Entrepreneurial Hacks for Academic Research — Part 1
“So what’s your research on ?”
Scenario 1
You’ve just started your PhD, you’re hanging out with your friends and the conversation turns to you.
“So mate, heard you started a PhD. What’s your research on ?”
THAT dreadful question which you never seem to have a good answer to……
You clear your throat, buying a few precious seconds in the process to get your thoughts organized.
“ Err…so I’m working on finding out (complicated scientific jargon follows) with (more complicated theories and methods). Yeah, so I am using Ansys….err do you know Ansys? No? It’s this neat software where you can accurately analyse (more complicated….are these even words?)”
Bunch of blank stares.
‘Shit! Be more clearer..’ You think to yourself.
“It’s actually quite useful. You can use it increase the efficiency of smart grids”
No more follow up questions for you. No excitement. Everyone nods in agreement and the conversation moves on.
‘Am I even doing useful research ?’ you ask yourself.
Congratulations! you just made a mess in describing your research.
Scenario 2
Your hard work has paid off and you are now at this major international conference presenting your work. You are nearing the end of your PhD journey and looking for career opportunities in academia.
You come across this professor who is a leading figure in your research area. You are in luck. If only you can be a research assistant in her group. After introductory pleasantries she asks THAT dreadful question.
“So what’s your research on ?” She asks.
Too excited to meet her, you’ve now forgotten to explain your research without wasting her time.
“ Err so I published this work…” and then you go on to talk about everything you did during your PhD, with no particular order, criss-crossing between various sub-topics like a dog in a ball pit.
The professor nods and smiles out of politeness and leaves you to get some refreshments. As the professor walks away you realize that you forgot to exchange contact details or ask for any available opportunities.
You should be able to describe your work and contribution pretty easily, but it never seems to be the case in real life. So how can we tackle this problem?
Be it a layperson, a colleague or an expert in the area, explaining your research in a clear, succinct manner is not a straightforward task. This is why it’s highly recommended that you have several well-designed sentences etched in your memory, ready to go as soon as someone asks THAT question. Although it makes you feel like a kid trying to remember a speech at school (‘I am a researcher, I should be able to wing it!’ — No! That’s ego speaking. Don’t listen to it.), this in-fact, is a well utilized technique across business and marketing.
One way to describe your research in 30 seconds or less is to use a Gaddie Pitch, which aims to summarize all important aspects of your work in 3 simple sentences. This approach is especially popular among startup founders who have to meet and pitch to potential investors day in, day out.
So, let’s get into it.
Gaddie Pitch for Research
Sentence 1: You know how……? OR Do you know……? (introduce the existing problem you’re trying to solve)
Sentence 2: What I/we do…… (briefly explain your research/solution)
Sentence 3: In fact, …. (highlight a major achievement of your research. This sentence should impress the listener and encourage them to ask more about the research)
Let’s take a closer look at each part.
- Do you know……? (Introduction to the existing research problem)
Make sure that you’re being relatable when you introduce the research problem you try to address. This sentence is subjected to change depending on the audience. For a layperson you can start by saying ‘Do you know that (insert research problem here) ?’, while for an expert you can bring them to the problem by saying ‘ You know how (insert problem here)’.
Don’t forget: be relatable.
2. What I/we do…… (Describe your research/solution)
Here you describe the solution to the problem and the role you play in achieving this solution in preferably one, or at most two sentences.
3. In fact, …. (The hook)
By this point, the listener has an idea about what you do and their own expectations about your work. Now use the final sentence to exceed their current expectations and impress them about your research. Here, you can mention one of the biggest achievements of your research, be it a publication, recent media exposure, an industry partnership or any other positive outcome. The ensuing audience reaction would further motivate you to do your research :)
Summary: Use this sentence to leave a positive impression and trigger more questions about your work.
Give it a go and write your own Gaddie pitch. Copy your Gaddie pitch in the comments sections for feedback. It’s handy to have two versions of your Gaddie pitch memorized so they naturally come to you when anyone asks about your research. There’s no shame in practicing your pitch in front of a mirror.
I’ve done a couple of examples below to help you out.
- Audience- Non-expert
Do you know that millions of dollars are lost every year in Australian wine industry due to farmers failing to properly estimate their yield and arrange necessary logistics ? What we do is automate the yield estimation process in vineyards using robots, so we can accurately project the final yield well before harvesting. In fact, we were able to accurately project the yields of two vineyards recently, which saved the vineyard owners around $ 200,000 in planning and logistics.
2. Audience- Expert
You know how it’s really hard and time consuming to manually mark and measure stomata pores on microscope images of leaves? What I do is develop a program which can automatically detect and measure stomata pores without any human intervention. In fact, the program is able to perform 100 times faster than a human expert and my work got published in a leading plant biology journal.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Jennifer Zanich, Julian Kezelman and the team at UNSW Founder 10x for introducing me to the tools that I’d be discussing in this series.
