重访中大:不同的感受

应我的师叔党论之邀,我于上周五(12月23日)前往广州中山大学的岭南学院进行了一场友好的私人访问。期间,我和师叔就当前的学术热点、国际期刊和投稿以及本人的研究兴趣等方面进行了热情的讨论,并应师叔的邀请,为岭南学院和管理学院的数位博士们就英国的博士培养和科研方面进行了汇报。师叔表示:“这个活动还是很有意义的,体现了XXX(此处省略若干字,参见中央电视台《新闻联播》)”。会后,在师叔的殷切关照下,本人与数位师兄弟姐妹共进晚餐,席间大家讨论热烈,气氛轻松愉快。

说起中大,那跟我算是也是有了一番渊源。先不说我的硕导王雄元教授曾毕业于此校,我在考博时候也只报了这一所学校。尽管最后连是否能够录取尚未揭晓就被我主动“拒绝”之,此校在我心中还是占有相当大的地位。毕竟,在这里曾经存在并还活跃着一群中国会计学界年轻的学者和科研人员。他们的务实作风和卓越的科研能力正在促使中国的科研一步一步往前走。

这次的访问,纯属来源于与党论的一次闲聊。期间我还在英国,正在为没有idea而头疼。每天看着论文脑子里却想着锅里的红烧肉。尽管鄙人的确是个百年才出一个的吃货,但是如此行为却属意外。好在硕士三年的研究经验给了我点信心,我心里知道这种状态是暂时的,只是这个暂时会有多久就只有天知道了。而此时党论却破天荒的提出要我站到岭南的报告台去做一个报告,则让我实在是措手不及。要知道,去中大这种科研学术重镇吹牛,后果是啥?各位看官不言自明。

而后来我则发现,其实党论并非“耍我”。他真正的目的是希望能够给沉闷的学术界带去一丝新鲜的空气。其实对于这一点,我也是非常赞成的。其实我一直不太喜欢去听各种Seminar,无论是国内还是国外。原因在于他们实在是过于专业了。专业到这些报告听起来似乎是一群圈内人在自娱自乐。作为圈外人,如果没有足够的背景知识和对于此类话题的了解,那恐怕就真的只有睡大觉了。其实就这点来说,国内外都有类似的问题。而国内的问题更严重在于:很多论文并不阐明其研究背景和意义。

这次的报告的主题其实很松散,基本就围绕我为什么去英国等展开,重点阐述英国博士与国内培养制度的不同。尽管我本人并没有国内读博士,好在周围一群朋友相助,也就有了一些比较研究的基础。更重要的是,通过这个报告以及同听众的交流,我第一次更清楚的了解了这两者的区别。事实上,如果有人问我国内的博士和国外的博士培养制度哪个好?我会表示,这个问题根本无法回答。因为,他们完全是基于不同的模式,基于不同水平的学生和基于不同的目标。

我倒不是说要鄙视英国的博士学生,毕竟这样也会把我自己包括进去。但是我要说的是,就北大,清华,中大和上财等学校而言,其博士生的入学水平还是要高于英国的。毫不夸张的说,一个国内顶级学校的博士一年级学生,可以轻易搞定一个英国博士二年级甚至于三年级的学生,尤其是在对于基础文献的掌握等方面。但是反过来,一个英国博士所做出来的论文却可以轻易干掉很多中国学者,甚至于一些教授。而其中的差距,恐怕就是博士阶段的培养了吧?而事实上,美国与英国之间的水平悬殊,尽管英国人自己心里清楚却不愿意认账,其实也是由于博士阶段培养的区别导致的。

当然,作为我一个在读的博士,去关注培养制度并无太大的意义,毕竟,这些东西对我而言属于外生变量,无法去左右和控制。相反,我能控制的那些内生变量,如资源,学习方式等等,英国还是有一定的优势的。如中大的博士生办公室要求打卡,其初衷是为了督促博士生的学习。然而其办公室却弄得跟网吧一样,空间狭小,空气混浊,却非常不利于学习。想想我自己大不列颠的那个办公室,尽管条件也非常简陋,却要好得多。同时,我们也不需要打卡,需要的或许只是拍打自己的脑袋。

