I2MTC 2012 Graduate Student Panel

The Graduate Student Panel Discussion is an event organized for the student attendees of I2MTC that is intended to foster networking and broaden the attendees' perspective on job opportunities, research and education. The Panel Discussion consists of several talks given by relevant members of industry or academia.  Additionally, it is a great chance to meet new people and establish connections, which may become fruitful collaborations in the future.

Although the presentations will focus on topics most relevant to graduate students, undergraduate students are also encouraged to participate. For example, I have attended past editions of the Panel as an undergraduate myself and found the discussions really useful and informative relative to my graduate study plans.

Registration is recommended for the Panel. If you would like to attend, please go to the Registration Page and fill in your name and email and hit the register button. More details regarding the time and date of the Panel will be made available soon. If you register to attend the Panel, you will receive an email close to the conference date with more details regarding this year’s speakers and activities. The grad panel discussion will take place in the Graz Congress, session room S5, Tuesday, May 15th, 14:00-16:00.

Last year’s attendees:

Mr. Huang Dajun , a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Science and Technology of China, was the local speaker at the Panel. He spoke about the Chinese educational system, including similarities and differences to other education systems. Mr. Dajun also highlighted the upcoming educational reforms that are currently being implemented.

Mr. David Ingram , a Ph.D. candidate at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, has had thirteen years of electronics and electric power industry experience. Using his industry experience, he discussed constructive ways of promoting new ideas/technology to more conservative managers.

Dr. Sarah Seguin , an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States, talked about life as a tenure-track faculty member. She spoke in detail about funding applications, managing research projects, and leading a team of graduate students. She also discussed the importance of publishing and conference attendance.

Dr. Tao Wei , a Post-Doctoral Researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri, United States, talked about the initial difficulty that comes with changing educational systems, educational background, and society/culture all at once. He discussed his experience of adapting to these changes as a student while pursuing his graduate studies in the U.S.

If you wish to join the select list of this year’s Graduate Student Panel speakers, please contact Alexandru Nechifor.

--Alexandru Nechifor
Graduate Student Representative of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society