I was thrilled when I started my bachelor’s studies in Industrial Engineering, but as semesters went by, my motivation and thereby my GPA decreased dramatically. I did not find any meaning in the courses, I could not carry any insight from my studies neither to my life, nor to what I was doing at work. […]
Four years ago, I was working as a system dynamics simulation expert with an international company. I could do my work remotely, received a high salary plus a substantial year-end bonus, we had the Christmas parties in some of the most luxurious hotels in Switzerland, and I had the opportunity have some of the leading […]
In the early 1980s, executives from U.S. auto companies started making regular trips to Japan to find out why the Japanese automakers were outperforming their U.S. counterparts. One Detroit executive hadn’t been impressed by the competition. “They didn’t show us real plants,” the Detroit executive said, “There were no inventories. I’ve seen plenty of assembly […]
For quite some time, I have been thinking about the characteristics of an effective learning environment. My objective was to compile a list of ideas in response to the question “What makes a learning environment an effective one?” Recently, I read the book Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas by Seymour Papert. First published in […]
In the first year of my doctoral studies, I wrote an article and submitted it for publication in a conference. My article was rejected by the conference scientific committee. One of the reviewers wrote that the reason why my article was not accepted was that after reading it, he was not able to answer the […]
One of my father’s recurring nightmares is sitting a geometry exam. He has told me about it several times. I also have similar nightmares; very recently I dreamed the final exams period had started and I was not ready. Even when I woke up later, I could still feel the tension in my body! The […]