With the start of the academic year come many changes to most university departments – new students, new courses and, every so often, a new department chair. If you happen to find yourself in the lucky position of holding this post, it’s important to be aware of the plethora of responsibilities and advantages that come with the job. In this article, we’ve gathered helpful tips and reminders from a variety of sources to create a comprehensive list of what you need to know to make the most of being a department chair.

With September upon us and campuses around the globe preparing for the coming school year, many recent graduates face a harsh reminder that student life is over and it’s time to plunge headlong into the workforce. Yet, sometimes landing that first career-oriented position can be tough, particularly in today’s economic climate.

When the first online reviews of consumer products appeared in the internet, they were often received with mistrust and had little affect on how consumer choices were made in reality. Over the past few years, however, the behavior of users and their interaction with product reviews has changed dramatically, and with rocket speed. According to last year’s research, 90% of respondents who read online reviews prior to a product purchase admitted that their decisions were influenced by positive online reviews, while 86% of respondents indicated that their choice was mostly influenced by negative reviews.

A picture speaks a thousand words, an adage that also holds true when presenting data to an audience. Whether to stand out during an academic conference or a class presentation, to share statistics with your customers, to explain a difficult concept to your students or to impress your friends with something funny: if you want to convey the message quickly and clearly an infographic is the tool to use!

If you are interested in working or studying in a French, German or Spanish speaking country, you will almost certainly need to provide proof of language skills. While exact requirements differ between institutions, there are certain exams that are more widely accepted than others. Following up on our recent post on English proficiency tests, in this post we will offer you an overview of the most respected language exams from around the globe for French, German and Spanish.

Instead of relaxing by the pool, engaging in night long barbecues or taking long awaited beach vacations, do you find yourself smoldering in the summer heat at your local library, or at your very own disheveled desk, mustering what little willpower you have left to write your thesis? As a current graduate student at the American University in Cairo I share your woes, and perhaps sleep depriving fears, but believe me when I say there is light, and the promise of a blissful graduation, at the end of that slightly terrifying thesis tunnel. Whether or not you’ve established a sizeable outline or built a praiseworthy bibliography, you will need to keep writing, and not succumb to the dastardly clutches of summertime procrastination, to ultimately reach your deadline. The key to thesis writing during this scorching summer is to stay motivated, even if it takes pitchers of iced coffee and copious amount of frozen yogurt to get you through! Take a look at my top ten tips on how to stay motivated while writing your thesis this sunny season.

Pursuing an academic career is very different from working in the private sector in many ways, including in terms of the application and recruitment process, even before you start in your first job!

If you're interested in attending a summer school this year, now is the time to start planning. Once you've selected a school to attend and been accepted, here are some of the ways that you can make the most out of your summer school experience.

Whether pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics or having finished a PhD from a top university, at all stages of the academic pursuits and research careers, young economists have been engaged in the grueling process of finding internships with reputable organizations. While masters and bachelors students aim to gather work experience and transition into full time jobs, PhD candidates attempt to combine their research with the work of relevant organizations.

Job market seasons vary by country and industry, but summer and Christmas time generally stand out as quiet seasons. Often, it causes frustration for fresh graduates, who are exiting universities at both of those times. If some will be lucky enough to have an offer in their hands before the graduation party, more will still be uncertain about their start moving into professional life.

After finishing high school many students think of applying for university and getting at least a Bachelor’s degree. After 3 to 5 years of studying some choose to take their first degree and join the job market, while others decide to continue in university to complete a Masters Degree or even a PhD through additional academic and/or applied research. If you are thinking about taking this final step and doing your PhD, but you are still not sure whether it is right for you, check out the links below to see what you can expect from a PhD program.

A PhD was something I always dreamed of doing. On the one hand, it was a natural continuation of my, it now seems, life-long learning curve after my Master’s degree. But, more importantly, it was also a faraway dream on the horizon that seemed worth pursuing just for its own sake. I probably knew my love of research should last me the entire doctoral spell but no one will ever be able to fully explain to you what it is like to undertake a PhD until you have finally let yourself fall into its subtle embrace.

Less than a couple of decade ago student relied on word of mouth and the information available in their universities when choosing a Master's Program. Today, internet-based searching is the foremost source of advice when it comes to exploring opportunities for postgraduate education.

‘Open Access’ has been a bit of a buzzword in academic circles over the last couple of years. Its rise to popularity has come from a combination of factors including the increased price to access academic journals, as well as increased access to the internet, which has had the effect of speeding up the rate at which information travels.

With English being considered the “must-have language”, is there a need for economists to learn a foreign language, or does it concern only those who work or want to work in the business field in a non-English speaking country?