you do, good for you; but for the other lazy and winter hating people like me, just dance! It's the best workout to quickly get your heartbeat going (I may be lying) but don't worry about technique since you're not getting in shape or showing off your dance moves, you are just shaking some stress off.

Napolean Dynamite(2004) 

  6. CAFFEINE Depending who you ask, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. On a realistic note, it's impossible to get through this without caffeine (if you can, I hate you) and it really should just be accepted. My only note of advice is to try and avoid it at night since sleep is more important and cut down on the caffeine when you start getting the shakes. Honestly, what you eat and drink is purely up to you and I know it is hard but eating healthy can go a long way for your energy levels and retention abilities. So remember moderation and even though caffeine may be one of my food groups, I don't have a drastic increase in my intake. Plus, remember to drink plenty of water.

 Ok, now that you've actually read through the six steps (or scrolled pass), you deserve to know the true secret of my success during exam period (not really a secret).

PRACTICE 

All subjects are different and need to be studied in a different way but in general, science and engineering courses are all about practice. Reading through your notes isn't very helpful once you get to the exams. The only way to prepare is to actually solve or work through the questions (over and over again) until you truly understand how to get to the answer and what to do in all possible scenarios.

HINT#1: My solids II professor gave me this particular word of advice: once you've done a question, do it backwards. Professors like to be sneaky; they won't give you a question in the same format that they've shown you in class. If they always give you A and B to get to C, make sure you can get to A with B and C. It adds more work but is probably the best advice I've ever received; you'll get more comfortable (and therefore confident) about the theories and equations. 

VISUAL, AUDITORY, PHYSICAL

We all learn in different ways and you should concentrate on which way is best for you. So you can rewrite your notes, or read your notes out loud, or do some sort of 'short experiment' to demonstrate a concept. Anything that helps is great; rereading your notes at a high speed in your head is only useful to a small percentage of people. Try to make studying an interactive activity. Note: Even if you learn primarily through one method, I'd advise you to use a combination of all three methods.

HINT#2: You will get annoyed, tired and sore after all the studying. Documentaries are a great way to change it up a bit while still learning the material. The documentary won't cover everything you need to know but it is still covering the same topic from a different point of view. Even better, it allows you to take a break from writing and sit on a comfy couch. Remember that it doesn't need to be a documentary (Aircraft Investigations for engineer students, A Beautiful Mind for neuroscience students, etc.). 

CHANGE IT UP

Do not get stuck on the same material for too long. Your mind will start blurring all the information together and you'll end up making mistakes and forgetting the material. Do a few hours on one subject and then take a big break (work, school, eating, etc.), when you get back start a different subject or at least study a different section of that subject that is completely different. It will do wonders for you in the end. If you find this hard (I do), switch it up between theory and practical (or books and films, etc.) and you will achieve the same results.

HINT#3: This may not occur to most people but changing where you study is important as well. Do not study everything all at the same desk; move to the kitchen for a bit, go to the library, sit on the floor. Avoid your bed if possible though studying right before bed and after you wake up has been proven to be helpful at retaining more information * only successful when you're not exhausted*. 

UNIVERSITIES WANT YOU TO PASS

Remember that you're not the only person who wants you to pass the exam. The professors will be available for extra help, and will often provide you a good idea of what to expect on the exam. The university will also help by giving you access to old exams, PASS sessions, workshops, tutors, etc. Utilize the resources available to you because there's a lot more than you may realize. If you don't know where to look on your school's website, don't be afraid to ask.

Hint #4: Humans, including professors, are creatures of habit. Complete all the old exams (not just one) you can find (especially those by the same professor) because I can almost guarantee that your exam will be similar. The old exams should be used as a tool, and you should not purely rely on them. Do keep in mind that certain subjects haven't changed in a very long time (ex. calculus) but some subjects change relatively often (ex. computers). 

