Learn the Lingo and show you're part of the "secret club"

I just read an interesting article in the "Chronicle of Higher Education" that you might find interesting. It talked about how every field of study has its own slang - or, as I like to call it, "secret code". If you're a graduate student or new Ph.D., it's very important for you to "Learn the Lingo" of the academic world.

Why?

For one thing, just like a secret handshake, knowing the language shows that you're a part of the club, that you belong.

Do you understand phrases like "chalk talk," "faculty lines," or "NRSA?" If not, (or even if you do), you're going to want to read this article to see what's new in the Lingo of your world...To see if you get to be part of the "club", just click the link (and give me the secret handshake!)

There's a New "Club Med" in town...

Here's something that might help you in your search for the best universities, funding programs and career building efforts. (Of course, always use your due dilligence before spending any money on any type of program...)

There's a new "Club Med" in town - at least, in the digital community. Launched by "Dream Advisors Ltd.", "MyCareerClub.com" is an online membership program that "researches, evaluates, categorizes, summarizes and publishes the top internet-related career resources" all around the world.

According to their recent press release (you can find it on Newswire today), applicants save time and effort of doing all the research themselves which makes career progress more efficient and successful.

Their core service is an exclusive online global database with approximately 1,000 of the top qualified Web resources. They say it's easy to access, searchable and can give you information in the following modules:

• Career Exploration
• Higher Education (bachelors, masters, doctoral and post doctoral programs)
• Funds Searching (awards, fellowships, grants, scholarships, assistantships and loans)
  
• Employment (finding potential employers, employees and contractors, internships, temp positions, entry, middle, senior and executive-level positions)
  
• Immigration (temporary, business, long-term, permanent visas, green cards and citizenship)

They say they offer information in countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the USA, with more information being added daily.

Because the site is new, they're hoping to spread the word virally, and are inviting people to check it out, bookmark it and then tell their friends...social bookmarking at it's best! If you want to check out the site, click here:

After you check it out - come back here and let us know what you think of it!

If your head is in the clouds and your eyes on the stars, check out Utah...

The Willard L. Eccles Foundation just donated $600,000 to the University of Utah, so that they can build a 32-inch, research-class, optical telescope in southern Utah. What's the big attraction? The University of Utah wants to establish a full-fledged astronomy program (and maybe create a high-altitude observatory to attract other new telescopes to the state.

The physicists' online proposal for the new telescope says: "Additional telescopes will be attracted to the facility due to its large area, dark sky, excellent weather, high altitude and relatively centralized location within the United States."

University of Utah physicists already have formed a collaboration with other institutions to develop the observatory. They include Utah State University, Weber State University, Dixie State College, Southern Utah University, Brigham Young University, the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the Salt Lake Astronomical Society, Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City, the University of Chicago, Chicago's Adler Planetarium, Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

According to the proposal, the new telescope "will greatly enhance the ability of our department to train graduate students in astronomy,"

The Department of Physics has researchers in gamma ray astronomy and cosmic ray physics, and theoreticians who study black holes, dark matter and planet formation, but it lacks observational astronomers, Gondolo says.

You can read the entire article by clicking this link.

I for one think this sounds like a stellar idea...

technorati tags:new, graduate, programs, astronomy

Looking for a generous graduate fellowship? Check out IU

Here's an interesting tidbit...According to a press released recently issued by Indiana University, there are a record number of IU international centers that have been awarded $16 million in Title VI funding!

What does that mean to you? Well, in addition to the money being used for effectively using technology to teach courses from Bloomington to students in places as divergent as Thailand, South Africa, Spain and Scandinavia, they have also created and placed online teaching materials and dictionaries for less-frequently taught languages of Inner Asia and Africa. "We've got the infrastructure to do this because of what we've established here," O'Meara said.

Seven centers at IU Bloomington were designated as National Resource Centers (NRCs) and will receive funding for programs, faculty research, curriculum development, national conferences and outreach.

But it also means that some of that funding will be used to award more generous graduate fellowships to study any of the more than 50 foreign languages offered at IU.

Want to find out more? Check out the article here:

technorati tags:doctoral, degree, programs, fellowship, funding

Is Singapore Really America's Next "College Town?"

I found this really interesting article about MIT and the National Research Foundation of Singapore - they're opening a brand new major research center that is the first of its kind. The article, written by By Michael Kanellos - Staff Writer, CNET News.com, says that the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Centerwill be MIT's first such research center of its kind outside ofCambridge, Mass.

Mr. Kanellos goes on to say "The center will let MIT faculty and graduate students conduct researchwith their counterparts in Singaporean universities and companies.Scientists at the center will primarily concentrate on biomedicalscience, water and environmental technology, and digital media.Cooperation between MIT and Singapore first began in 1998.

MIT won't be the lone export in the island nation. Duke University ishelping Singapore set up a medical school, while several companies andacademics are participating in Biopolis, a multimillion-dollar program to establish the nation as a biotech hub." To find out more, click here:

There are actually many really good graduate and doctoral programs available overseas, including in Europe and Asia. If you're looking for a program, you might want to consider looking in "American" Campuses overseas!