Final Reflection on Learning

Time really flies; 12 weeks in the Professional Communication module has just come to an end in a flash. Looking back, it has been an enjoyable 12 weeks with lots to be learnt. I remember my initial decision to take this module was because it required no final exam. Now, I feel fortunate that I chose this module over others as this module really helped me develop skills in professional communication where I couldn't have imagined before.

One thing I realised was that I wished I could have taken this module earlier though. The module sums up and consolidates a lot of useful skills that could have been used earlier in years 1, 2 or 3. I've realised that many of the points made in the lectures were things I already know but sometimes took for granted during simple presentations or report writing. This class served as a concise reminder for some of the skills that I've already picked up in my earlier years of university.

The biggest take-away from this module is the lesson on branding oneself. I think this lesson serves as a very big reminder to myself as I've been constantly keeping check of my own brand, especially during my active days in my CCA. As a leader, I was mindful of the brand image I wanted to portray.

Overall, I highly recommend this module to everyone in school. If you are looking for an elective but have no idea which to take, I strongly encourage you to take ES2007S because it will definitely be useful to you in the future.

Reflection on Team-based Project Proposal

My experiences in NUS regarding group work have mostly been limited to students from my course in Engineering Science. As such, I have had very little opportunities to work with people from different faculties and majors. In this module, I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with 2 smart minds from Science.

In terms of character, these 2 individuals have very jovial and easy-going personalities, which were personality traits that I myself possessed too. Perhaps that is why we got along so well as a group. Our discussions were littered with jokes and laughter as we talked about various parts of our project, from brainstorming ideas to discussing solutions for our proposal. I would say I had quite an enjoyable time during those discussions.

However, there were times when I felt that the similarities in personalities created a stumbling block towards our group project. As we were all comical people, the discussions sometimes went on unproductively for a substantial amount of time. Much time was spent on mindless chatter that could have otherwise been more fruitful in producing real work towards the project proposal.

While this may be acceptable in the context of a school project, it might not be practical or even acceptable in a work environment. After all, results are very important to the work place and low productivity is highly undesirable. Then again, having light-hearted discussions and fruitful discussions do not have to be at the end of a spectrum. One just has to take note of not allowing the discussion to stray too much and seek to maintain a meaningful discussion.