TECHNOLOGY

 My final note of advice is a few ways to use technology to your advantage during study periods. We live in a world where technology proves to be one of our greatest distractions but can also be our biggest help.

Google

First and foremost, GOOGLE. Never underestimate the power of Google search when you need help. You can find almost everything you'll need but remember to take it with a grain of salt depending on which sites you use. For engineer and science students, you'll find hundreds of videos online with example of questions and demonstrations.

Self Control

It's hard not to procrastinate and get distracted but there are apps out there that will help. There are a few versions of this idea but one of them is called 'SelfControl', it will block certain sites completely for a set period of time and you will never be able to access them (even if you turn off your computer). Check it out:

http://selfcontrolapp.com/ 

Sleep If U Can

Try some of these alarms clocks if you have trouble getting out of bed. The first one forces you to do a math problem to turn it off and the second one forces you to take a photo of a specified object (ideally not in your bedroom). There's many more like it; find one that works for you. 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/detailsid=com.excelsior.alarmclock.math&hl 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=droom.sleepIfUCan&h 

Exam Time 

My personal discovery of the year that I'm excited for is “ExamTime”! “ExamTime” is an app that will help you study using mind maps, flashcards, notes and quizzes. The reason why it's so great is that it's shared online which means you can look at other people's quizzes and notes as well. As a study group, you can all make quizzes separately (which really does help with your memory) and you can test yourself with their quizzes. Depending on the subject, you can find hundreds (I might be exaggerating) of quizzes/flashcards/etc., that are already completed.

https://www.examtime.com/blog/apps-for-students/ 

My point is that there's help if you need it, I just listed a few free apps that I know of but there are many others out there that may suit you. Of course, don't let the app be a distraction and don't spend hours looking for the perfect app/site either.

I hope you can utilize my six steps and tricks when studying for exams, but keep in mind that there are different ways of studying for different formats of exam. So remember to study using different techniques depending on the exam format (ie. Multiple choice versus essay exams).

Good luck to everyone and enjoy your well-deserved holiday vacation after exams!
-Gabrielle

http://florawhite.deviantart.com/art/Exams-Here-I-come-348346856

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Gabrielle is a 2nd/3rd year aerospace engineer student. She has a bachelor of science in mathematics and physics from Australia where she lived for four years. She's your typical engineer student; loves the classes (well.. most of them) but spends way too much time playing games instead. Her favorite activity is watching Broadways (even though she doesn't have an artistic bone in her body).

Hai! Welcome Back!!!

Darlings!

You’re about three weeks in, but welcome back nonetheless.

Whether this is your first year at Carleton or 10^th (no judgment here). We hope that you have a productive yet fun year!

Since I have been here FOREVER, I've complied a list of tips and tricks of the trade (yes I equated being a student to a trade).

1)   Read your course syllabus… Seriously. All the important information is on there and it acts a contract between you and your professor.

2)   Use your TA’s, they’re job is to make sure you are feeling comfortable with the material.

3)   Use your Prof’s office hours. Again, get comfortable asking questions.

4)   Attend class. I know this seems like a no brainer and granted some classes are bruuutaal. Try really hard to show up. Make an effort. I know this goes without saying, but you guys are paying $500+ per course… Seems like a complete waste if you’re not coming to class or using the Prof and TA’s

5)   Keep up with the material. You don’t need to be making an appearance at a house party every night of the week. You do need to make an appearance at the library or an equivalent place to get your shit done.

6)   Don’t compare yourself with anyone. We all know those students….The ones that party all night, don’t show up to class  (or show up only to fall asleep), that start their assignments 1 hr before they are due, and that seem to never open a text book YET the buggers end up with a fantastic mark…

They are not you. Recognize and appreciate how YOU learn. The earlier you do this the less heart ache and potential awful marks you will experience.

7)   Join at least one “social” group (salsa anyone?) and one “academic” group (every department has a society, get involved).

