Again, some singers that have impressed me this week, and the last. But I still really like 姚貝娜 and 萱萱 from the first two weeks (and they’re both on the same team!).
Bad Computer Science Programmes: Parents and Industry
This article first appeared on DNA here.
I INTEND to wind up my columns on bad Computer Science programmes by looking at the role of parents and industry.
While both parties are not directly involved in formulating these programmes, they both play different and significant roles in the outcome of said programmes.
The direct role that industry plays in this is that of feedback. There is often an Industry Advisory Panel (IAP) that typically meets annually to provide curriculum feedback. The idea behind this exercise is to ensure that the curriculum is current, relevant and meets industry needs.
With due respect, the IAP often looks at the curriculum based on the present and future work-force needs of their individual organisations. What they often fail to understand is that it is not the job of a university to produce workers for their factories or offices.
The role of worker training is played by host companies during internships. Student interns must be put through the grinder and not merely exploited on menial tasks that nobody else wants to do. They must be given proper coaching and guidance to accomplish their tasks.
Unfortunately, industry often treats student interns as students instead of interns. They are expected to learn, while interns are supposed to work. This excuse is often used to justify under-paying or simply not paying student interns.
Internships are an opportunity for students to evaluate whether they would like to build a career in a particular field. This can only happen if the students are given real responsibilities, allowed to work under real-world conditions, and suffer real-world consequences of their actions.
But this also means that industry needs to change its habit of under-paying interns and exploiting them as cheap labour. In fact, I would recommend paying a decent wage based on the kind of work that they do and responsibilities that they have. They should be treated like the young adults that they are.
Internships are not merely a necessity for completing a degree but are a valuable real-world learning experience. There is no reason why a student should only do it to pass their course. There are plenty of opportunities to do extra internships, particularly during the long breaks between academic years. However, few students in Malaysia take the opportunity to do multiple internships in different fields, which is a shame.
If the industry wants to help improve the condition of Computer Science programmes, it could start by running better internships.
Industry should take part in university teaching and learning by giving talks, holding seminars and sharing knowledge and experience with students. It can also play a better role by inspiring and motivating students instead of merely reviewing curricula.
It is not uncommon to find students who have little or no interest in Computer Science, studying it. Apathy is a trait that plagues many students today. Many do not have a clear direction of what they want to do after school.
While always acting in the best interest of their child, the trouble with parents is that they seem to have forgotten that their child is already an adult capable of thinking and acting independently, and should be treated that way.
Instead of making decisions for their children, parents should let their children decide the direction that they would like to take their life. If their child is not yet ready to make the decision, it might be useful to take some time off to gain useful work experience.
Real-world work experience is more valuable than a mere piece of paper, particularly if nothing stands out from that piece of paper. Taking a ‘gap’ year may sound a little alien in our culture but it is an excellent way to learn the value of a job well done and to explore different types of occupations.
In our society, there is now an expectation of schooling non-stop until children are well into adulthood. This endless paper chase is based on the belief that a piece of paper will guarantee a good life. As a result, most graduates have no inkling of what real life is like when they graduate.
While many studies show a close link between education level and future income, a good life can only be assured through dedication and hard work. This would be difficult without interest in their work as interest is a great motivator.
Chasing paper has also become an obsession, with many parents wanting to give their children a head-start in life, which includes the belief that their child needs to finish first to finish ahead. Learning something well takes time and is more important than simply finishing.
I would even go as far as to suggest that parents encourage their children to start taking on various part-time and vacation jobs. Besides learning the value of money, it gives their children an opportunity to learn skills and acquire much needed real-world exposure.
The job of a parent is not to provide their child with an education but to prepare their child for the real world. Parents often confuse one for the other.
Self Peer-Pressure
I had conversations with a couple of people yesterday, about being successful in their careers. One recurring point was that they were measuring their success based on how they performed compared with their peers.
There are many flaws with this point of view.
Firstly, everyone is different. There is no way to do a direct apples to apples comparison. As long as that remains true, trying to make any sort of comparison is an exercise in futility. There is no metric nor benchmark that can be used.
This should be the most obvious flaw to everyone. It took me a while to realise this as well but once I realised it, it became obvious. I have had difficulty measuring myself against my peers as it isn’t even obvious who my peers were.
Secondly, everyone has flaws. While another person may be better than us in one way, they may be worse than us in another way. We do not know anyone well enough to know everything about them. If anything, we should be comparing ourselves against an ideal.
I learned this at a young age, when I realised that for everything that I could do well, I knew of others who did it way better. But nobody is perfect in this world. For every flaw that I had, there were others who had them worse too.
Thirdly, we can’t peer into the future. Anything can happen at any time. Some may start off really well but stumble later in life. Some may do the opposite. It is very unusual to find someone who has the stamina to sustain their success throughout their lives.
This was something that others have taught me. You can’t really tell whether someone is a success or not, while they’re alive. You actually need to wait till their story is completely written to figure that one out – on balance.
Fourthly, everyone measures success differently. Some people measure it in terms of money, some in terms of power and influence, some in terms of happiness, others have other ways of measuring it.
