From 16-18 November 2015, the 1^st steering committee meeting of the TORUS project was held at the University of Toulouse 2 Jean Jaures, France. FIMO attended the meeting as a one of key members of the project.

Initiated and driven by Dominique Laffly, geographer, university professor and member of GEODE laboratory, TORUS is one of eight French projects selected among the 120 selected for more than 575 candidatures. The project is financed by the European Union in the framework of Erasmus + Capacity Building. This program funds “transnational partnerships between educational institutions and organizations, training and youth programs in order, promoting cooperation and development”. TORUS funded for 3 years, gathered around the University of Toulouse 2 Jean Jaures, the international school of information processing sciences (EISTI, Pau campus), University of Ferrara in Italy, university Brussels Vrije in Belgium, Vietnam national University in Hanoi, the Nong Lam university of Ho Chi Minh and two Thai institutions: Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Pathumthani and Walailak university in Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The ambition of TORUS? Develop research on cloud computing in the environmental sciences and promote its education in the countries of South East Asian partners.

Schematically, cloud computing consists of pooling hardware and software resources via the Internet. It reduces the costs of processing and storage of information in a simplified environment accessible to all. It is also an operational response to the generalized problems of Big Data – also today major issue of Computer Science. This simplification and cost reduction offer methodological possibilities not previously explored (e.g. test many models, including in the area of Big Data for data reduction to compare their relevance). The strategy of the project that aims to organize thematic workshops and practical workshops applied to the environment is a real innovation that responds to demand now clearly identified with our partners. Still little teaching, cloud computing, recent paradigm of computer science, requires a major theoretical investment before being mobilized by the practice on concrete projects. Projects that will have at heart to strengthen the links between education, research and environmental engineering. TORUS is responding to regional priorities set in the framework of ERASMUS + projects. Besides the theoretical and requested practical skills TORUS develop the specifications for future Masters level training with our partners and publish two reference books (education, scientific), and also deliver practical solutions deployed at three basic levels of cloud computing (infrastructure, platform and software) in the partner countries with computer hardware funded by the project.

Beyond the capacity building in the field of research, our project has the merit to positioning our disciplines into a major issue of contemporary science, namely how to be able to respond to this new computing paradigm – yet already older than 15 years – without necessarily being prepared, move from a “traditional computing model-based world to mathematical research to find a pattern in the data” (Wikipedia). We are betting that this is a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary ideally we will succeed. Geography, geosciences and environmental sciences in general can not ignore it. There is urgency in the context of the evolution of computer technology and the ever-increasing volume of data in the context of threats against our climate and sustainable development of the planet, in the context of the need to reduce just as much as bridging the technology gap between north and south, in the context of universal free access to data (open data) – when these are funded by public funds – and free software (open source). At the option of the specializations of teams, TORUS addresses the following environmental themes to develop on cloud computing: erosion, urban air pollution and Southeast Asia atmospheric pollution, melting permafrost that causes the accelerated release of soil organic carbon in the atmosphere, alert systems of environmental hazards such as forest fires, prospective modeling of socio-spatial practices and land use, web fountains as geo-portal of geographical data.

Tomorrow is today already, be prepared for, besides that we should anticipate future IT tools, there is much to bet that these new paradigms will open us many innovative scientific horizons at the heart of our problematics. Let us dare!

What is a team?

A team is an autonomous group of people. Each team member has different advantages and disadvantages. People work together to achieve shared goals.

Teamwork refers to working together, helping other teammates in order to achieve group benefits.

Some factors that impact on working performance of a team

• Share same goals: a team must have shared goals among members. Goals must be obvious and measurable and each team member understand the goals.
• Each member has a distinct role: each person should be assigned to suitable tasks according to his ability.
• Relationships between team members: they should believe and respect each other. Be nice to help other people in order to reach shared goals. Be honest and open-minded.
• Communication in a team:
  • Share ideas and opinions.
  • Listen and respect other people’s opinions.
  • Toward same goals.
  • Encourage new ideas.
  • Choose to communicate in suitable time and place.
• Ability to solve a problem together

Stages of developing a team

Building a successful team needs a lot of time and effort. There are four stages of developing a team as listed below:

1. Forming stage: the starting stage of building a team. In this state, people investigate other members. They tend to be hesitated to contribute comments or ideas. People may be doubting and discomfort and often ask questions. These problems result in low degree of completion of work.

So in this state, we should getting to know our teammates, setting shared goals together and listening to other people’s desire.

2. Storming stage: this is the hardest state. In this phase, internal contradictions may occur. Besides, there are always competition and self-defense or even sectarian divisions. People may also be selfish. Like the forming state, working performance is low.

To prevent those problems, we can:

• Distinct roles and tasks of each member.
• Resolve conflict together.
• Build law and discipline together.
• Reward and praise.
• Assess working performace of every member.

3. Norming stage: in this state, woking performance is significantly increased. People respect discipline that they have built together. They are also open-minded and don’t hesitate to share intentions. Ability to solve shared problems together is also improved.

So we should continue to promote discipline, break any remaining barriers among members to strenthen member relationships. People may also ask for others’s opinions.

4. Performing stage: this state has best working performance. People are creative, innovative and uniformnity. Personal development is promoted. Team members are highly believable. Information stream flows smoothly in the team.

To maintain this state, we should keep and strengthen team motivation. Each person works hard to improve himself. We also need to set new goals together.

Chuc Man Duc

Why do we need to build interviewing skills?