Shameless self plug here, but ahem CU-WISE is both social (who doesn't love cupcake socials and movie nights?) AND  academic (we have smart people come in to talk about smart things) .

                                      We also are changing the world, seriously.

Our outreach efforts over the last 2 years alone has reached more then 600 girls ranging from ages 10 to 18...   #NBD ;)

Our members are the absolute best (not biased at all) and our events are AH-MAZING (again, cupcakes, roller coasters and nonstop giggling, can’t be beat).

8)   Expand your social horizons, get to know people that are your opposites... Makes for fun evenings

9)   Pack food. Campus food is …well... you know...(unless you go to Roosters… They’re all right for certain things). But seriously, pack food or buy granola bars and stuff them in your locker. Nothing is worse then setting down to study and being hungry. It’s cruel and unusual punishment.

10)  Workout. I know I knooooow. “Sweating is sooo awful” (this is the exact statement that my lazy labmate tells me when we workout... but he’s has a lot of issues we need to sort out) Anyway. Find a physical activity you enjoy, tennis, swimming, weights, running (barf), yoga etc. Get moving. No one wants to be out of breath climbing the Uni Center stairs ;)

I hope I see you folks at our upcoming events!!

As always,

Stay fabulous,

Rim

______________________________________________________________________________

Rim is an institution within Carleton (that is to say she has been here for so long that there has been talk to erect a statue in her honour).  Word on the street is that she’s “finishing up” her PhD in Neuroscience (don’t ever get her started on her research, she’s turns into a 12 y/old on a sugar high..it’s terrifying. No one should be that excited about science). She also happens to be the Science Co-Chair CU-WISE (or as she calls it THE BOSS OF ALL THINGS), where she spends her time hustling , planning events, motivating (coughharrasingcough) students and flirting with her Engineering Co-Chair. You will see her around campus (she lives here) please stop her and say hello. She responds well to cookies.

Random Advice for an Undergrad

I recently wrote an email with a bunch of advice based on my own undergrad experience and thought, 'why not share!' So here it is, my random and somewhat long list of what helped me be successful in undergrad:

• For math classes, I took notes the whole class, and I worked in the library on the practice problems.  The only way to do well in math is to do all the assigned problems.  It's so easy to let it slip but it's important.  Especially with today's distractions, going to one of those study desks in the library and putting on music on headphones will help a lot.
  
• In computer science classes (which are likely similar to a lot of your technical classes), I didn't really take notes because there were always slides, but I did try to read the textbooks in many (but not all) cases.  When reading or when in class you end up getting to the point of thinking "ugh, I've seen this before."  But that's exactly where you want to get! Without ever reaching that point, you never truly know the topic.  If you read the book and go to class and don't get to that point, you can find other ways to get there.  There are TA's, profs, online resources... (Though one tip is to learn to recognize when little details are less important and when it's a core topic you really really have to know.)
  
• Speaking of TA's and profs, learn how to use them to your advantage.  It's a bit intimidating at first, but seeing the profs and coming with well thought-out questions will actually impress them, and you will get a ton of help.
  
• Study groups can be good, but they can also be a bit of a time suck if it doesn't stay on focus, or if you work on problems you don't need help with.  I recommend getting together with the right people to work on particularly difficult assignments.  Take notes during these sessions but don't write the whole answer.  This will force you to think about it for yourself later on.
  
• Here's what I do for studying for an exam and sometimes larger tests:
• Make a hand-written summary sheet of all the important details.  This is very time consuming so it can't be left to the last minute, but just the act of writing is the first step to remembering it.
• Go through the sheet and try to memorize what needs to be memorized, and understand the rest.
• Ask a friend or parent or roommate to ask you questions based on what's on the sheet.  If you wrote it right, they don't even need to be all that knowledgeable of the material.
  
  
• I guess the last major thing will be time management.  This is always tricky, but if you are having a hard time with it, you might try the time-sheet technique - I did this in my Masters and it was useful.

