Final Reflection on Learning

After 13 weeks of non-stop action, this module was finally over. I was relieved for the end of this module because it was really very very hectic. Initially, based on the description of the module outline, I thought it would be a walk in the park. Only after the assessments start to kick in where I felt the brunt blow of the workload and commitment I was supposed to put in. 

I have to admit I dislike the workload part, however I do enjoy the process of doing the assessments. The feeling when you accomplished something big like doing a real proposal is indeed satisfying. During the process of crafting the proposal, I have learnt a great deal. Especially for the interviewing segment for the proposal, it was quite exciting. Honestly, the interview I had done was the first proper interview with a person of a much higher authority than me. Before the interview, I was quite nervous but after it was over, the feeling was great! I believe this experience would be very beneficial to me in the future as I have experienced the feeling of talking to a person of a high authority in a formal setting.

While working with my teammates, I can see true friendship. For our team, we would always cover for each other when one of us is busy. Even though all of us have many commitments, we would always place the proposal as top priority due to the fact that we would not want our teammates to suffer because of us. Such team spirit is very hard to come by in this academically competitive environment. 

Actually it has been very long since I have attended a class where everyone were so closely knitted together and everyone can be themselves. Thus, it has always been very fun to go to class. In addition, for class we also do not have to do much preparation unlike the typical tutorial classes. So going to class was quite a carefree thing for me.

I am quite glad that I have took this module because I have learn realistic skills like presenting a proposal and writing a top class resume/ application letter. I would also like to thank my tutor Miss Lim Lay Hoon here because I can really feel the tremendous effort she has invested in our class which are especially evident in her comments for our assignments! I have never seen a tutor that puts in the same amount of effort as the students!

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Due to the time constraints, we had little time to rehearse our presentation. As a result, we were a little skeptical about our on screen performance. Our team only managed a proper rehearsal on the presentation day itself. I still remembered very vividly what happened. All of us woke up very early on the day of presentation as we had to meet in school at 645am to rehearse. Because of the meeting time, there was no internal shuttle bus service. Hence, I had to walk all the way from my hall (near arts faculty) all the way to science. This was the first time I had walked so far in the school campus. Actually, it was quite refreshing as it was my first time experiencing how the campus looked like at dawn. 

After the first team was done, it was finally our turn. As I was the first speaker, I could really feel the pressure welling up as I stood in front of the crowd. It was because as a first speaker, I was responsible for setting the mood of the crowd and also stating clearly the direction of our proposal. After giving the go ahead, I started my presentation. As I was about three quarters through the speech, I saw the cue that my 5 minutes was up. In my mind I had still quite a bit of points to elaborate but I have to end it quick so not as to eat into my team member’s time. Hence at that point of time, I stumbled a little bit as I have to rearrange my train of thoughts to end my part.

For the question and answer session, I felt our team has done a great job as we answered all questions with ease. This is where I realized that putting alot of hard work into the proposal indeed pay off! Because for most of the answers to the questions, we have already researched and answered them in our proposal. After everything was over, I can describe this whole ordeal using this Chinese saying which translates, 3 minutes on stage requires 10 years of preparation. I believe many of you would agree to it!

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

This was one of the interesting scenarios that I observed on my trip in London. For the background, I had a sister who has been working in London for couple of years. Our family then decided to go over to visit her and also have a tour around London to have a taste of the western culture first hand.

On one the afternoons, we took the public bus from a shopping mall in order to get to my sister’s apartment. The London’s bus transport system is similar to the Ez-link card system in Singapore. The bus was travelling and subsequently pulled over at a bus stop for passengers to board and alight. People were tapping their cards while they were boarding and disembarking. Suddenly, something out of the ordinary caught my attention. A grown man had just boarded the bus via the rear door without tapping his card! It was as though he was an NUS student taking the school’s internal shuttle bus! I was expecting a response from either the bus captain or the passengers, but surprisingly, all of them had no reaction. It was as if his actions were normal! If he were to do that in Singapore, he would definitely be stopped by the bus captain or receive alarmed expressions from the passengers!

Being puzzled by his actions, I asked my sister who has been working in London regarding this bizarre scenario.  She explained that such cases were a common sight and has already become a social norm.

Actually, even till now I am still not very sure why such an act is acceptable in a developed nation like London. So guys, it would be great if any of you know why and feel free to give me your opinions on this!

Application Letter

(my address)

Singapore XXXXXX

February 7, 2012

Dennis Gan

Block 750 Oasis, Chai Chee Road,
Technopark @ Chai Chee #01-01

Singapore 469000

Dear Dennis,

Your job advertisement that you posted on the JobsDB website immediately caught my attention. I am a very active person and not a fan of desk-bound jobs. Hence, this job strongly attracted me because the nature of the job requires one to work out of the office.

Currently, I am a Year 2 student in NUS studying Mechanical Engineering. As part of the school curriculum, I have to conduct many laboratory experiments. These experiments require one to have a keen eye for details in order to find out why experimental values deviate from theoretical ones. Therefore, this has trained me to spot things many would overlook. I believe this skill is important for an Energy Engineer whose job requires them to identify energy saving potentials in building facilities.

