Page 9 - ASC Highlights 2023

9

Spotlight on

Faculty Series

Dr. Giovanni Piacentini
Department of Applied Sciences
College of Arts and Science, Abu Dhabi University
Email: giovanni.piacentini@adu.ac.ae
Sharing my experience as a student

My student experience was very different from what we enjoy at ADU. The pinnacle of educational technology
was an overhead transparency projector, and chalkboards were the primary teaching tools. Lessons were
interminable lectures with minimal classroom interaction, quizzes, or problem-solving. Often, we had no slides
or even course books, just suggested reading lists. This meant we had to take extensive notes, hindering our
understanding of the lesson – a massive waste of time in my opinion.

However, I did learn some tricks that turned out to be useful for my success as a student and my career:

1. Always ask why: to fully understand any subject, it’s key to understand the reasons behind concepts. For
example, finding where a function is increasing. You search for ‘x’ values with a positive derivative. Why?
Because the derivative is related to the slope. By grasping ‘why’, concepts are easier to remember and
reconstruct if forgotten.

2. Use many resources: sometimes we might not fully understand a concept the way it was taught to us.
Luckily enough, the variety of resources we can access is unlimited: first, the university’s library, then all
the online material we might possibly need.

3. Never miss an opportunity: to be successful in the future workplace, you must be versatile beyond your
major. With universities like ADU offering myriad growth opportunities, it’s wise to engage in as many
extracurricular activities, workshops, and competitions as you can. Today’s seeds will bear tomorrow’s
fruits.

The role of the ASC

Something that would have made a difference for me as a student was a system of support like the one you
have in the Academic Success Center here in ADU.

The Academic Success Center (ASC) at ADU is a facility that I would have loved to have as an undergrad: it
serves as an invaluable hub for those in need of academic assistance by offering free mentoring and peer
tutoring, but it also fosters connections among students.

If used properly, the ASC can also be much more than that, and transcend its role as a support center, evolving
into a collaborative platform. Imagine students from similar courses meeting in the ASC, studying together
independently or under a peer tutor’s guidance before critical exams or projects. This collaborative approach,
proven to be more effective than solo study, is the essence of what ASC provides, fostering a community-
focused learning environment.

Abu Dhabi University | ASC Highlights 2023 Spring 22-23