Another great resource from the CU-WISE archives is the Advice for Undergraduates document.

What else do you do to study and make the grade? Share your wisdom here!

CRA-W Grad Cohort 2010

I was lucky enough to be able to attend this year's Grad Cohort organized by CRA-W, the Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research, with CU-WISE Officer Svetlana and member Shruti. We were even luckier to be able to work in some sight seeing before and after the conference as well - it was held in Seattle, so we went to Vancouver first.

All three of us learned a lot at the many informative talks. I met up with some people I knew from last year's Grad Cohort, and networked with some new folks as well. Definitely well worth the time to attend.

Here are some articles I posted on my own blog that summarize the talks we saw. I'm including those from last year, as well, since I think all of the topics are of interest.

• PhD Academic Career Paths
• Being a Woman in Technology
• Balancing Graduate School and Life
• Presentation Skills
• Finding a Research Topic
• Tips for Finishing Your PhD
  

Advice for undergraduate students

I recently re-wrote last year's "Advice for Undergraduate Students" document on helpful tips and advice about University life because the transition from high school to university can be a challenging experience. It's amazing how much more I have to say after only one year of CU-WISE and grad school. I included a few snippets from the document below and I strongly encourage you to check out the entire document. It can be found on our website under "Planet WISE" here.

The Carleton Student Academic Success Center (SASC) stated that the number one academic problem students face is procrastination. I am not surprised at all as I’ve been there and so has everyone else I studied with.

Attending class is important (and please remember to put your cell phone on silent and don’t answer it in class!). A survey done by engineers concluded that there is a direct correlation between the DFW (Drop Failure Withdrawal) rate and low class attendance.

There are plenty of ways to get help in your courses other than using the Internet or relying on your notes and textbooks. Talking to your classmates, your professor, your TA, etc. is very important as well. I don’t know how I would have survived university if it wasn’t for these resources and, many times, I felt I learned the most by discussing course material with my classmates.

Many students make the mistake of putting very little effort into their assignments. They copy some, they don’t do others, and when they do them and get a poor mark, they never look at them again. This is a big mistake. Someone once told me that by not doing your homework, you effectively lower your GPA by 7.

Getting involved is something I didn’t do in my undergrad and I thoroughly regret it. It would have made my university experience fuller and much more rewarding. I know it might seem like between classes and assignments there isn’t much time for anything else, but it’s worth it to make time for activities outside of classes. Not to mention the energy you get from being involved in extracurricular activities that you love will make you more productive!

There is one textbook I would recommend for every engineering student. It basically has all the mathematical relations you will need in undergrad in one book. It’s called “Schaum’s Outlines: Mathematical Handbook of Formulas and Tables”. Mine is a second edition by Murray Spiegel and John Liu, and I still use it to this day.

Be sure to apply to all the scholarships you can. There are often scholarships designed to encourage women to continue pursuing science or engineering. Check out the list of scholarships available on the CU-WISE website.

Take advantage of the services at Carleton University. Honestly, I wish I had taken even more advantage of them.

On behalf of CU-WISE, I wish you all the best of luck in your studies and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Feel free to leave comments below.

Tips, Tricks and Software for Keeping Research Organized

As somebody who naturally loves to organize, this session was close to my heart. Oddly enough, I didn't really do a whole lot of organizing for my Masters research (I guess it was 'simple' enough that I didn't need to), but I'm really excited to use some of this advice as I start my PhD. One of the first things I'm going to (finally) do after thinking about it a lot is setting up an SVN server on my own webserver.

Read the rest on my blog.

9 good bits of advice I've gotten as a student

I'm (hopefully) in the last year of my PhD, and along the way, I've gotten a lot of good advice from people at Carleton: students, profs, admin staff. Here's a few bits that I'd like to share:

1. Making friends is important, not only for your sanity but also for academic success in later years. You need people you can trust for those group projects!
   
