General Information

You can find a lot of useful general information for SISSA students in SISSA Wiki.

Journal clubs

To view the timetable of Journal clubs go to Journal club Calendar.

Here is some information about the Journal Club:

  • HOW TO CHOOSE A PAPER

    PhD students will meet with their PI and/or with a post-doc to choose a paper to present at the JC. The paper should be a significant recent advance in the research field of the PhD student or a related field. However, the chosen paper should also be of broad interest: i.e. one that targets a key hypothesis in that field, and that has ramifications in other fields too. All papers should present high-quality work that conveys a sense of direction in which a particular line of research is moving. Students should refer to me if they cannot meet or agree with a PI or post-doc on a paper to present. Do not wait the last minute to choose a paper: articles must circulate at the latest on the friday preceding the meeting.

  • HOW TO PREPARE A PRESENTATION

    PhD students will present the chosen paper in max. 10 minutes using ppt/pdf slides. These should contain minimally: a background for the study, the hypotheses or predictions that were tested, methods, results, the authors' explanation of the data, possible criticism and alternative explanations, and finally suggestions for moving beyond that study (i.e. by imagining a follow-up experiment, or one that would address potential confounds etc.). Do not waste too much time preparing (too many) slides: make them simple and effective, with as little text as possible.
    *Focus on how good a fit there is between the data and the proposed explanation. Discuss possible confounds and try to come up with alternative explanations.*

  • WHAT HAPPENS AT THE MEETING

    - Max. 5 minutes updates. PhD students, post-docs and PIs are encouraged to share information about significant papers that have appeared recently - nothing more that: "A good paper about x by research group y has been published on journal z". We can all benefit enormously from this.
    - Max. 10 minutes presentation. PhD students present the chosen paper. Presentations will be timed!
    - Max. 20 minutes discussion of the chosen paper.
    - Max. 5 minutes feedback on the student's performance.

Subject Payments

SISSA can give each lab up to 300.00 euro in advance (more if there is a specific request). Before requesting a further tranche of 250.00 euro, the Sector has to present the previous receipts for exactly 300.00 euro.

When paying a subject, you and the subject have to fill receipts. The receipt must have a progressive number, the subject's name/surname, his/her address, his/her fiscal code, his/her signature, the amount received, the date, and the researcher's name. Receipts for the sum of 25.00 euro must also contain a brief description of the experiment carried out (ex. EEG exp., TMS exp. etc.).

The maximum amount of money allowed to be paid for each experiment/receipt is 25.00 euro (fiscal reasons). A standard amount per hour does not exist but it has to be decided according to your Supervisor.

Here is a sample of the receipts:

______________________________________________________________________________
Ricevuta N. ...            Cognome ricercatore.......................
Tipo esperimento ........... (solo per importi pari a 25,00 euro)
Il sottoscritto ...........................................................................residente a ...........................
In via ...................................................................................................................................
codice fiscale .........................................................................................................................
riceve la somma di euro ............... dalla S.I.S.S.A. nella persona del Prof. ................... quale
rimborso prestazione per esperimenti non invasivi.
Firma...........................             Trieste..........
______________________________________________________________________________

The numbering on the receipts (Ricevuta N. ...) is mandatory because of the Italian law (fiscal reasons) and it must be reset to zero at the end of the calendar year.

The numbering has to be unique and progressive for the whole Sector (there is no distinction among labs) and for each subject. Thus, if Andrea is subjected to an experiment (assuming it's his first time) in JM's lab and afterwards in AT's, it means that the Sector is receiving 2 receipts, numbered 1 and 2 (NOT 1 and 1). It CAN NOT happen that 2 receipts are issued with the same number for the same person in the same calendar year.

In order to do it in the easiest way, it has been created a common file on line that you will have to implement each time you test a subject.

Please, read carefully the following instructions to open it:

  1. Go to www.gmail.com
  2. Access to the sector's subjects account (Ask details from the Secretariat).
  3. Click "Documenti" (above on the left of the screen)
  4. A window will be opened. Then, open the file named "Receipts"

The file has 15 sheets, divided by letters (A, B...like an address book). Each page has different columns: "Surname", "Name", "receipts' nr.", and several "date".

Every time you test a subject you must insert him/her in the right page and fill the first empty cell of the "date" column with the date and your name (es. 04/04 Andrea).

ATTENTION: DO NOT insert anything in the "receipts' nr." column (the yellow one), it is an out-put cell. It will automatically give you the right progressive number to put on the receipt. Moreover, please, consider that:

  • Being the file on the web and being shared by you all simultaneously, it could take a while to be updated (be patient).
  • You will see as many colored pointers as you are using the file.
  • If 2 of you are trying to modify the same cell, it will be gray and the system will block you (it will hardly happen anyway)
  • The file is automatically saved by the system (you do not have to save it each time).
  • Do not publish or share the document.
  • Do not use the account to send email (use your own SISSA address).
  • The file works more or less as a Excel file.
  • Do not diffuse for any reason the password to non CNS people.

I point out that the file "Receipts" gives only the number of the receipt. You will find all the other subjects' info (address, phone...) in an Excel file (Subjects Personal Data) on our server (Ask details from the Secretariat).

Progress Reports

Written

Submit written report not less than 7 calendar days before Start of Progress Report week. For example, suppose the first ORAL reports begin on Monday June 14. All written reports must be submitted by the preceding Monday, June 7. Submit reports to Sector Secretary who will dispatch them

Mailing address: SISSA, via Beirut 2/4, 34014 Trieste, Iemail attachment (this is because we will lose track of things if we get 20 separate emails). Late reports do not get distributed; and of course it is impossible to read a report distributed simultaneously with the oral report.

400-600 words in correct English.

Introduction:

Why is your project interesting and important? What is already known about this topic? What remains unknown? What specific problems do you wish to solve?

Methods:

How are you running experiments; how are you analyzing data? Include enough information but do not overload with useless details like the names of the statistical tests.

Results:

What have you found?

Interpretation and follow-up:

What is the meaning of these results? What was predicted and what was unexpected? Are these findings well-matched to current thinking in the field, or is this controversial? If it does not match the state of the literature, how do you explain the discrepancy?

How to you plan to continue this research?

First-year students will have more Introduction and Methods, and presumably little or no Results or Interpretation.

Oral

The oral presentation should be 20-min, allowing 10-min for discussion (total 30 min). The presentations should take roughly the same outline as the written report.

Taking too much time is unappreciated and throws off the whole schedule of the day.

Participating faculty will (or will not) provide feedback on written and oral reports using the standard form.