The Development of Vehicular and Mobile Network - Personal Statement Example

Selection Criteria Responses Essential Criteria Selection Criteria A PhD or Professional Doctorate (or near completion) relevant to the Computingdiscipline or equivalent experience, accreditation or professional standing I am a dynamic professional with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from University Technology Malaysia (UTM), Malaysia. In addition, I hold three master’s degrees and two bachelor’s degrees in related fields, as well as graduate certificate in learning and teaching in higher education, which have been instrumental in propelling my academic career to where it is currently. Like any other academic field, I have faced numerous challenges in my career, which I have managed to overcome through various approaches. My PhD research focused on the development of vehicular & mobile ad hoc network (architectures, protocols, security and algorithms), as well as artificial intelligence and real-time communications systems. I started my Ph.D. with strong knowledge in data mining and artificial intelligence fields that I gained during my master of computer science degree from UTM and working as research associate from Queens University of Belfast (QUB). It was a challenging task to switch to a new exciting field of mobile networks. I was fortune to join a team of experienced researchers at UTM where I liaise extensively with other team members to create solutions to complex research problems. I completed my Ph.D. with great success and managed to publish six research papers in ERA listed journals (B and C rank). I must assert that my expert computing skills are corroborated by my master degree in computer science (by research) from Faculty of Computer Science and Information System, UTM. I investigated many aspects of information systems to develop decision-making systems from data mining, machine learning, and artificial intelligence techniques. I developed my strong computing research, written and oral communications, analytical, and organizational skills. I completed this degree with 3.5/4.0 GPA and produced 11 research papers in international conferences and journals. In addition, my computing research career supported by my master degree (information technology) from Preston University, Pakistan, where I studied major IT subjects. I explored many aspects of computer science to solve complex statistical problems from object oriented programming languages and relational database management systems to real-world information systems. I completed this master degree in 2 years and obtained 3.0/4.0 GPA. In addition to above Ph.D. and master qualifications in computing science, I have gained in-depth knowledge and practical experience in statistics by taking advanced courses during my first master degree in Statistics from University of the Punjab, Pakistan. The statistical problem solving aspect of computer program was what I enjoyed the most in this degree. Moreover, I have completed Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education at Charles Sturt University (CSU), Australia. In this certificate, I have been engaged in various roles and responsibilities for critical examination in view of issues confronting learning and teaching in higher education nationally and internationally, disciplines and professional practice. I have strengthened my capacity to engage in, and contribute to, debates and improvements in CSU and to national and international scholarly discussion. Owing to my elaborate academic qualifications, I have published a number of research papers in high rank journals together with other peers and this has led to expansion of knowledge in the Computing field. Furthermore, I have passed enormous knowledge to my students and interested parties, who have benefited their community as a result. Selection Criteria 2: A record of research or professional activity relevant to the Computing discipline, which demonstrates a capacity to make an autonomous contribution I have demonstrated my capacity to make an autonomous contribution to the Computing discipline through various professional activities and scholarly research that I have participated in, particularly at Universities. For example, I have made 39 publications including 10 ERA listed (A, B, and C rank) and 26 ISI/Scopus cited publications in the Computing fields such as Vehicular & Mobile Ad hoc Networks, Mobile Cloud Computing, Information System, Data Mining, Artificial Intelligence, Statistical Machine Learning and Evidential Reasoning, two more papers are currently under review. Additionally, I have attended international conferences in various parts of the world where I have honed my competence and skills besides expanding my academic and professional horizons. Apart from supervising masters and Ph.D. projects, I have also participated in various Computing projects at various capacities with numerous successes. To publish the huge volume of journals that I did, I needed supportive staff, academic institutions, and partners. In essence, I needed to plan my schedule to enable me to attend international conferences while at the same time concentrating on my research. I also needed the help of the students and staff to enable me to accomplish my academic projects as well as other major projects. I distributed my research projects in such a way that I could write and review journals research papers and attend international conferences to continue my research. I also took and supervised projects related to Computer Science so that I could get new research ideas relevant to my career. Moreover, I combined major organization projects with my academic projects so that I could use same results in subsequent