   
2. If your TA can't speak English, complain. A few years ago, they made it possible for TAs to be sent to remedial English training. It's free for the TA, and they don't lose their future TA jobs, so you're pretty much doing everyone a favour by helping them learn to do their job better.
   
   
3. It may seem that everyone else is way ahead of you in class. But actually, a lot of other people are just stupidly arrogant. You're probably way more awesome than you think, and other people are probably struggling with the same things you struggle with.
   
   
4. Your course schedule may not work out every year. If you're in a smaller degree program, you might even find that it's not possible to complete your degree without substituting things because your required courses are offered at the same time! If you run up against a wall, talk to the undergraduate/graduate advisor in your department. They can help figure out what to do.
   
   
5. If you have any problem with registration or any other administrative thing, make sure to talk to the admin staff in person. Our administrative staff is excellent, and they can solve a lot of problems that the computer systems deem impossible. Just remember to be polite, and try to show up when they're not busy!
   
   
6. You can skip classes by challenging for credit. It costs money, but can get you out of stuff that would be a waste of your time. That said, easy As are great ways to buoy up your scholarship marks if you're willing to sit around being bored. (that's what I did in first year.)
   
   
7. You can take upper year classes early, sometimes without prerequisites, if you're willing to work for it. Sit in on the first few classes and then ask the prof to sign the necessary paperwork when you're more sure, or just ask them for their advice. You can also take graduate courses as an undergraduate! (I did this, and it's how I wound up doing graduate school!) Graduate courses sometimes have an easier workload than the undergraduate ones, but you'll have to do a lot more independent thinking, so be prepared!
   
   
8. If you're struggling in a class very early on, it's perfectly ok to drop classes and take them later. Sometimes the prof's teaching style won't mesh with your learning style and you should take it with someone else, sometimes you're just too busy with other courses. Before you drop anything, though, make sure you do it properly in the system before the drop date so you don't get an F, make sure you can take the class later or substitute another class, and make sure it's not a prerequisite that will mess up your schedule for the next term!
   
   
9. Find a few good places to hang out and spend more time on campus. Having a place you can sit where you can let off steam with a game of cards, meet up with your friends, curl up on a couch for an hour, or even just buy cheaper snacks/coffee can be invaluable. I lived off-campus as an undergraduate and tended to go home frequently in my first year, but I didn't really find a love for Carleton until I started hanging out with the Math Society.
   

And nowadays, obviously I recommend you all join WISE, too!

So welcome to the new students this year! And for those of you returning, I'm sure you've gotten some great advice too. Got anything you'd like to share?

My journey from high school to grad school

After finishing my master's in engineering at Carleton University a few weeks ago, I have begun to reminisce about my life, and more specifically, what I want to share with you in this blog. I thought about my experiences at last year's Grace Hopper conference, about my experiences as co-founder and external affairs executive of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), and about my experiences as a teaching assistant. I realized that, even though my thesis was a struggle, the past 2 years have been the best years of my life and I am very thankful for that. I would like to share my personal experiences with you.

I vaguely remember high school, but I remember that I felt like a somebody. I did well academically, I won awards and bursaries, all the teachers saw great potential in me, I got along with the "nerds" and the "cool" people (which doesn't really mean anything in life beyond high school), I was voted best dressed in my last year, I discovered I had a passion for writing poetry, I was a Peer Helper Leader, I was a photographer for the Yearbook, and I founded the Anti-Abuse Team. Outside of school I was becoming a kick butt martial artist and spent a lot of time with my family. I believe that my parents worked very hard to make sure I developed strong family values and that I enjoyed spending time with them. As a result, my social life was at a minimum before I reached adulthood. Maybe good, maybe bad, but I seem to have turned out well.

