Kalle Timperi is a PhD student in the Department of Mathematics.

What was it like preparing for, and talking at, the annual FoNS Research Showcase?

Presenting at an event like this is a privilege, and it motivated me to work harder in order to communicate as well as possible. In terms of the workflow, preparing the slides was the most time-consuming part, although the final days before the event I spent worrying mostly about what exactly to say - the time limit was quite a challenge for me.

Why are opportunities like this important?

I think it's really important for the community to invite new voices and topics into discussion, and to give young researchers more opportunities to practise their communication skills.

Got any helpful advice for fellow students about giving an academic talk?

As I was preparing for my presentation, I came across a lecture by Larry McEnerney from the University of Chicago, where he discusses the principles of professional writing. I found it very useful for the talk as well, and I think it's still available online. Perhaps the key point in communication - which I should learn myself - is to keep it clear and coherent, no matter what the topic or audience happens to be. That said, it's always a good idea to think about the particular audience as much as possible when preparing a talk, because people tend to understand things very differently depending on their existing background knowledge and assumptions.

Watch Kalle's Showcase talk

Kalle Timperi: Complex Systems with Uncertainty: How Can They Be Stable?

Play video