projects. I engaged a number of professionals in my projects and travels so that we could achieve same objective of publishing more journals. Together with other scholars, I have been able to publish 22 journals with two journal papers presently under publication process. Figure 1 shows a snapshot from Google citations, where I have received 240 citations for my all research publications and my h-index is seven and i10-index is six. I also wrote a book chapter in 2009 together with two other authors and I have attained supervisory expertise over time since I have successfully supervised numerous Ph.D., masters, and undergraduate theses over the years. These major contributions and achievements are clear indications of my capacity to initiate and conduct research, especially in the field of Computing. Figure 1: Snapshot from Google citations Selection Criteria 3: Teaching experience, in particular, in mobile applications development including the ability to write and deliver subjects at undergraduate and post-graduate levels I have amassed vast teaching experiences since 2004 when I started as a research assistant to my current position as a Teaching Fellow at Charles Sturt University, Australia. I have risen up the teaching ranks at the university while handling different subjects related to Computer Science both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I have developed my professional skills and taught Wireless Networking, Project Management, Information Technology, Programming Languages, and Database subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These subjects are essential when it comes to mobile application development and I am pleased to state that I have adequate teaching experience in mobile programming and communication. In addition, I did extensive programming during my Ph.D. to develop mobile & vehicular ad hoc network systems in addition to the fact that I have developed my professional skills in related fields in order to have a wholesome perspective of the computing field. I have the ability to write and deliver subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In my current job as a Teaching Fellow at CSU, I worked in a team with experienced CSU lecturers to OCIfy ITC211/412-System Analysis and ITC254-Wireless Networks subjects. I also traveled to Sydney and Melbourne to get some feedback from experienced study centre lecturers. I created marking criteria and number of assessment items including blogs, online quizzes, short essay questions, and real world case studies, and mapped all assignments with AQF standard. Similarly, I utilized my excellent teaching skill in the preparation of new postgraduate course named “Information Security” during my Senior Lecture position at University of Malaya (UM). I discussed various issues in relation to these subjects and course, and I communicated assertively with my academic colleagues by emphasizing on important points. I also faced some conflicts on subject contents that we resolved successfully with the mutual understanding. As a Senior Lecturer at UM, I needed to plan, prepare, and deliver notes, exam papers, and tutorials to students so that they proceed well in their academic endeavors. My greater focus was programming and networking that encompassed mobile application development. Since I taught many students of different levels and in various universities, I needed to revise my tutorials and teaching strategies constantly in order to fit prevailing situations. The approach and actions that I took in my teaching career included delivery of notes and tutorials to students in addition to applying theoretical problems to real life experiences. I integrated teaching with research to enable the students to have a better grasp of computing aspects, particularly when it comes to mobile applications development. In all the universities that I have taught in, I have taught, supervised, and examined undergraduate, masters, and Ph.D. students in various tasks related to Computer Science. Selection Criteria 4: Demonstrated ability in supervising coursework master student projects, at an advanced level, on a topic related to emerging technologies and innovation in computing area Through my teaching career, I have taught, researched and supervised students at four universities namely QUB in UK, UTM in Malaysia, UM in Malaysia, and CSU in Australia. I have handled and supervised many masters’ students at an advanced level, particularly on subjects related to emerging technologies and innovation in Computing area. I have provided masters’ students with relevant and current guidance as far as Wireless Networks, Mobile Cloud Computing, and Data Mining are concerned. Since these technologies are dynamic in nature, I have facilitated research in innovations in order to keep the students abreast of changing technology. As a lecturer who was teaching and supervising masters’ students, I needed to integrate current technology in my course works and projects. I required students who would take computing projects on emerging technologies in order to remain relevant in the computing field. I also needed to supervise masters’ students at advanced level in order to ensure my career progression as well as the academic progression of such students. I was fortune to achieve my long-term career goal through supervision of coursework undergraduate and masters’ students. For example, in my current job as Teaching Fellow at CSU, I have managed to supervise Undergraduates (project 1 and 2) students with great success. Perhaps my greatest role was when I supervised three masters’ students during my previous job as Senior Lecturer at UM, all of whom were at an advanced level. The last two projects that I supervised at advanced masters’ level include ‘Accessible Global Health Village based on Mobile Cloud Computing’ and ‘Social-Aware VANET Routing for Real-time Vehicular Traffic Information,’ both of which focused on the application of emerging technology in practical situations. I played a primary role in providing the necessary resources in terms of academic materials and professional resources. In addition, I am working with Ph.D. student from CSU, and serving as co-supervisor for three Ph.D. students from UM. My successful supervision of number of students saw the implementation of the projects in various fields where they were applicable. In addition, the projects expanded the horizons of the Computing field as far as Mobile Cloud Computing, Real-time Vehicular Traffic Information, and Networks Routing Protocol are concerned. Additionally, I demonstrated ability in supervising coursework master student projects, at an advanced level, on a topic related to emerging technologies and innovation in computing area. Selection Criteria 5: Demonstrated capacity to incorporate new technologies and new approaches to teaching and learning I have the capacity to adapt to and adopt new ways of teaching and learning, as I have proven in the past. For the decade that I have been lecturing computing subjects at university level, I have demonstrated the capacity to incorporate new technologies and new approaches to teaching and learning. Since I am cognizant of the fact that the Computing discipline is dynamic and heavily dependent on technology, I have accordingly over the years to suit the prevailing needs of the industry. I have demonstrated flexibility through the adoption on new technology as I teach and supervise my students. In essence, I have risen through the ranks because of my versatile approach to teaching and learning. In my current job as a Teaching Fellow, I needed to adopt new ways of teaching in order to provide my on-campus and distance students with relevant and viable teaching resources. I contributed to revise two subjects including System Analysis and Wireless Networking, as well as prepare material to publish these subjects online. I will add one paragraph. In addition, I desired to conduct more research that would go a long way in opening new frontiers in the Computing field. While I was a Teaching Assistant at the Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Department at QUB between 2005 and 2007, I assisted my supervisor to design and implement exercises and activities to facilitate students academic improvement. The exercises and activities that I designed and implemented led to the overall improvement of students’ academic performance. While during the same job, I built a prototype for application to real-world scenarios in risk evaluation based on soft decision tool. I went ahead and incorporated this prototype in a larger software prototype or implement as standalone front-end to larger system. I applied the prototype that I developed to risk problem instances in real world applications and it worked successfully. Moreover, I have also attended number of workshops and international conferences where I have acquired new skills and technology useful to my career and the computing field as a whole. I used the knowledge that I acquired during various events to further boost my academic horizons through extensive teaching and learning. Selection Criteria 6: A demonstrated ability to effectively liaise with academic colleagues and work as a member of a team As an intellectual, I have the responsibility to interact with other scholars to promote the interests of the Computing field and the institutions that I worked for as a lecturer/Teaching Fellow. I have embraced teamwork ever since I became a professional in the field of Computing and I have learnt the benefits that come with working together with colleagues. I have demonstrated the ability to work effectively as a team and liaise with other academic colleagues towards promoting the interests of the computing field. While writing and delivering computing subjects at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, I need to interact with academic colleagues and peers who offer invaluable insights and critiques whenever necessary. In addition, doing research and publishing journals, participation in international conferences and major projects requires teamwork that would enable critical and in-depth evaluation of issues related to computer Science. I have worked with various academicians to prepare teaching materials and number of scholars in conducting research and publishing of journals. While undertaking major projects, I have engaged a number of intellectuals in order to give such projects exceptional planning and management. My continued support for teamwork has enabled me to conduct complex research with my colleagues with great success. Perhaps I would never have completed some research without teaming up with my colleagues. Furthermore, I have published several journals together with my peers, who have offered invaluable academic support. Selection Criteria 7 - Strong networking skills and an ability to support the national and international positioning of the School and specific disciplines I have been responsible for fostering strong relationships with government departments, private industry, and end-user customers. I have also worked with clients and staff at all levels, from all occupations, across numerous cultures. This experience has allowed me to develop a genuine appreciation of cultural diversity and the ability to liaise effectively with customers to build relationships regardless of their background. In addition, I have been required to carefully balance the capabilities of the organization with the requirements