Moving on, when it came time to choose what I wanted to study next, I knew I wanted to get into engineering or computer science. My mom has a master's in civil engineering so she wanted me to go into that. But my primary goal was to study something very challenging as I felt that high school didn't do it for me. Now that I think about it, I believe it was the teachers that made me that confident, hehe. So I chose to go into engineering physics because I liked physics and I didn't want to be restricted only to programming. But the main reason was because it was known as the most difficult program in engineering at Carleton. And so it was.

Undergrad turned out to be the biggest shock of my life. I wasn't at the top of my class anymore and the boys had caught up with me. Even though I ended up ranking 4th out of 11 students in my program (and the top female) and 30th out of all 354 engineering students, I still felt like a fraud. I condemned myself that I didn't do it alone. I survived the program because I got a lot of help from the "smart ones" and because I had the discipline to work hard. What a wake up call that was. I remember consistently being stressed and pressed for time, I was jealous of anyone who had a weekend off, and I can admit that there were days when I broke down into tears. On the positive side, I think the Engineering Physics Program was still the best choice for me as it was like going to the academic army. I obviously got what I asked for. Engineering physics students became problem-solving soldiers. For example, we were taught to write down all assumptions, be very precise in our error analysis, to never ever forget units, and to always explain all the possible causes of error in our results. We began to realize that the results didn't matter as much as the accuracy of the results and how the accuracy could be increased. But enough with the nerdy talk.

Upon graduation, I decided I'm still not smart enough to enter the real world. So I signed up for grad school in the department of electronics. But meanwhile I went backpacking to Europe. After the 2-month trip, I didn't want to come back to school but at the same time I knew travelling some more was going to make me feel unaccomplished. So I came back and started my thesis early. For 2 months I researched possible topics for my thesis and it was in those 2 months that I somehow got into WISE. I remember the exact steps that I took to get there. One, I felt liberated of my primary duty to get a bachelor's degree. Two, I missed the good old days in high school when I was more involved in my school community. And three, I was very upset I didn't get an NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) or an OGS (Ontario Graduate) scholarship. I'm not sure if I should be ashamed of this but that's when it hit me the most. I thought, man I worked so hard, had good grades, and even published a research paper, but still I wasn't good enough. So I googled "women, engineering, and Carleton" and found a crappy looking website about Carleton's WISE group. I thought to myself: this is my chance to show them there's more to me than they think. I knew I wasn't an average engineer with average skills and most definitely not an average woman.

The WISE Carleton representative, Tarah, got back to me and invited me for coffee. When I met her at Rooster's, I was surprised to see that another woman was there to meet Tarah. Her name was Serena and she was in computer science. That meeting was another shock in my life because I felt like I just got connected to a whole new world and it made my heart smile. A few months later Serena and I recruited Gail, Natalia and Lindsay, and all 5 of us re-built Carleton's WISE group (and that website is definitely far from crappy looking now). My primary goal wasn't to help more women get scholarships as that is the train of thought that led me to be involved in this group. Upon meeting these awesome women, I realized that they are the support group I needed to help me reach my goals... and I wanted to help other women attain that too. By the way, I ended up getting that OGS scholarship in my second year of grad school as well as a Carleton Graduate Student Association Honour Award for my work with WISE, and a scholarship to help pay for attending the Grace Hopper conference this year (I also applied last year but didn't receive one).

So how has WISE benefited me? I never know where to start when someone asks me that. Here is my short answer: I now have an awesome support group of women executives who I want to one day start a business with. Who would have thought that I'd have the ambition and the confidence for that? Not to mention that it's not easy to find a group of people you get along with in a business environment. All 5 of us have a wide range of knowledge and abilities, but we share common values and goals, which make us a great team. If you're interested in reading more about what I learned through WISE, I wrote a blog about it on the Grace Hopper blog here.

I am now trying to develop my own vision in hopes of attaining it one day. But I will never forget to give back to my community and I will never forget WISE.

