Learning how to learn: The key to academic success

A few days ago, somebody posted a comment on the blog, asking "what were the softskills."

Rather than simply list the softskills that everybody needs, I prefer to look at a skill that is key to everybody's success: learning how to learn.

Consider the following fact. In the 1980s, what you learnt at university would serve you a lifetime. Today, what you learn at university will be out of date within 5 years of leaving university. The most important skill anybody can develop is learning how to learn.

When I was doing my PhD research, a professor gave me the following advice, He said, "Find the best academic journal, go back ten years and read everything that relates to your field." For all my students (undergrad and postgrad), I recommend the Harvard Business Review.

1. Go to IIUM website.
2. Click on "On Line Databases"
3. Click on "List of A to Z journals"
4. Type "Harvard Business Review"

If you are interested in business, you will find everything that you need to know in the HBR. You can download articles that are of particular interest. Aaprt from the HBR, another good journal is the "Academy of Management Executive" although I still prefer the HBR.

You might ask: what is so special about the HBR? Well, many people make a distinction between management and marketing. Yet, the successful organisation has to be customer-driven and customer-focused. I like the HBR because it has very good articles on management AND very good articles on marketing in the same issues..... As a student, that knowledge will complement your lectures in class. After you leave UIA, you will find that by reading the Harvard Business Review once a month, your knowledge will never be out of date.

Everybody knows that "knowledge is power." It seems shameful that once people leave university, they stop learning. Rather, you should consider that the most important skill you can learn from university is how to learn how to learn. With the one skill, you will find that the rest of your life is very easy.