其实这次对我而言收获最大的,恐怕是与党论和应博士就一些学术问题的讨论。在此之前,其实我对我的研究有了一个非常浅的idea,朦朦胧胧但不清晰,而且并没有落实。以至于在应博士问的时候搞得我非常为难。如果说出去,恐怕有道德风险的问题,如果不说,恐怕引起他人不悦。好在他们比较宽宏大量,我也就不再有顾忌。毕竟面对中国一流的青年学者,学术道德应该不是我担心的问题。而事实上,他们或许无意中提到的一些东西,为我顿时打开了思路。或许,我能在一年后重回中大讲故事哦?呵呵

当然,作为结尾,我非常感谢党论的盛情款待和超颖师妹以及舒伟师兄的作陪。同时我也非常感谢听众们对我的报告的支持和鼓励。

 

Revisiting CSLG: A Two-day Trip

It can never be amazed for one, who are quite familiar with me, of knowing the Changshu Institute of Technology.  It is a small school focusing on engineering and science majors, locating in a small town near Suzhou. To mention it here in my blog means nothing to its contribution to the academic and industrial world, but purely that as my mother school where I spent my first two years of college life.

  1. An Invited Presentation

    This revisit, unlike a self-conducted behavior that I used to adapt, is following somewhat informal invitation from the Department of Mathematics. The vice dean, Mr. Yu, who, at that time, was my lecturer for calculus, posted this invitation to me. In fact, this invitation has been done for years while it never came into practice. Things are that curious since the invitation were mostly received when I had been in Wuhan, and one time in US for an academic symposium.

    The timing this time, unlike those previous instances, is quite appropriate. It is fortunately arranged on the time before my leave for Lancaster.  However, the topic that I shall promote for the presentation make me paralyzed. According to the basic need and willing from Mr. Yu, a presentation on my personal experience, focusing on my life from leaving this school in 2005, to the present stage, as a coming PhD student at Lancaster with fully funded offer. Anyway, such willing can hardly be satisfied since, it greatly conflicts the basic principle that a scholar should carry, and the necessary calm a student should have.

    An alternative topic that they can accept, lays on the choice for postgraduate admission exams. It has been quite a long history for this school on high support for these activities. In fact, I have received quite benefit when participating my own exams to Nanjing Normal University in 2005. These benefits includes free material offering, very low price training on specific courses, and mental support from others. Nowadays, the students there are obviously getting more. They even have the usage of air-conditioned meeting rooms during the summer.

    However, this topic is somewhat rigid for me.  The choice on whether to work or to fight for the graduate admissions should never been easily recommended. Such recommendation should be carefully and highly regarded, and taking the individual factors into account. After all, I get a compromising solution. Based on the empirical literatures that I have read in past few years on Chinese stock market, I delivered a professional presentation that covers the advantage that a student with the major of math would have if he/she is devoted into this field.  The result, or say, the feedback, is quite under my expectation. That is, they don’t know what I am talking about, though they have had a good way to announce it. For the news article on their website, please click here.

  2. Its Good & Bad

    Dingding is still always that busy, and taking dinner with him and his wife, including some other friends, has been a tradition for my visit to Changshu. That is, my trip to Changshu has been extended from a one-day trip to a two-day one. The big difference this year is that, Xie, a good friend and teacher of mine, is too busy as well for his new position in League. This time, I would have to travel with my own plan, besides taking meals with him. But such arrangement brings me quite more free time to talk with others.

    In that dinner with Yu, I met some other teachers. And after meal, I took a good talk with Tang in his office. He used to be my calculus during the first semester, and at that time, he was devoting to the books on database management. While later, he became a leader for the modeling team, and received quite some prize nationally. In fact, he used to be a student in computational mathematics, and modeling should be his advantage and interest. Also, I have a good talk with Zhang, who at that time taught me marketing and finance, it is good that his unique foreseeing sight remains, and his courage retained.

    Comparing to the school that I joined five years ago, it has been largely improved, both on its equipment and its environment, including the student’s attitude, though the students obviously have not learned the spirit of questioning. However, most of the lecturers in that school remains to be lecturer for many years, if they are taking a similar position in some other better universities, they would have been associate professors, professors, postgraduate tutors and even doctoral supervisors.

    But the chat with other younger teachers bring me some concern on their perspective. Lacking the environment for academic discussion and cooperation would largely mitigate their competence on coping with the steps of the mainstream within the area that they are interested in, and such mitigation would prevent them from publishing good papers, which is, no matter where you are, are highly regarded as a key criteria for promotion and high salary. Maybe they only want a quiet life rather than such contributions.

