How visible is Austria at major robotics conferences?
An analysis of robotics conferences of the past four years shows that Austria has relatively low visibility. It also shows that expertise is distributed among a handful of universities.
All posts filed under: Advice
Questions in professorship hearings
“What’s to expect in job interviews for a professorship?” is a commonly raised question by researchers applying for a faculty position. Here is my list of 15 questions you will most likely get.
Science is like Star Trek
Our mission in academia is to “explore strange new worlds, … to boldly go where no one has gone before.” Professors and their teams should be free to focus on high-risk topics, to publish less, and to emphasize quality. Collaboration with industry can sometimes help in accomplishing this mission provided you find the right partner.
Three German mobility startups to watch
Disruption, simplification, and style are some ingredients of German mobility startups that I find particularly interesting.
Using Trello in academia
Trello is a software tool to manage projects and workflows using Kanban boards. It can greatly support scientists. A primer.
“What salary can I expect in industry after my PhD?”
Doctoral students in electrical and computer engineering often ask me what salary to expect in industry after graduation. “From 45.000 € to 75.000 € gross per year in Austria or Germany” could be an answer, but this is a vague statement that does not help much. In fact, there is no general answer to this question, as the salary depends on many factors, such as personal profile, position, company type, current situation in the job market, and company location. Let me thus redefine the above question and give some hints for negotiating a salary and other factors to consider. These hints are from an Austrian-German perspective, but many of them are of general validity.
My first programming experience
Read about my first computer and programming experience, share your own experience, and join the discussion about the best-suited tools for our kids to do first steps in programming.
Software for scientists using Mac, iPad
There are plenty of software recommendations for the Apple Mac (OS X) and iPad (iOS), but few of them focus on the particular needs of scientists and engineers. This article suggests a small set of software tools that can be useful in research and teaching. It reflects the personal experience by the author and is by no means a comprehensive list.
“Should I pursue an academic career?”
Professors and advisors are often asked by master and PhD students as to whether an academic career can be recommended. Christian Bettstetter and Bernhard Rinner summarized their personal perspective on the characteristics and career paths of academic jobs and give some hints for people who decide to go for academia.