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ความคิดเห็นที่ 32 |
I saw this thread in a link in some of my friend's Facebook. So, I followed the link and found something interesting in here. :)
I have something to share, not to argue to anyone, first of all... As a person who is in a position as "been there done that".
In April of 2540, I started my career as a university professor and knew that there would be a scholarship for me in 2541 or 2542. Few months later, around June of 2540, IMF crisis hit Thailand really hard and that vaporized the scholarship... So, I had to stay, teach and conduct research with "some" money. At the time, I got a chance to meet a few of famous Thai scholars as my guests... And, all of them encouraged me to pursue my PhD aboard.
With such national financial austerity, it didn't seem to be realistic. Therefore, I applied for a PhD program at Mahidol University. Anyway, something came and that thing was a really huge amount of research funding (around 4M Baht) which I could not turn it down. So, I decided to defer my application with my "future" adviser and do the research.
It took around another year.... Our country got better and I was lucky to receive a full scholarship from my university to pursue my PhD aboard. I called my "future" adviser and what she gave me was a reply simlar to what k.kanomtan got from his adviser. Henceforth, she became my adviser up to present and maybe forever.
So, I went to the US as a PhD student as well as a father and a husband. as such, I had many other opportunities to learn many things other than doing research. Those include American family life and so on.... It was so rewarding... For me, it's more valuable than the PhD itself, so to speak.
Research-wise, I had a very fine chance to work with many scientists whose got h-index more than 20, not to mention many others whose got minor achievement in their scientific career. I realize that how good they are, how competitive they are, how they think (and dream), how they treat people, how they treat their students and how they organize their lives.
A period of six years can be considered as a very long time.... and it is.... Along the way, I learned and improved my English in all needed aspects. And, you know what, as a scientist, if you don't have good English proficiency, it's too bad for you even you are a really good scientist. Because others may not able to "see" you or communicate with you. In a way, English has become the central language among scientists of the world.
So, in summary, there are three components I got from my studying aborad: 1) Family life, 2) Research (and connection), and, 3) English proficiency.
Although, IF I did my PhD here in Thailand, it would not change myself as a human being, a father, a husband, and a scientist. I still think in a same way regardless of the school/country I am in. I might have a better connection among Thai scientists/scholars. But, all in all, because of that opportunity, I can be a person who I am today and will be tomorrow.
Personally, I have to admit that studying aboard gives a lot more than degree. But it doesn't mean that everything in Thailand is rubbish, OK? In science, we have plenty of disciplines that can be considered as world class (eg HIV, malaria, dengue, some other topics in tropical medicines, rice genetics and so on). If you can get into these world-class programs in Thailand, it can give you a lot of things that can be memorable as well.
For other disciplines (eg social sciences), I have no direct experiences on such fields, therefore you may not take my comments for granted. :)
Above all, good luck for everyone and please take care.
จากคุณ |
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amatuer translator
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เขียนเมื่อ |
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5 ต.ค. 53 14:27:19
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