  3. My Thanks to This School

    Though not a good school comparing to the later ones that I participated, it provides me good education on mathematics and opportunity of learning necessary computer skills from my roommates. It is what I learned here bring me great convenience on my exploring to the empirical world, and indefinitely promote my admission to Lancaster. Heartedly, wish it goes well.

A Special Birthday: Academia and Entertainment

Christmas Birthday Stickers from Zazzle.co https://blog.gujun-sky.com估计傻瓜都知道工作是工作,娱乐是娱乐,两者不可混为一谈。否则会一事无成。但是呢,在今年的圣诞节,也就是本人的生日之日,这两者却似乎找到了一个不错的交点。在这美妙的一天里,我同时完成了学术任务和娱乐任务。可谓工作与生活兼顾。不过说实话,我也累得够呛。这个故事还得从三天前的一个电话说起。那天晚上,哥们正在忙着拜读新买的《四书集注》,正在为《大学》开篇中的“齐家治国天下平”而激动不已,心情澎湃,却忽然接到研究生部的通知说要参加今天的第二届会计学院研究生学术研究研讨会,并作大会报告。一开始也没有觉得什么,毕竟咱也是久经沙场的人嘛。但是师弟的下半句却让我心慌了很久。因为他告诉我,我的报告被夹在了两位学术牛人之间,更何况,其中有一位还是在下的恩师。这下好了,关公面前耍大刀了。但是呢,我们是社会主义一块砖啊,哪里需要放哪里。于是,在下只有恭敬不如从命。

所谓喝水都能噎死人,阴沟里照样翻船理论,同时援引本人的一贯遭遇,此次演讲注定不会那么顺利。事实再一次验证了统计学的重要性。先不说我只有两天时间来准备PPT和讲稿,光演讲时候的PPT自动往前跑就让我非常郁闷,以至于我今天毫无演讲的性质和激情。脑子里的那些理论,假设都被抛开了。更多的,我一边在讲,一般在小心防备着我的PPT自动往前走(刚测试发现,这可能是03和07的不兼容性的一个Bug,出现于某些特定情况)。同时,这个报告也说明了一个问题,永远不要用中文去报告自己用英文写的论文。那过程绝对是自虐。今天我不得不一边看着PPT,一边把脑子里的英文换成中文再说出来。于是开始了舌头打结,语无伦次。好在,这不是太高级的会议。不过我那敬爱的老板的表情还是让我着实来了一身冷汗。哎,太年轻啊,定力不行。

下午跟着同门好友跑到西苑唱歌去了。你别说,KTV还真是个发泄的好东西。尽管这种事情多少有点损人利己。在给被人带来了极其恐怖的噪音之后,自身的感觉会变得非常轻松。同时,我也跑回去领了个奖。在唐院长最后宣布我名字的时候,那感觉还是非常爽的。上台领奖时候还是很兴奋的。难怪那些影星影帝会在颁奖典礼上语无伦次的感谢什么CCTV,MTV之类的。哎,看来如此感谢,如此言语也都是非条件反射啊。

晚上在南苑吃的,建霞弄来了一个漂亮的蛋糕。如果说蛋糕本身没什么,关键在于情意之类的话,那恐怕有点假。毕竟我还是个好吃的主儿。不过跟同门的师兄师妹们一起过生日的感觉真是不错的,温馨而充实。加上我的4+1(此为张院长原创,4为四位学术牛人,1为在下),我真是在生日这一天找到了学术和娱乐的完美结合点。但是,我绝对不认为这是个帕贝托改进,因为,我实在是太累了。

其实坦言,学术研究的确是需要激励的。我很羡慕学术班的人有如此好的条件。但是呢,也为大多数人的身在福中不知福而感到可惜。当然,人各有志,学术也不是唯一出路。正如我以前所言,在这里,我们选择的学术道路可能是曲折的,甚至是郁闷的,在这样的环境下能够坚持下来是要点道行的。所幸,本人遇到了很好的老板,也得到了比较多的激励。在这些激励下,我现在的成果其实还是比较悲惨的。之所以要感谢老板,原因很简单。有句老话“师父领进门,修行在个人”。但是问题是,如果没有师父领进门,您老难道还打算在门外修行不成?当然,释迦摩尼在菩提树下得道。可是,我们皆凡人。

原本以为今年一年都不会有学术会议上的记录,没想到今天却填上了这一空白。尽管这会级别不高,收益却不低啊。

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