of clients and negotiate to achieve desired outcomes. In situations where client requirements are beyond the capability of the organization to deliver, I successfully negotiated compromises. This necessitated advanced interpersonal and negotiation skills. In my current role with CSU, I have been involved in developing learning materials of number of subjects for both the on-campus and distance modes of education. As CSU campuses are situated at three different locations as well as two study centers in Sydney and Melbourne, and it was imperative to establish good working relationships with all lecturers, educational designers, and admin staff. Earlier in this job, I had given a challenging task to prepare teaching materials for two subjects and work as a convener for three subjects. I used my expert networking skills to liaise extensively with lecturers and educational designers to seek their feedback on what worked well and what methods need improvement to encourage collaboration in order to enhance overall School performance. As a result of these efforts, the quality of these subjects has amplified which promotes the School’s offering by allowing a broad potential student population to enroll in programs that best meet their needs. During my employment as a Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, UM, I was fortune to join Mobile Cloud Computing research group and I started working in a new field of Mobile Cloud Computing research. I utilized my strong networking skills to work closely with other team members especially with Post-doctorate Fellow Dr. Mohammad Shiraz from UM and Professor Rajkumar Buyya from University of Melbourne. We published one research paper in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, which has received 38 citations (as shown in Figure 1) just within few months. The result of this networking was really useful to setup strong mobile cloud computing research environment and we have produced eight research papers in international journals and conferences. My strong teaching and research background has allowed me to develop strong networks with various academicians from QUB, UM, UTM, CSU, University of Melbourne, University of California, Azad University, and Higher Technology College. I am also active member of various applied computational science groups including networking (NS-2, Swans++, OMNET++), data mining (KD nuggets, Stack overflow), object-oriented programming (Java Ranch, Java Forum), database (Oracle, dBforums), open source projects (SourceForge). I have been given various challenging problems related to these fields, which I needed to resolve resourcefully/effectively. A critical part of such problems is to provide technical and strategic advice and assistance under stress and time constraints. I had to investigate what had happened from the developer/researcher points of view, clarify the facts, and work out what had gone wrong and why. I then had to propose suitable solutions and negotiate a mutually satisfactory outcome. I was often commended by group coordinator for my sensitive handling and speedy resolution of these problems. Selection Criteria 8 - Previous experience of academic responsibility and/or related administration While teaching students at three universities I need to deliver quality work through efficient supervision and delivery of administrative functions. As a Teaching Fellow at CSU, I taught various undergraduate and postgraduate subjects. I have always aimed at increasing CSU academic standard for on-campus and distance education and achieving important objective of a new policy for enhancing the student experience. I managed to contact all disengaged students by sending emails and making phone calls. I am aware majority of CSU students are professional and have some family responsibilities, therefore in order to accommodate I decided to take online classes each week for whole session. I answered all questions asked by the students, assist students to complete their assignments, and provided general guidance. Students some time take extra time to ask separate questions in private chat rooms. In addition, I had few students who faced some problems such as mental stress, physical, financial, or family issues. I always tried my best to accommodate such students by providing some supports for example having phone conversations to reduce mental stress, giving some extensions, and prepare additional assessment items where required. This shows my commitment to serve CSU students population and to go out of my way even to develop and an engaging learning experience. Concerning my on-campus students I developed relevant and up to date learning resources that encouraged students’ engagement through group activities, presented class lectures and conducted tutorials—all of these with the sole objective of providing a good learning experience to CSU students. Selection Criteria 9 - Excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills I have honed my excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills through teaching various computing subjects, quality research articles in ERA listed journals and conferences, a book chapter, project proposals and reports, paper review reports, as well as master (by research) and Ph.D. thesis. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to present papers as part of international conferences in UK, Spain, China, Singapore, and Malaysia. During my current job as a Teaching Fellow at CSU, I deliver quality lectures, conduct tutorials, and develop interactive modules, marking criteria, as well as prepared assessment items and final exam papers, which demonstrate my excellent written and oral communication skills. I believe that communicating with influence requires being both a good listener and a good communicator. Being a good listener, I ensure during the lectures, online meetings, as well as email messages that the views of the students are understood and that I am able to interpret and develop the views into the desired message. I always answer students’ questions using relevant, persuasive, and powerful language that conveys the importance of the message, idea, or course I am supporting. I am able to anticipate the reaction of the students for complex, technical, or controversial matters and respond in a calm and logical manner providing a concise reply, which is because it alleviates concerns. Through my position as a Research Associate with School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queens University Belfast, UK, I used my effective communication and interpersonal skills to explain technical information about how to use evidential reasoning based system to project manager and decision makers for investment prediction projects, construction project estimation, disease infection estimation, and text documents processing. For a problem like this - where the analysis is highly subjective and related to vague, incomplete, uncertain or inexact information, it was a challenging task to explain the advantages of the use of evidential reasoning theory. I implemented different risk factors associated with these real world problems. Different levels of degree of confidence provided by project manager and decision makers were used as input in proposed evidential reasoning-based system. Additionally, I utilized my excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills during my previous role as a Senior Lecture at UM. In this role, I taught three computing subjects, supervised three Ph.D., 3 masters, 15 undergraduates (project 1 and 2) students, published four journal articles and four conference papers in ISI/Scopus cited publications, as well as worked in a team to prepare new postgraduate course. I demonstrated my ability to listen attentively, speak clearly, write concisely, and compile well-researched and factual information in a structured and direct manner. I received high teaching assessment score and produced good quality research, which shows my excellent written and oral communication and interpersonal skills. Moreover, while working as a Research Assistant at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information System, UTM, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange employees were not familiar with the intelligent knowledge discovery system. I conducted two weeks workshop to train them. I was required to use my effective communication skill to train them on how the intelligent knowledge discovery system can be used to predict future stock rates. In conclusion, I believe these few examples adequately demonstrate that I have highly developed written and verbal communication skills, strong students handling skills, and a helpful, courteous, and friendly interpersonal style. I would be pleased to substantiate these claims and provide more examples of my abilities at an interview. Desirable for appointment at Lecturer Selection Criteria 1: A record of research activity in Mobile Security or related fields I have conducted extensive research in Mobile Security and other related fields including Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks, Mobile Cloud Computing, Real-Time Communication, especially through my twelve years of computing research experience. When I started my Ph.D. in 2007, I conducted research on security in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks and published a research article entitled, A Review of Current Routing Attacks in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, in international journal. This paper has received 80 citations from other researchers, as shown in Figure 1. I also worked on a project to develop a Friend-Assisted Secure Autonomous Mobile Ad hoc Networks. The nodes can evaluate the routing paths according to some selected features (such as node reputation and identity information) before forwarding the data through these routes. This system was implemented on a real time test-bed (JADHOC) using five laptops and one server. This system provides a robust environment where Mobile Ad Hoc Networks nodes can trust each other in a secure community. I completed this project with great success and managed to publish one B rank paper in ERA listed journal. Selection Criteria 2: Experience with research higher degree supervision Over the years that I have been a lecturer at three universities respected across the globe, I have had the opportunity to supervise a number of projects by undergraduate, masters, and doctorate students. Perhaps my greatest gratifications come when I will see students receive their Ph.D. degrees under my supervision. I have been supervising students of higher degree research from the time I became a Research Assistant. In total, I am supervising three Ph.D. students and three masters’ students who have tackled various areas ranging from mobile Cloud computing to Vehicular Ad hoc Networks. As a senior lecturer, I needed to supervise more students of higher degree research in order to get the necessary experience and rise up the ranks. I ensured that the students whom I taught took projects in various courses that I taught them, especially projects related to innovation. Since many masters’ and Ph.D. students expressed interest in my projects, I gave them the projects and we worked together towards meeting the objectives of the projects. I received the required experience with research higher degree supervision in addition to contributing to innovations in Mobile Applications development. Read More