Well it has definitely been the most relaxed Saturday I have had in ages!! I have spent the past 3 hours at a new coffee shop working on a presentation for an upcoming May colloquium. I have created a solid first draft so I am departing shortly. The presentation is essentially a high level overview of my research proposal so it was fairly easy to pull together. I will fine tune the look and feel over the next week or so. I also need to think about and prepare for possible questions that may be asked.
Colloquium are a great opportunity to do three things. First, they provide a forum to get valuable feedback on your research question and methodology. Second, since you listen to other researchers’ presentations, it is a great way to build your understanding of research methodology. Finally, it is a terrific way to build your academic network. This last part is especially useful for me given I spend the majority of my time in industry.
A quick postscript on last weekend, I had requested a one week extension for my Research Proposal. Turns out I was able to complete the paper on Sunday afternoon, so only needed two extra days. It was a wonderful feeling submitting the paper and realizing that, pending any significant feedback, I have completed the MSc stage of my doctorate. What a feeling!! I still have a lot of file/paper clean up and organization to do before finalizing this chapter, but the heaviest lifting is now complete for this stage.
Over the next three months I will present at 3 colloquia, two in Toronto and one in the UK. I also need to start to ramp up for the DBA Phase. In between, I plan to enjoy a bit of downtime, gardening, outdoor tennis and a bit of travel. All good!!!