Samer Attalah
Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, The American University in Cairo
We have come in touch with Samer through his work at The American University in Cairo (AUC), a CEMS partner university of our own. Samer works as associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research at AUC, as well as a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. He attained his PhD at McGill University. In our exchange, Samer illustrated a clear link between the positioning of a university and the role of academic thesis writing in its system of value generation – and shared memorable perspectives on curiosity as the central motivator to overcome research challenges, and on the role of supervisors.
Samer's thoughts on the subject
Countless shades of supervision
“The way that an individual teacher treats supervision is his or her own decision, within a general, very loose framework. We have a minimum requirement in Master’s theses; we have a minimal requirement by courses to ensure that these offers to write a thesis meet the minimum learning outcomes. However, academic freedom remains a cornerstone when discussing common guidelines or individual autonomy.” (Samer Attalah)
Preparation determines motivation
“Your supervisor is not your boss, not your examiner, but your peer. My approach to this: I am not going to write the thesis for you. My job is to tell you if you are building momentum in the right direction that will lead to a successful piece of research. To guide you where you can find the areas that can help you write your thesis. My role is not to have all the answers for you. The role is that of a more experienced peer who provides guidance to ensure that the piece of research is coherent, meaningful, and well-founded. It’s a form of friendly peer review.” (Samer Attalah)
Skills and the will to grow
„Most important is to have the curiosity of a researcher. That is critical. If the learner does not have the curiosity and the eagerness to continue with every single challenge, then they are just „checking a box“ when completing their thesis. Those who really have the curiosity of a researcher tend to overcome the challenges they meet. The best students that I have are always the ones that don't come back to me. They tell me: I faced the problem, I looked it up online and this is my suggested solution. That is a signal to me of a researcher / a scholar that will go far.“ (Samer Attalah)
The purposeful scientific entrepreneur
“Going beyond curiosity is the researcher’s ability to link things together. To go beyond the research question and to understand the subject beyond the research question. To understand that what they are studying has implications elsewhere.” (Samer Attalah)