Advice to students – Part 2 of 2

Okay – we’re back (please read Part 1 if you haven’t already) . Let’s finish off with what those last two letters – A and D – represent when it comes to doing a Master’s degree or otherwise being part of the LEAD Lab team.

A is for Advising

Jens, Morgan and the whole LEAD Lab team are here for you when it comes to advice on everything from thesis topics to course selection to job opportunities. Team meetings often feature DesignFests – short presentations by any LEAD Lab member on a variety of topics. If you have pressing questions about your thesis work to date or some other issue around your Master’s process consider whether you can turn them into a DesignFest and present it to the group for their input or meet with Morgan or Jens one-on-one.

D is for Directing

This meaning of directing is not so much directing as in directions on a map – although there is some of that – but rather more like the directing as in the movies. I like this definition from Wikipedia and I think if you just substitute the words ‘successful Master’s degree’ for film and ‘you’ for the ‘cast and crew’ you’ll get what I’m talking about.

“A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director controls a film’s artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of that vision.

The film director gives direction to the cast and crew and creates an overall vision through which a film eventually becomes realized, or noticed. Directors need to be able to mediate differences in creative visions and stay within the boundaries of the film’s budget.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_director

In this analogy the ‘budget’ is the time and energy you have available to you for dedicating to your Master’s program and Jens and Morgan will help you stay within this ‘budget’ while also negotiating “differences in creative visions” and making sure that you accomplish (realize) the end result while staying true to your personal “artistic and dramatic aspects”. Maybe the analogy is a bit of a stretch but I think you can see what I am getting at.

In closing I’ll just say that Jens and Morgan, as principals of the LEAD Lab, want to ‘direct’ Master’s students to help them succeed with as little stress and angst and as much learning and self-discovery as possible. And in fact, as I hope I’ve made clear with this post, all LEAD Lab members are rooting for each other – it’s what makes this small (but mighty) team such a great group to work and study with. Whether you’re new to LEAD Lab or returning after prior studies or employment with the Lab welcome – we’re glad to have you.