Asked to give a University Lecture

My specialty was inheritance of mtDNA, until I got selfish and thought propagating my own was of more interest:rotfl: You don't need a license for that ;)

Dave

finally something that a 19 year old male can do for free, however i think that insurance may sometimes be a good idea:D
 
I just started a genetics degree, does that mean i have my provisional, if so when do i get my full licence :D
When you become a [-]lab monkey[/-] project student working [-]for[/-] with postgrads ;)
 
In a Quandry.

Been asked to give a lecture at a Major University on the subject of Genetics "Data Management". I know my stuff so could put together the material. Just not sure i could stand up infront of a theatre of students and give the lecture. Ive given presentations before, but for some reason, a lecture scares me.

Are giving lectures all that scary? or am i being irrational? its to Msc students....

Good luck with the lecture. I'm not sure there is any sure fire way to deliver a successful presentation. Confidence, either real or feigned is always important. I get really nervous when I give presentations but I make sure I know what I'm talking about and tend to come across as confident even if I'm a bundle of nerves.

I prefer to have a presentation prepared so I know what I want to say and when. However, this usually starts with sentences and as I get to know the presentation, I cut it down to bulleted words that act as prompts and might act as headings for note taking masters students.

Personally I would avoid doing minimal preparation and winging it, unless you are particularly adept at this. You could end up rambling of topic, repeating things and losing your train of thought. It may also look unprofessional.

As for the subject matter, bioinformatics is IMO one of the dryest subjects in the biological sciences world. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have something interactive for the students to do and involve them in some way. My pet hate for biological seminars, is when someone ploughs through 55 minutes of work and expects you to have paid atttention for every second. Most people find concentrating for this amount of time difficult (particularly if the subject matter is testing) so it may be useful to have a short break after 20 miutes for questions before carrying on.

Sorry for the long post, I got started and kept thinking of things!

Yes, it's to do with molecular biology and Taq Polymerase.

Watching a Polymerase Chain Reaction as a demonstration would be as exciting as watching paint dry...

Yeah but you always get scientists trying to make it fun... I'll put a video in the "funniest youtube clip of the day" thread for you!

pedant alert - it doesn't always have to taq, there are many polymerases and they are often more proficient than taq (sorry, couldn't help myself)

I just started a genetics degree, does that mean i have my provisional, if so when do i get my full licence :D

I hope when i do i don't have to get insurance as a 19 year male with a licence to replicate DNA it is going to cost me :devil:

When you become a [-]lab monkey[/-] project student working [-]for[/-] with postgrads ;)

This is so true, I have a student now and she is doing my work for me (I have broken my thumb I need the pair of hands as I can't do anything!)
 
This is so true, I have a student now and she is doing my work for me (I have broken my thumb I need the pair of hands as I can't do anything!)
they are known to provide both work and personal benefits :smashin:
one of mine also regularly baked cookies for me.
 
i know this is a bit off topic but just out of interest what do krish and ste1000 teach:smashin:
 
i know this is a bit off topic but just out of interest what do krish and ste1000 teach:smashin:
I didn't really teach as such, but was in research until '98 .... the area of "biochemical engineering" working with enzymes from extremophiles, cloned and expressed as fusion proteins in E. coli ... so all the standard molecular biology stuff with plasmid DNA in E. coli, as well as a lot biochemistry and chem eng stuff on purification and analysis.

Was also paid to demonstrate undergrad labs, mark their reports, and to teach maths problem classes to chem eng undergrads lacking knowledge (complex numbers, differential equations etc) due to rubbish A Levels that had a great deal of content hacked off the syllabus. Had undergrad project students working in the lab .... = practical training/ experience and a mini research project for them, and an extra pair of hands for us, apart from one or two Frank Spencers :).

Now in the life sciences industry involved in various products and services for research.
 
i know this is a bit off topic but just out of interest what do krish and ste1000 teach:smashin:

I'm doing a PhD in Biochemistry and molecular biology. I as Krish said, we get lots of contact with undergrad students. This is either as project students doing their final year dissertation or even masters students doing their projects. This is quite hands on 1 to 1 tuition and requires patience because you have to stand back and watch someone making mistakes sometimes (unless it's really important) so that they can learn from their errors. I have had a couple of good students and a couple of duds who were more hassle than they were worth.

