An October Wrap-Up

Hi,

It’s officially the final day of October, and let me tell you, this month was really something.

Work demands have been hitting me like a bullet train lately, with zero sign of breaking. It’s true what they say: when you achieve something or get awarded a milestone, the responsibilities that come with it multiply right along with it. In my case, this year brought two different types of grants. One for research and another community-based one. It looks great on paper and checks all the right boxes for KPI requirements. But as anyone in academia knows, getting a grant is only half the battle. Actually managing it is a whole different story.

There is a very specific kind of frustration that comes with a project where everything requires approval at a ridiculous number of levels. It’s tough when you know the funds are there to support the work, but you can’t simply use them because someone somewhere thinks it might not be quite appropriate, forcing you to write endless justifications for every single little detail. It certainly keeps you on your toes!😑

Alright, enough with the job ranting for today.

Earlier this week, I shifted back to handling the final stretch of our eLearn workshop series. We ran three sessions in total, two were held online, and the final one was conducted physically because so many participants requested it. It went really well, and we are so glad that everyone who attended managed to successfully complete their blended learning criteria especially the assessment category on the teaching course portal.

On top of that, supervision with my visiting student from Universitas Brawijaya went smoothly too. Since she is also diving into partial differential equations, I invited her to join my lectures. I figured getting a firsthand feel for how classes are conducted here would be a great, memorable experience for her as she navigates her research visit.

Catching up with her for our weekly sync.

That’s just a little snapshot of how I'm wrapping up October. After a whirlwind of administrative hurdles and busy workshop days, I am really hoping for a calm, quiet weekend this time around. Hopefully, that wish gets granted!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!💕