Asneira Livre

Please "Don’t Unplug Me Or Shut Me Down"

Por Ali Shoker*

It is generally a common thought among young researchers, and mainly PhD students, that research is about counting publications. Regardless of the incentive that drives you to be a researcher, publications are a very important outcome for a successful career, but this does not simply mean "to think" as a publication machine and to be decoupled from the world. Here is some useful advice from a humble researcher to the INESC TEC youth.

Let me ask first: what is research? As a process, it is about (1) probing significant problems, (2) solving them, (3) and disseminating the results.

To achieve (1), i.e., looking for significant problems, you need to be involved in the research community to foresee the hot subjects, open problems, and what people are interested in. How could you do this without interacting with people? Of course, you can interleave yourself between papers, but you won't always be productive and successful... So, don't unplug yourself.

To achieve (2), i.e., solving problems, having perseverance, smartness, and knowledge is not enough. Team work is essential since you are often biased to your solutions. You need someone else to give you feedback and be honest. The best person to do this is your co-author, since he cares, almost as you do, about the work, and he is aware of issues that are perhaps hidden. Moreover, problems are often composite and require diverse expertise to yield better solutions... So, don't unplug yourself.

To achieve (3), i.e., disseminating your work, I will optimistically assume that you can get all your submissions accepted. But in the end, who will cite your work? You need visibility, YOU NEED PEOPLE TO CITE your work. This is hard to achieve without good networking... So, don't unplug yourself.

To achieve (1), (2), and (3) together, you need resources. (Or will you work it out alone like a turtle?). The basic resources in Computer Science are people (including you), who need salaries... Meaning that you can do nothing without funding. Funding means project proposals, it means collaborations, it means connections... So, don't unplug yourself.

Even for your very next step, i.e., finding a new job, you need to look for open opportunities; yes, you need connections. Then you need to get selected for the position; in research, recommendations and trust are important steps in the hiring process; again, you need connections... So, don't unplug yourself.

For these reasons, please don't dismiss speaking opportunities, don't avoid people in scientific venues, don't be a statue in meetings, don't be shy to say "hi", don't hesitate to ask for collaboration, don't abide to your ego and decline reviewing requests. Please, don't unplug yourself and eventually shut yourself down.

*Investigador no Laboratório de Software Confiável (HASLab)