One more reason for the wage gap: What young women choose to study in college

We need more strong young women to choose more 'lucrative' careers paths by studying business, math, natural sciences and engineering.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/08/10/gender_gap_majors/index.html

Connecting business to graduate students

Yesterday's Ottawa Citizen had an article about a program that I've heard of before at University of Ottawa's Fostering Cleantech Collaborations event in June. The program is called Accelerate Canada organized by MITACS (Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems, based in Vancouver). Here are a few snippets of info from the article:

Founded to encourage more math professionals to embrace innovation and tackle real industry problems, MITACS soon saw an opportunity to plug scientist of all kinds into commercial research. Accelerate now harnesses the intellectual horsepower of thousands of graduate students and connects them to real research projects at a price point that is hard to resist.

The beauty of Accelerate is it's made for companies of any size (Bombardier, IBM, Shell Canada and Manitoba Hydro are all clients), but priced for small businesses. A four-month internship costs companies $7,500 (federal and provincial governments chip in to match that amount, thus meeting Accelerate's fee of $15,000). For that price, a company gets help describing its project, links to the best sources of help, the services of a grad student for four months (including some expenses), and hands-on monitoring by a university professor.

The goal is to expose grad students to real-world research problems and develop scientific breakthroughs for Canadian business. Accelerate also ensures the students understand business by offering training in entrepreneurship, communications and project management.

So if you're interested in working for a company for a few months, get a professor to join forces with you and give MITAC a shout!

IT Works to Dispel Nerdy Image to Students

From ACM CareerNews Alert for July 7 2009.

IT Works to Dispel Nerdy Image to Students
Toronto Star, June 29

In Canada, the ICT sector is trying to shed its “nerdy” image, in the hopes of luring the tech-savvy millennial generation back to computer science careers. In response to declining enrollment in computer-related programs, the Canadian Coalition for Tomorrow’s ICT Skills conducted a survey of Grade 9 and 10 students across Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax) to find out their opinions on the ICT field. The results, released early June, showed the extent to which ICT must reinvent itself. While roughly three-quarters of students believe the tech industry offers good salaries and job stability, only 39% found ICT careers appealing, and even fewer found them interesting.

The problem, the Canadian researchers found, was that most teenagers really don't know what it means to be involved with the computer science field. As a result, young people are stuck with an outdated vision of the field that is not very alluring. Educators say the key to getting students excited about technology is to bring technologies students use every day, such as cell phones, into the classroom. In some classes, for example, students learn to create games on their phones. These programs, launched after a dramatic drop in demand for computer science, have created a buzz among students, with many graduates going on to computer-related studies and settling on careers in technology. In time, other school systems may adopt similar types of programs as they develop new best practices.

Click Here to View Full Article

Engineering Hot Again at Universities

From the ACM CareerNews Alert.

Engineering Suddenly Hot at Universities
Christian Science Monitor, April 24

Across the U.S., enrollment in engineering programs has risen to levels not seen in three decades. The economic uncertainty created by the recession appears to be one factor, as students and their parents look for dependable careers with steady incomes and relatively high job security. Moreover, some education experts detect a shift in opinion about the profession itself, as issues like global warming and stem-cell research make fields like chemical and bioengineering more relevant. Many students are bringing to engineering a heightened sense of social responsibility and a desire to go out and make a difference in the world.

Nationally, enrollment in undergraduate engineering programs rose 3% in 2007 and 4.5% in 2008, according to the American Association of Engineering Education. Meanwhile, enrollment in masters' degree programs rose 7% in 2007 and 2% in 2008. Despite the fact that more than 400,000 undergraduates were studying engineering at U.S. universities and colleges in Fall 2008, skeptics note that engineering remains a low priority for U.S. students compared to other nations. The U.S. ranks #22 globally in terms of the number of engineers produced on a per capita basis. The profession fell in popularity after the mid-1980s and has been struggling to recover ever since. With the economy in the doldrums, though, the lure of steady, high-paying jobs within engineering will help to accelerate this trend.

