SL2College Research Collaboration Program

1. Charith Perera
(PhD, MBA)
SL2College Research Collaboration Program
Undergraduate Research and Higher
Education
February 2017

2. Why these slides exists ?
In February 2017, SL2College asked me whether I can give a talk to University of
Peradeniya students regarding the importance of undergraduate research, scientific
publications, and higher education opportunities.
This slide set came to life as part of that talk. The content presented here are experiences
of mine and some of my colleagues who went through similar processes. It is also
important to note that each researcher who goes through this process may end up with
different experiences. Further note that my views may have influenced by my own
experiences in Australia (during PhD time) and UK (since graduation).
I did an extensive information gathering during 2009-2010 as part of my own journey
towards a research career. These slides are not designed to replace you own information
gathering. Instead, this is to give you an starting point to explore your own career,
possibilities, and options.
Finally, good luck for your own journey…

3. Disclaimer
Please note that I or SL2College do not take any responsibility
regarding the content presented here.
I do not work for SL2College and do not responsible for their
activities.
I offer my free service to Sri Lankan students through SL2College
as an invited guest speaker and a volunteered mentor.

4. Higher Education
Opportunities

5. ADVICE 1
PhD IS for everyone
Who should do a PhD
PhD IS NOT for everyone
Yes, anyone can do a PhD. It is different from any other coursework based degree.
GPAs, classes and other similar esteem factors do not say much about whether
anyone would be successful as a researcher. You need to be passionate about a
certain subject and willing to explore your own journey alone with little guidance
from others.
PhD is not something you do in order to demonstrate your intellectual excellence.
Having a 1st class bachelors degree does not guarantee the success in research. There
have been many instances where 1st class BSc graduates have left their PhD in the
middle of the program because they get bored or frustrated, or just they realised
research is not for them. That is totally fine. Life is short. Try to find who you are and
what you like to do in you career. UG research project is the best place to explore
yourself.

6. ADVICE 2
Technical, getting into a PhD program and Find a
Scholarship it two different processes.
However, in most universities, these two processes go
hand in hand
Most of the time, it is not recommended to start a PhD without
a scholarship as the financial burden could end up putting
additional pressure on you and your studies
Doing a PhD and Find a Scholarship

7. ADVICE 3
Finding a Scholarship is
not a science, but an art
How to Find a Scholarship
PhD IS for everyone, however, you will
need good marks for you bachelors due to
competition (for both PhD program
admissions and scholarships)

8. ADVICE 4
• Relocation for entire family = partner + kids
• Partner can work
• Extremely flexible work schedules
• Work from home + annual leave
• No daily start or end time
What a PhD Scholarship means

9. http://www.jobs.ac.uk
UK PhD Scholarship Advertisements
ADVICE 5

10. PhD Scholarship Types
• Home country Funds
• Charity Funds (Home or Host Ends)
• Project Funds
• Host Government Funds
• Host + Home Government Partnership Funds
• University Level Funds
• Department Level Funds
• Research Group Level funds
• Industry Funds
ADVICE 6

11. ADVICE 7
https://burgmann.anu.edu.au/
Your Living Space During PhD
 This is where I lived
Each university has onsite
accommodation for both UG
and PG students
There are different levels of
facilities for different prices as
well

12. ADVICE 8
Living inside and outside University,
Your choice with pros and cons
Life Outside Work

13. ADVICE 9
You get all the resources you need…From unlimited stationary.. to printing…to
binding…etc. Couple of screens, desktop or laptop, etc.. Access to servers, you
will get you own mini budget for conference travel and
small equipment…
Basic Resources
 This is where I
worked

14. It is always good to learn some generic skills during your
Bachelors degree that will help you research lifer later:
By no means you need to learn all listed below, just learn few as you feel right for your
long term interests…may be inline with your Bachelors thesis
• LaTeX (to write papers)
• Data Science / Machine Learning
(how to use ready made tools)
• Qualitative research (User studies, Surveys, interviews)
• Quantitative research (Statistical techniques)
• Some scripting, Linux stuff (most research may need)
ADVICE 10
Develop Generic Skills

15. ADVICE 11
[IMHO] Supervisor matters,
not much the University
Do not judge supervisor or group my the
University Ranks
Choosing a PhD Supervisor
Look at their profiles, past students, grants they have,
international engagements, awards they hold, etc.
However, Top universities / departments can provide you extra
advantages (e.g. additional money, important networking
opportunities, recognition after graduation, etc.)

16. ADVICE 12
This is the typical flow for AUS
Figure is from ANU Rank #1 in Australia. :
Reference letters matters
a lot: From whom? NOT
from famous people, but
people who know you
best)
Increasingly, publications
matters
Competition for Scholarships
Lesser ranking Universities will
have lesser expectations:
Sometimes a Good international
publication may fill some weaker
results in your degree….

17. Undergraduate
Research

18. ADVICE 13
Publication processes takes
time, plan very early
Better to decide by the end of 2nd year
Publications Take Time

19. ADVICE 14
Try to take the advantage of
being in SL
(aka a developing country)
Low cost, affordable, suability (less tech savvy)….
Our own problems…. (so you are not competing)
Weight of the paper may change…more on evaluations…
Good for the university as well…and could open future possibilities …. The Global
Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund announced by the UK
Government to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced
by developing countries…
Blue Ocean Strategy

20. ADVICE 15
Work together during Bachelors
to get a publication done.
Its pretty hard to do any good
work alone (and also publish) at
UG level
Working Together

21. ADVICE 16
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R04xuqf7cm8
SL2College Research Collaboration:
Prof. Saman Amarasinghe (MIT)
Must Watch
Travelling for Conferences: Consider the logistics and value trade-
offs, funding situation, and potential opportunities to acquire
travel grant from either locally for through conference organizers
It is not essential to match UG paper to PhD theme, but always
better it matches.
Further Advice (United States)