During my college days in Serangoon Junior College, I am honoured to be appointed as the Captain of the school’s Taekwondo Team. My responsibilities include the smooth running of trainings, organizing events and more importantly, as a liaison between the Coach, the Teacher-in-charge and the members. At the end of my college year, I was awarded the CCA distinction award for my tremendous contribution towards Taekwondo.

Over the past few years, I have been actively participating in taekwondo tournaments and have won a few medals in the National Taekwondo Championships. The trainings for the tournaments were physically and mentally strenuous. However, I find great joy in these trainings because I am always eager for a challenge.

My experience in liaison and a keen eye for details are the qualities you are looking for in an Energy Engineer. Coupled with a positive attitude toward challenges, I am confident I would be able to have a significant contribution to your company.

Thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule to read my cover letter.

Do feel free to contact me at XXXXXXXX if you require clarification on any of my qualifications.

Yours Sincerely,

Lim Gang Rui

JOB AD!

Post Date 05-Feb-12

Employer Ref. 190274    JobsDB Ref. JSG400003000885310

Company: UGL

Energy Engineer 

 Job Description:

• Perform energy audits for building facilities, identifying energy savings potentials and implementation of energy savings measures
• Perform energy savings verifications after project completion
• Provide energy consultancy services to building owners, assisting the buildings in achieving Green Mark Awards and incentives such as GREET Funding, EASe Funding etc
• Liaise with architects, M&E engineers, facility managers and building contractors to ensure issues are addressed and completion of projects within tight deadlines and budget.

• Degree in Environmental/ Mechanical & Electrical Engineering
• Min.3 years of experiences in energy audit, energy modelling and green mark award projects.
• Knowledge of air conditioning systems and chiller plant system's operations sequence will be advantageous.
• Preferbly Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM) or Certified Green Mark Manager (GMM)

An interpersonal conflict situation

This situation happened in my current course of study in NUS. Dipsy(not his real name) was one of my good friends in NUS. However, he had this bad habit of asking questions regarding schoolwork during non-school hours. Many of us would be acceptable to the idea of their good buddies asking for help during school hours. But it gets a little on my nerves as the frequency of his questioning kept increasing the more I help him.

Ok now you guys may think I am being selfish here. Consider the following scenario; you are sitting comfortably at home deeply immersed in your schoolwork. Suddenly, you got a call from Dipsy. After picking up the call, Dipsy asked you to flip to a page of your notes to clarify a concept from the notes. As you were busy with your own work at that time, you offered to get back to his question another time. Instead of agreeing to your suggestion, he pressed on with his question. Even though he did not demand an answer, he was indirectly trying to get you to answer his question immediately. The above scenario was what usually happened when he called me for help in his schoolwork.

The first few times was acceptable and I helped him. Subsequently, his request gets more and more frequent. In addition, it was getting a little irritating because his frequent calls often disrupt my train of thoughts while I was doing my work. He was very persistent to get me to answer his questions immediately. On the account of our friendship, I did not reject him. At some point in time, I felt I had enough and decide to talk to him nicely about it. So the next day in school, I asked him politely if he could to ask his queries during school hours. Asking me during that period was more convenient for me and it was also easier to explain questions to him face to face. He agreed to my suggestion. 

There I was at home feeling happy, thinking that he finally understands my situation. WRONG! The subsequent weekend, he started his query spree again. I started to feel more irritated because my advice had fallen on deaf ears. I tried to think of other methods to curb this habit of his but to no avail. Hence I decide to just ignore his calls. He began to message me asking why I am not picking his calls and I ignored all of them too. A few days later, he did not call to ask me questions anymore. Instead, he clarified his doubts regarding school work with me in school.

It seems like a problem solved! But it had affected our relationship. Sometimes I can feel a little bit of awkwardness when we talk to each other. Anyway, we are still good buddies. I felt that I have not handled this situation correctly, resulting in a little scar in our friendship. Maybe you guys could give me some suggestions on how to handle it better!! Thanks!

Why effective communication skills are important for me.

Personally I believe it is important to be equipped with effective communication skills. As many may know, in this world it is impossible to survive alone. Our daily lives involve having interactions with other people from all walks of life. From talking to your best buddy in school to an oral presentation for your project, all require some form of communication skills to get your point across accurately.

Humans are emotionally sensitive creatures. Everything that we do and the decisions that we make are in some way or another influenced by our emotions. Communication affects our emotions. For instance, your friend gets angry with you because of something you said or sometimes you bust your interview because you said something that touched a raw nerve in your interviewer. In most cases, you would not know why your actions have brought about these negative consequences. Usually in these cases, the culprit would have poor communication skills. Because I have experienced these undesirable cases before, it has amplified my awareness on the importance of having effective communication skills. 

Good communication skills benefit not only the individual but also other people too. This important tool can allow me to be a mediator in conflicts or arguments. As a good communicator, I would be able to perceive the real meaning of messages and get my point across accurately. From my experience, most conflicts arise because of misunderstandings. People conveying the wrong verbal and non-verbal signals are like two people speaking to each other in different languages. With good communication skills, I would be able to help them get their intended message across to each other just like a fluent translator!

So all in all, I see the importance in having effective communication skills because it would improve my relationships with the people around me. In addition, I may even gain new friends just by resolving their conflicts!!