Interestingly, many students point to an evolution in the way that their peers now perceive engineering. They are drawn to the fact that engineering is a way to help people, save lives and contribute to society. Biomedical advances, including those suggested by stem-cell research, have made biomedical engineering one of the fastest growing disciplines, especially for women. The concern over global warming and energy development has also drawn more young people to chemical and environmental engineering. With that as backdrop, the article takes a closer look at engineering enrollment trends; explores how universities are updating their curricula to attract students; and examines the problems still hampering engineering schools, such as an inability to attract African-Americans, Hispanics and women.

Click Here to View Full Article

CRA-W Grad Cohort

I had the good luck to be selected to attend the Committee on the Status of Women in the Computing Research Association, or CRA-W, Grad Cohort this past March. I highly recommend it for any of you female computer science grad students! (I'm sure we'll post information about applying when it becomes available.)

I wrote up some posts about it on my personal blog that most of you should find interesting:

• A Short Summary
• PhD Academic Career Paths
• Being a Woman in Technology
• Balancing Graduate School and Life
  

My Exam-Time Tips

Most students here at Carleton are writing exams or working on final projects. This is the first April that I'm not doing the same thing - I'm in my second year of my Master's trying to finish my experiments for my thesis instead! But, needless to say, I've done it many times before, and have developed a pretty good system for studying for exams. While everyone learns in different ways, this strategy should work well for anyone in science and engineering, perhaps with some small modifications.

The basic idea is to find a couple of different ways to force yourself to retain the information you learned in your classes.

My first step (and probably where you all should start) is writing what I call a summary sheet. I comb through my own notes and the professor's slides, looking for key information. I write these down on real paper with a real pen, because when using a computer, the temptation to copy/paste is often too high. Plus, the act of thinking about what to write and then physically writing it is actually the first retention technique. It's amazing how much more I know about the course after doing this. It can take a few days if the time is available between exams dates, so don't procrastinate on this.

I sometimes pretend that my summary sheet is a cheat sheet that I can bring in to the exam with me. While I don't set a strict page limit for it, I do pretend there is some arbitrary one. That way I don't rewrite the whole course, but rather summarize most important stuff in my own words and pick out key information. Again, the extra thinking required to do this helps me remember the content.

Ok, so now I have this summary sheet. What's next? Well, this is where you might like to modify my strategy to fit your learning style. At this point, I like to be forced to recall the information verbally by having a friend (or even, say, my dad - they don't need to understand it) look at what I wrote and devise some straightforward questions about it. You may also want to look at it, cover it up, and try repeating it as a more rote way of memorizing the material (this might work better for practicing formulas, too).

After all that, I sleep. It's so important to be well rested for the exam. Even if I'm not done going through the whole course, I know when to stop, because not sleeping enough will be worse than not being able to answer a question or two on the exam. The next morning, I eat a good breakfast, and read over my summary notes one last time. But I just read them - I don't usually try to recite information or do any more memorizing, because that can be stressful (the last thing you need is more stress!).

Finally, I bring some water to the exam, and just relax! Nothing I do after sitting in that chair is going to change anything.

Give this method a try, and once you get the hang of it, you might even like it. ;) Best of luck on all your exams!

Exams are coming and the happy lamp is here to help!

I was TAing one day and something caught my eye... something pretty, something bright, something that stood out white in the yellowness of the room. I didn't realize this right away, but a lamp was hypnotizing me with happiness.

Now you might think I'm crazy, but this lamp is special. It's called the "Ott-Lite Vision Saver Plus Full Spectrum Light", and it mimics natural daylight... and doesn't natural daylight make you happy? Now I don't think that this lamp will provide you with a tan, but it's proven to cause less strain on your eyes than regular electrical light.

I was so intrigued that I bought the same lamp a few days later at Canadian Tire for $50. Now those late nights studying for exams will be happier late nights.