22. ADVICE 17
Publications in Conferences and Journals
Conference
Journals
New
Hybrids
Continuous
Review
Research communities are comparatively small….
everyone knows who is in the town….positive and
negative bias exists (even with double blind)… do
not take reviews personal
IMHO, for SL UG,
when possible
Journal First / Journal only
Publication Venue Choices

23. ADVICE 18
YOU are always a RISK… You need to help
Universities (Professors) to think that you are
comparatively a lower risk (also a higher return)
In scholarship market…YOU are the Product…
Universities (Professors) are the buyers
In scholarship market…YOU are a Start-up…
Universities (Professors) are the investors
Selling Your Self

24. ADVICE 19
Pick a camp, if possible, not essential
There are pros and cons
http://www.acm.org/special-interest-groups
There are other societies / communities as well in IEEE side
Research Area

25. ADVICE 20
There are many different types of
research in computer science
Interdisciplinary research is EXTREAMLY
valued these days
• Can you work with doctors
• Can you work with farmers
• Can you work with social scientists
• Can you work with social activist or historians
Note: Interdisciplinary doesn’t mean that you just solve a
problems faced by someone else using technology… but in
your UG level, that is also fine…
Going Interdisciplinary

26. ADVICE 21
• Example Non-traditional CS departments/groups
• MIT Media Lab
• Newcastle Open Lab
Writing algorithms …to building systems…to design
fictions…software engineering…etc.
There is a huge variation to choose from...
The questions is what make you more interesting
In research, waves comes and goes…so the PhD
studentships… (2017) Data Science, IoT, Cyber Security,
distributed ledgers…but traditional pillars will stay as
always
Types of Computer Science Research

27. Some random samples…. There is a huge spectrum
of work
Does not even look like CS…isn’t it?
CS PhD without
single equation ?
ADVICE 22
Mathematics and Computer Science

28. Books
Edited Books
Book Chapters
Transactions / Journals  For UG Research
Magazines
Conferences Regular  For UG Research
Conference Short  For UG Research
Poster / Demo Papers  For UG Research
Workshop  For UG Research ADVICE 23
Types of Publications (Broad View)

29. Regular research Paper  For UG Research
Short Papers  For UG Research
Tool Papers
Vision Papers
Data Papers
Industry Papers
Experience Papers
Application Papers
ADVICE 24
Types of Publications (Within Conferences)

30. ADVICE 25
Each scholarship Committee is different,
so is the professor
Each professor, each research group is different
(Criteria they may look for, not in priority order)
• GPA,
• Class,
• Recommendation Letters,
• Publications,
• First impression,
• Your languages skills,
• UG Thesis
• Etc…
Each Selection Process is Different

31. ADVICE 26
Selection criteria and supervisors influencing
power could be varied based on where the
funding comes from….
Your CV may fight for you (specially if you have a
way to distinguish you from others. e.g.
Olympiad prizes, international competitions,
publications, etc.)
Someone to Champion Your Application
Is you University / Department known to
them ? Look for past graduates…

32. ADVICE 27
Apply for a Scholarship…
You need a support from a potential supervisor
Contact him/her well before
First impression matters a lot.. They will need to fight for
you…
Read their web pages in detail before you contact them.
To be safe side…start with Professor / Madam / Sir …etc.
verify their current venue…people move a lot
Process and Etiquette in Applying Scholarships

33. ADVICE 28
Not every research can be done (competitively) in every
University…
Even world’s top Universities have their own
limitations…
More than technological…. they are more to do with
concentration of talent, undocumented knowledge…
UK’s Doctoral Training Centres (CDTs) acknowledge this…
AUS is slightly different…
PhD Proposal (Part of Application)

34. How it ends
ADVICE 29

35. You can easily
save enough to
pay our parents
tickets
How it ends… (Just a beginning)
ADVICE 30

36. ADVICE 31
PhD, as a paid, once in a life
time fun experience overseas
Travel for conferences
Do somethings interesting,
Spend 3-4 (5-6 in US) and you can always
come back
PhD is not all about technical work, but the
full experience
Once in a Life Time and Its FREE

37. ADVICE 32
• Academic
• Industry (e.g., MSR, Intel, Google)
• Industry (Other)
• Government / NGOs
• Start ups (Still limited culture in UK and AUS)
After PhD
There are pros and cons in each job category. Pick
what is right for you…or may try few before settle
down…each country or state may also have own
pros and cons

38. ADVICE 33
• Scientists (Research)
• Academics (Research and Teaching)
• Science Managers (Managing)
• Science Communicators
• Journalists (News / TV / Film)
• Recruiters
• Corporate Trainers
• Public Policy
• Consultants
many more….
Types of Jobs

39. ADVICE 34
https://www.phdmovie.com/
Want to be inspired…
PhD Comics
http://phdcomics.com/

40. ADVICE 35
Each country has its own culture when it comes
to do a PhD
English language requirements:
Rules change time to time…check yourself…always better to look
at documents than asking from someone you know
Look for other requirements as well:
GRE OR GMAT for US and some other countries
English Language and Other Requirements

41. ADVICE 36
Some Perks of Doing a PhD 
Travel Around the World:
During my PhD and after I travelled US (Hawaii), UK, France,
China,…and lived and travelled all over AUS
Get Paid to do what you like to learn and what you like to do:
You can plan a start-up from you business (Next GOOGLE ?):
Most of the time, you (students) own Intellectual property of
your PhD work.
Get to know different cultures, different people, make friends,
life long experience, lots of free food…
Get the taste of how industry works (i.e. internships)

43. Charith Perera | Charith.Perera@ieee.org | Charithperera.net
Feel Free to send you queries to following contact information