At the beginning of this semester, I have chosen to take this module as I thought it will be beneficial for me as a graduating student, and will value-add me in terms of the way I present myself, and the way I write in a formal setting. I was initially daunted by the heavy workload of the course, as I have to cope with 4 other honours modules along with this. However, I am glad to have chosen this module as my last elective as an undergraduate as I have thoroughly enjoyed the course throughout the semester.
Although I have had to do presentations fairly frequently throughout my four years in NUS, it has never been something that I will look forward to, as my nerves will always get the better of me during presentations. This was also why I have chosen to enrol in this module, as I thought it will allow me more opportunities to hone my presentation skills. Indeed, after the numerous practices I have gotten from this module, I do believe that I have gotten better at presenting. The feedback given from Mdm Fazilah and my classmates have given me a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses when presenting. For example, Mdm Fazilah has commented that I use too much fillers like "erm" when I present, and this is something that I am unaware of! I will now have to learn to utilise my good points, and minimise my flaws in my future presentations.
Another huge takeaway from this module is how to craft a good cover letter and resume, something that is very relevant to me now and has greatly aided my job hunt. I also found the mock interview session very useful as it forced me to seriously think about how I would answer the questions posed to me and I believe I am better equipped to ace my job interviews now.
I got a lot more out of this module than I thought I would, and I would definitely recommend it to my juniors in the future. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for making my ES2007S journey such a fun and memorable one! All the best for your finals everyone!
Friday, April 18, 2014
Reflection on Team-based Research Project Proposal (Post #3)
Firstly I would like to say that it has been great fun having to be in the same project group as my team mates Wei Jun, Kok Soon and Yi Rui. Being in my honours year, it has been some time since I did a project with group members from other faculties. And with each member having been trained differently in their own field, our team dynamics have been an interesting one.
In general, our team has worked really well, and it has always been easy communicating our ideas across without having to resort to conflicts. Right from the beginning, we have worked efficiently upon deciding on our project idea of improving the infrastructural facilities at Choa Chu Kang LRT station, and have spontaneously agreed upon a date to do a site reccee, in which we have gathered most of our needed content for the proposal and presentation. After which, our team has split up the workload equally, and everyone has been committed to do what they have been allocated within a certain deadline.
Like I've said earlier, all of us are trained differently as we have different academic pursuits, and everyone is good with certain skills that another might be lacking. I would say our team members complement each other well. As a student from Arts and Social Sciences, I have had the experience of writing many different types of proposals and written reports in my four years at NUS, and I didn't think that this proposal would be any different from the rest of them. I have found out, however, that the rest of my team members have minimal opportunity to write proposals in their field of studies, and have struggled quite a bit in knowing how it should be done, or what tone to use when writing etc. In this way, I find myself having to provide suggestions for improvements when proof-reading their contributions in the proposal. Nonetheless, I am fortunate that the rest of my team did not take these suggestions as criticism, but rather, use them as a guideline to improve the proposal further.
I believe the same should be done in a working environment. Colleagues may not be entirely satisfied with another's work, but it is through effective communication that a team is able to work well together. I also feel that it is important to be humble and accept or listen to another's suggestions in the workplace, be it good or bad, in order to for oneself to improve and produce better work as a team.
Overall, I am happy with how my team worked, and would just like to say that it has been a pleasure having to work with these people and getting to know them better through this project.
In general, our team has worked really well, and it has always been easy communicating our ideas across without having to resort to conflicts. Right from the beginning, we have worked efficiently upon deciding on our project idea of improving the infrastructural facilities at Choa Chu Kang LRT station, and have spontaneously agreed upon a date to do a site reccee, in which we have gathered most of our needed content for the proposal and presentation. After which, our team has split up the workload equally, and everyone has been committed to do what they have been allocated within a certain deadline.
Like I've said earlier, all of us are trained differently as we have different academic pursuits, and everyone is good with certain skills that another might be lacking. I would say our team members complement each other well. As a student from Arts and Social Sciences, I have had the experience of writing many different types of proposals and written reports in my four years at NUS, and I didn't think that this proposal would be any different from the rest of them. I have found out, however, that the rest of my team members have minimal opportunity to write proposals in their field of studies, and have struggled quite a bit in knowing how it should be done, or what tone to use when writing etc. In this way, I find myself having to provide suggestions for improvements when proof-reading their contributions in the proposal. Nonetheless, I am fortunate that the rest of my team did not take these suggestions as criticism, but rather, use them as a guideline to improve the proposal further.
I believe the same should be done in a working environment. Colleagues may not be entirely satisfied with another's work, but it is through effective communication that a team is able to work well together. I also feel that it is important to be humble and accept or listen to another's suggestions in the workplace, be it good or bad, in order to for oneself to improve and produce better work as a team.
Overall, I am happy with how my team worked, and would just like to say that it has been a pleasure having to work with these people and getting to know them better through this project.
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