Blogs

‘You really should publish something from your Ph.D.’ The refrain is one with which all doctoral students are well-aware. In the past year, I’ve heard the words often: from mentors, my Ph.D. supervisor, colleagues, friends, even mentees. What they don’t know is that even looking across the room at the thick, bound copy of my Ph.D. fills me with dread. To go back to my Ph.D. is to return to a very painful period in my life.

On the "real world", free time, and early reactions to today.

Social media may necessitate a different kind of interaction between alumni and their institutions – one that mirrors the shift marketers have made from broadcast marketing to relationship building. And the fun is just beginning, because while all of this requires new skills and ideas, it has also ushered in new dimensions to some all-important roles.

On the weekend of June 15th, I will be attending the fifth THATCamp Prime. What is THATCamp? Founded by graduate students at the history department at George Mason University in 2008, THAT stands for 'the humanities and technology'. It is an 'unconference' in that the structure and agenda is decided on-site on the first day of the conference itself. No papers. No panels.

Remember when we all thought that the Internet would cause the car dealership to disappear? We'd all buy our cars online. We'd tell our grandchildren about the days when buying a car meant going to a "car dealership" and spending time with a "car salesperson". Life would be so sweet when car buying became a virtual, friction free experience.

Earlier this week, I sat through an excellent presentation on social media. And in terms of my skill set in this area, I consider myself to be an effective communicator. I was a very early adopter of email. I enjoy using PowerPoint. I blog on a regular basis. In addition, I text message regularly; I Google often; and I Iook at various YouTube postings relatively often. I also have a Facebook page that I hardly ever look at and a LinkedIn page that I look at occasionally. After the presentation, I have come to the conclusion that this is not good enough and that I need to upgrade my social media skills.

More modern higher education and innovation systems alone would not drive economic competitiveness. There is a wide, although gradual bridging of the East/West gap related to a multitude of factors including tax systems, legal systems and transportation infrastructure. Knowledge production in universities in the region cannot be assessed in isolation from the larger economic environment. Higher education institutions cannot be held solely responsible for low economic competitiveness, and higher education reforms cannot be expected to bear economic results as quickly as policymakers in the region expect.

I have been following with interest the comments section of the recent New York Times article on the "cupcake wars," which explores the tensions among PTA parents in neighborhoods that are gentrifying.