The art of job searching and job acquisition requires more than a great resume, attractive cover letter and perfectly completed application. A great interview is an essential component in the job search equation:

job identification
+ great resume
+ great cover letter
+ great application
+ stellar interview
———————
= JOB

The application, resume, cover letter and references are only an introduction. The interview frequently tips the scale between getting a job or head-in-hand reflection.

It is true that most people who are granted an interview have already satisfied the basic qualifications for employment. However, poor interview performances can keep prospective employees from being hired.

“Like any good performance, a winning interview requires preparation and rehearsal.”
— Perlmutter Block

How to prepare for an interview?

• Introduce yourself
• Remember what you’ve done.
• Answers and remember general questionnaires relating to technologies you’ve studied/practiced.
• Get interviewer info and their purpose

How to introduce yourself?

 

Show your working experience?

• Employment History
• I have been working in software development for xxx years…
• From 200x-200y, I worked for a company named…
• Then I joined FIMO from … to …
• Technical Skills
• I have … years working with Java, .NET, Testing,…
• I know some technologies/frameworks such as MVC, Struts, Spring,
• WCF, WPF,…
• I already work with Oracle, MS SQL Server,… databases
• I have lot of experience developing web-base application…
• I also know some about Design, UML, Linux,…
• Projects what you’ve done

Preparing for interview questions?

One of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to anticipate questions the interviewer may ask. This will allow you to give thoughtful and organized answers during your interview.

Here are some questions you should be comfortable answering:

• Why do you want this job?
• How did you become interested in this field of work?
• What do you have to offer this organization?
• What are some of your strengths and weaknesses?
• What do you see yourself doing in five years?

Here are some tips to help you strengthen your answers to potential interview questions:

• Review your experiences at work, at school, and in volunteer activities.
• Think of examples and situations that demonstrate your abilities or strengths (for example, a time you demonstrated good judgment, initiative, responsibility, or communication skills).
• Make a list of your accomplishments or achievements to reference during the interview.
• Think about challenges you’ve faced in the past, and be prepared to describe how you dealt with them and what you learned.

Preparing questions for the employer

At the end of an interview, you are typically asked if you have any questions about the organization or job you’re applying for.

Your job interview is not only an opportunity for the employer to interview you—it’s also an opportunity for you to interview your employer. By asking thoughtful and appropriate questions, you are showing the employer that you’re interested in being part of their organization.

Things you could ask the employer include:

• How is the organization structured, and how would my role contribute to the work of the organization?
• What is a typical day in the life of a person who works in this position?
• How would this position allow me to learn and grow?
• When do you anticipate making the decision about hiring for this position?

Key points & Tips

• Be confident

– Be relax, natural, nice… It is not a fight!

– Positive thinking

– Highlight what you are good at

• Show that you are reliable

– Be on time

– Don’t look away

• Show an interest

– In Company, In people, In role

– Open to learning more

• Show ability in communication

– Speak slowly and clearly

– Answer the question directly – right to the point

– Avoid a single Yes or No answer. Try to have a brief discussion or provide a reason for Yes or No

– Avoid long silence

– Ask if the question is not clear or you cannot catch the point

– If you do not know the answer, say you do not have the answer right now but will study later.

– Use Body language if necessary.

– Explain some difficult things by drawing to board/paper.

After the interview

Although the actual interview is over, the process isn’t totally over. It’s a wise idea to reflect on the experience and review your next steps.

Immediately after the interview, you may want to do a personal evaluation of how it went. Write down some of your answers to questions asked, and assess them to see if they were the best possible answers. This will help you learn from your mistakes and prepare for future interviews.

Usually, an organization will provide you with a date when they expect to make their decision about hiring. If you haven’t heard from them by this date, consider contacting the organization to follow up.

If you didn’t receive a job offer, consider asking for feedback about how your interview went and how it could have been better. This will provide you with information on how to have a more successful interview next time.

Even if you didn’t get the job, try not to get discouraged. Like any new skill, you need to practise to get better. Interviewing is the same. The more you do it, the easier it will become.

From 02 to 07 Nov, 2015, FIMO’s researcher (Mr. Pham Ngoc Hai) has participated the Conference on Future of Earth-Space Science and Education (Future ESSE) in the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Miramare – Trieste, Italy. The workshop is organized by The International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP).

For more than 50 years, the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) has been a driving force behind global efforts to advance scientific expertise in the developing world.

Founded in 1964 by the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, ICTP seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers. ICTP has been a major force in stemming the scientific brain drain from the developing world.

More than 40 scientists: distinguished scientists, Scientists and MSc or PhD students from all countries which are members of the United Nations, UNESCO or IAEA who are working on Earth-Space Science, are participated the  Conference. Each day of conference is dedicated to the specific theme:

• Future Earth and sustainability,
• The world without disasters Climate change,
• Future generations Earth, space, and planets
• Future geoscience and education in the developing world.

A 5-day brainstorming Conference were organized to: (i) analyze the current state of Earth system sciences, geoscience and education with special emphasis on the developing countries; (ii) discuss scientific contribution to major challenges the societies face: disaster risk, climatic and environmental changes, depletion of mineral resources and others; (iii) promote integrated disciplinary, inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary science and education of the planet Earth and its space environment; (iv) develop a link between geosciences and other natural and social sciences and to promote this at the educational level; and (v) build capacities in economically-less developed countries in Earth and space sciences.