Also there is "teaching" if you want to demonstrate in lab practicals. I have only taught a few modules because I prefer to spend more time on my own work. I have taught a few genetics modules though because mainly some of the genetics modules are fun :eek: - they are just like problem solving puzzles :D
 
I didn't really teach as such, but was in research until '98 .... the area of "biochemical engineering" working with enzymes from extremophiles, cloned and expressed as fusion proteins in E. coli ... so all the standard molecular biology stuff with plasmid DNA in E. coli, as well as a lot biochemistry and chem eng stuff on purification and analysis.

Was also paid to demonstrate undergrad labs, mark their reports, and to teach maths problem classes to chem eng undergrads lacking knowledge (complex numbers, differential equations etc) due to rubbish A Levels that had a great deal of content hacked off the syllabus. Had undergrad project students working in the lab .... = practical training/ experience and a mini research project for them, and an extra pair of hands for us, apart from one or two Frank Spencers :).

Now in the life sciences industry involved in various products and services for research.

I'm doing a PhD in Biochemistry and molecular biology. I as Krish said, we get lots of contact with undergrad students. This is either as project students doing their final year dissertation or even masters students doing their projects. This is quite hands on 1 to 1 tuition and requires patience because you have to stand back and watch someone making mistakes sometimes (unless it's really important) so that they can learn from their errors. I have had a couple of good students and a couple of duds who were more hassle than they were worth.

Also there is "teaching" if you want to demonstrate in lab practicals. I have only taught a few modules because I prefer to spend more time on my own work. I have taught a few genetics modules though because mainly some of the genetics modules are fun :eek: - they are just like problem solving puzzles :D

Thanks, i've just started and am really enjoying not being spoon fed a curriculum any more, and being taught by people who really know what they are talking about.

Both of what you are doing sounds very intersesting and i hope to maybe do something similar in the future :smashin:
 
I'm doing a PhD in Biochemistry and molecular biology. I as Krish said, we get lots of contact with undergrad students. This is either as project students doing their final year dissertation or even masters students doing their projects. This is quite hands on 1 to 1 tuition and requires patience because you have to stand back and watch someone making mistakes sometimes (unless it's really important) so that they can learn from their errors. I have had a couple of good students and a couple of duds who were more hassle than they were worth.

Also there is "teaching" if you want to demonstrate in lab practicals. I have only taught a few modules because I prefer to spend more time on my own work. I have taught a few genetics modules though because mainly some of the genetics modules are fun :eek: - they are just like problem solving puzzles :D


it's interesting to hear the variation in a lab-based phd to a more office[home]-based phd. Most of the people in my office don't have any sort of interaction with undergrad students, and are just concentrating on getting the phd rather than building their CV :confused:. Saying that, most of them are a lot older than me and doing it to enhance the job they already have
 
Remember to smile, crack a few safe funnies , be enthusuastic.

I was nervous at first doing this sort of thing: now my biggest concern is talking too much and going off in tangents to tell amusing anecdotes: I usually then ask the general audience what I was talking about beforehand and berate them if they can't remember for me... gets a small laugh.

Later on I apologize for going off tangent but I did warn them I talk too much. Then I ask them sheepishly if I really did talk too much and a few usually cry out "yes" which gets another laugh.

If you take questions: ask their name. This instantly puts them on the back foot as they've lost their anonimity and they will behave better.

If you get the same person asking multiple questions after a while you can crack a few funnies about it: asking the audience if they have any more questions and then making a point of double checking with some of the more vocal question askers gets a nice rumble from the audience.

All about building rapport: don't be afraid to depreciate yourself...slightly, gets the audience on your side.
 
I train in child protection/safeguarding children so have presented literally 1000's of presentations in the last 38 years.

Know your subject, use personal experiences to illustrate your points and remember you will sometimes lose your thread - just apologise and refer to your training plan. Never attempt a presentation without a training plan.

I always end with a short quiz on the presentation but throw in a silly, off topic question to end - who won the Cup in 1948 always goes down well... :)

Dave

PS always ask the audience to evaluate your presentation - use a simple tick box form.
 
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