To live is to communicate, and to communicate with confidence is a craft that one will do well to master early rather than later in life. If only the gift of the gab were enough to sail smoothly through the rough waters that the tough world is teeming with, every glib conversationalist would have a successful vocation, but that’s not the case. The means of communication come naturally to human beings, but the skills that make communicating worthwhile and meaningful do not. Thankfully, anyone who wishes to can learn—and even perfect—these skills.
This concise handbook focuses on the ways in which students can develop a robust career after completing their academic studies. The foundational work of nurturing and strengthening individual abilities begins during university life, but these skills need to be complemented with strategies that help the student turned professional to not only interact well with society but also earn its respect through clear, precise, and honest communication. Talent needs to be matched with competence, and the book shows exactly how one goes about doing that. It spells out the ingredients of a sound and strategic action plan that definitively aligns one’s goals with one’s aspirations, no matter how lofty. This plan has to be closely related to the choices, conditions, and possibilities that will be available for the kind of education and experience that individuals have and the aspirations they harbor.
Students entering high school or university can use the book to review the necessary courses to choose during their academic life. Young people will find solid guidelines in it that provide a structure for planning and focusing on the skills needed when one embarks upon a fulfilling career.
About the Author
Peter Wide obtained his PhD and docent from Linköping University, Sweden. He has been the deputy vice-chancellor, with a special responsibility towards strategic external relations at Örebro University, Sweden. In 2008, he was on sabbatical leave. During the leave, he conducted research within the field of artificial human sensing and visited the University of Ottawa, Canada. He is now finalizing a scientific book in the area. He has also been the dean of the Medicine, Technology and Science faculty at Örebro University. Prof. Wide is the founder of the research center Applied Autonomous Sensor Systems at Örebro University and was the first research manager for 6 years. Since 1999, he has been a professor in measurement science. In the last five years he has conducted his work as professor at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway. At present his research work is focused on climate and environmental issues in the Arctic region.
