Students

I made several mistakes spending the discretionary fund. At the start of my time here, I didn’t have a PhD student. To get the ball rolling, I hired a number of undergrads and graduate students to start on some of the projects I envisioned. It was immediately obvious that there was a large mismatch in what I expect, and what they are capable of doing. I still have not fully figured out why that is. From my side, I expected the students to appreciate the problem that we try to tackle, and think independently on ways to solve such a problem. From interacting with a number of students, I learnt somethings. Among the student body, there is a general lack of basic knowledge on how to function as a professional employee. Things ranging from 1) showing up to work on time, 2) making and sticking to appointments, 3) being responsible, 4) answering questions, 5) knowing what is acceptable behavior and what isn’t.

I have started becoming more explicit in asking for what I want, and I phrase these in very direct terms. Come to think of it, I was the same in my undergrad, there just wasn’t much independent thinking going on. To know that a 40 hour work week means that one is expected to be present for that time, and to take a leave of absence requires some permission. I feel silly even writing this. As I write this, I started drafting a handbook for my lab. The whole idea of seeing handbook to tell someone how to do their job seems wrong somehow but here I am, looking up examples of how other labs run.

With the new batch of undergrads I have hired, things have gotten a lot more effective. One change in recruitment policy I made was, that I only hired students who were at the top of my class. I mean, top 5 out of 100.