Personally, all I care about is happiness. In my opinion, there is no point in being miserably rich, nor fearfully powerful. At the end of the day, what is important is that we are happy, with ourselves and what we have done with our lives.
Finally, what’s the point?
The important point is: just know where we want to be and what we’d like to ideally achieve, and to pit ourselves against our future self. As long as we keep moving in the right direction and achieve things along the way, we know that we’re on track to success.
Stop peer pressuring ourselves.
PS: Coming from Cambridge, this is a particularly dangerous trap to fall into.
Honda CR-Z Hybrid
Well, I plan to buy a new car this year and the Honda CR-Z is at the top of my list. However, I have a small problem with Honda Malaysia in that, there doesn’t seem to be any unit that I can take for a test drive.
I’ve been to several showrooms in KL.
The first one I visited told me that they did not even have a show-room unit and they sold every single CR-Z that they receive. However, they did drive me up to their store house to take a look at one that was in storage. But that one had dead batteries and I couldn’t play around with anything in it – couldn’t even open up the boot.
The second one I visited told me that they did not have any, even in stock. When I asked how someone could buy a car based on a brochure, the sales person just smiled at me. Fail.
The third showroom that I visited had one in the showroom, which I was allowed to scrutinise in detail. A few things caught my attention – the CR-Z has no spare wheel; and the rear-view mirror has a limited cone of vision.
In place of the spare wheel, the car comes with a sealant and pump kit. So, in the event of a puncture, one would pour in the liquid sealant and re-inflate the tyre. However, if the tyre bursts, one would need to call for a tow.
As for the rear-view mirror, it’s a design issue. The rear-end of the car is just really small. So, one would need to depend on the side-mirrors during normal driving and to depend on the electronics when reversing etc. The car does come with an optional rear-view camera upgrade.
In essence, I’m sold on the car. But I only plan to get it after the budget speech in October. The CR-Z enjoys certain tax benefits at present, which are supposed to end this year. I’d like to see if the government extends it or otherwise.
However, I would really like to test drive one before I buy the car. Preferably one with manual transmission. I was told that there wasn’t a very long wait list for the car, between a fort-night to a month.
I hope to own one either by year-end or thereabouts.
The Voice of China
This show has rekindled some interest in Chinese music. Why not, I’ve grown a little tired of J/K-pop. Time to listen to some C-pop then.
My favourite voice this week.
And this week’s surprise.
The full episode.
Trans-Pacific Partnership Debate
I attended the TPP debate, as a last-minute panelist.
I only got to raise two points – that there is no real information available; and that the intellectual property chapter will make life difficult for all of us. The latter was to rebut the point raised by the other side that the IP issues are small as Malaysia’s IP industry is a miniscule portion of our economic pie.
Yes, while our IP industry is small, the effects of the restrictive IP requirements will affect every single Malaysian.
Our Copyright Act was amended last year, and it included some DRM-like provisions, which would make it unlawful to circumvent any sort of technological protection measures in place. The fines are up to RM500k maximum.
If someone owns a DVD player in Malaysia, I will bet that it is a region-free player, even if it comes from a known brand. I know this because I have asked the guys who sell these things at the store. Even if they slap a Region 3 logo on the box, it’s still region-free inside.
This makes almost every single one of our DVD players, unlawful.
One other point that I did not have the time to elaborate upon, was the issue of parallel imports. I’m not sure if many Malaysians know this but, the price of original DVD/Bluray overseas is cheaper than pirated copies in Malaysia. There is plenty of room for arbitrage in this market.
Well, it was a fun experience overall.
PS: Our side won the debate, and I got a little pen-holder souvenir as a prize. Yeay!
Malaysian University Entry 2.0
Year after year, we go through the same drama – that of eligible students being denied entry into the course of their choice. Each time, we are promised by our government that they will look into it and fix the problems. Then, the cycle repeats itself the following year.
I think I can safely say that Malaysians are sick and tired of this incessant whining.
I started writing this blog, blaming everyone involved – from the government, parents, teachers, and even students themselves. But then I realised that each and everyone of us are already far too familiar with the causes of the problem.
So, I decided to write about some solutions instead.
First, let’s start by giving people the reasons for rejecting them. That’s just plain courtesy. It’s bad enough that the kids have to see their futures crushed, it’s worse to have it crushed under some giant uncaring bureaucracy.
Giving people a logical and rational reason for denying them their future, will also serve as good feedback so that they can improve on their weaknesses and reapply again the following year if they choose to do so.
Cold hard rejections won’t cut it.
Second, we need to have better career counsellors in schools. We need to impress upon students that there are plenty of other ways to achieve success besides studying medicine and that medicine is not for everyone.
The job of a career counsellor should include learning about the student’s aptitude, likes and dislikes, and helping them sort out the myriad future career paths they may have. This helps to put the right people in the right places for the future.
We need good, passionate and dedicated people in every field.
Third, we need more transparency in the selection process. It will go a long way to promoting confidence and trust in the fairness of our system. In the age of reality television and live interaction, an opaque process will not do.
I would suggest publishing the details of all the applicants publicly. This allows everyone to see where they stand amongst their peers. Any privacy issues can be side-stepped by removing all identifying information and just publishing the relevant scores.
A little public competition always helps.
Sybreon Ones Nought 