Muhammed Esgin
Faculty of Information Technology
The cybersecurity academic who (tries) to memorise every student’s name
Muhammed makes some of his ‘scary’ units a bit less challenging by working through problems in class.
What are you doing differently in your field that you believe is driving real change?
Privacy is a matter that emerges in various contexts and is discussed widely around the globe. In my advanced unit I teach students about why privacy matters and how we can build technologies that are more privacy-respecting. Students get to learn about how these privacy-enhancing technologies work and what difference they (can) make in real life.
How do you help students build confidence, not just knowledge?
I try to memorize every student's name and try to address them by their name. Given the technical nature of some units I teach, some students are ‘scared’ to even attempt Applied session questions. In these cases, I encourage students by saying "Hi, I think you can do this question on the board. I will help you along the way". I give them starting points and congratulate them as they move forward. Having accomplished solving a challenging question really helps build student's confidence and remove the ‘scary’ barrier.
I hope that students get to use the knowledge they gained from my classes in their future career and look back at the time I pushed them to try again and again to solve a problem or learn a topic :) ”
What do you hope your students take away from their time with you? Is there a student moment you’ll never forget, and why?
I'd like students to feel challenged while also appreciating the knowledge they gain. One moment I distinctly remember is the end of the last class of my Workshop session held at the largeWoodside room. After I concluded this last class, several students came to thank me. The one student who really stood out looked me in the eye, shook my hand and said, "The unit was challenging, but I learned a lot". This was really meaningful for me as I got first-hand evidence of what I was aiming for.
What do you hope your students remember about you 10 years from now? What mindset do you want your students to carry into their careers?
I hope that students get to use the knowledge they gained from my classes in their future career and look back at the time I pushed them to try again and again to solve a problem or learn a topic :)
I think the students should learn that all career paths are full of challenges and what we as educators are trying to do is to prepare them for a successful career ahead.
What legacy or ripple effect do you hope to leave behind?
I teach my students that a mountain is climbed one step at a time. When faced with a significant challenge in their lives, I hope they remember that they need to divide the problem into manageable steps and take firm steps ahead, regardless of the number of steps remaining.
What’s something about Monash that would surprise people in a good way?
Our academics care about education as much as research.