opinions from academicians on how to become a good research student

As mentioned previously about my intention to prepare feature articles on career in science. After met with several academic staff, I have decided to summarise all the opinions in one post, as most of the points are similar.

some key points share are such as, accompany with my brief opinions :-

Passion

you need to have strong interest in whatever areas you pursue, no matter study or work. Passion (to overcome famine) is a driving force for me to move forward

Carry out research that has greatest impact

i think greatest impact doesn’t mean you must use cutting edge techniques or work in well established lab. Some time average lab, or common techniques still can give you very good result.

I am doing basic research on model plant, Arabidopsis. Knowledge gained may be not able to apply on crops, but every little helps. Small pieces of knowledge, can give us some insights to solve big problem in the future

Soluble strategy

don’t do some thing not realistic, dare to dream and taken your capability into consideration. :-p

Think ahead

Always know what is your next step, no matter in career / future planning or just a simple experiment.

Networking

attend conference, etc

Try to publish your works

No one will know your works if you don’t publish it. By doing so, you have the opportunity to collaborate with other research groups or even a career opportunity :-p