ALGAENERGY-Reflections on proposal

ALGAENERGY: aimed at improving the energy situation in Singapore, through bio-fuels extracted from micro-algae, fueling a part of the energy requirement.

It was a blur idea when we started. Each of us had different views and goals in mind. However a series of discussions and desktop research helped us finalize the team’s stand and mission statement.

Although plenty of resource was available online, we still had to research about the possible benefits that this technology can bring in order to overcome the expensive extraction cost barrier, which prevented the implementation of this technology in various parts of the world. 

Our research involved surveying students with prior knowledge, reading scholarly articles/online resources and face to face interviews with Professors and Research assistants to confirm the positive impacts this technology can make in Singapore. The team successfully managed to do enough research. Each of us complemented our own strengths to compensate for other's weaknesses that helped us boost our overall performance.

Being busy with submissions and unable to find common timings, we had to split work and discuss online. However there was an excellent chemistry that helped us streamline all our efforts together efficiently, towards the end.

By working with people from different cultural backgrounds and varied fields of interests, I learnt a lot more than just academics. Through the course of the project we learnt to be professional and applied our critical thinking skills.

Importance was given to every minute detail on the proposal. Proofreading the report numerous times helped us analyse the proposal from different angles, thoroughly evaluating its strengths.

Moreover, research was done on the requirements posed by National research foundation (NRF) to meet the requirements posed by NRF for funding a research.      

I thanks my team mates Jieyang-for the brilliant organisation of ideas, Haikal-for keeping the team's spirit up, Michelle-for the magical slides and Terence-for being the foundation and guiding us through with this topic.     

CHANGING THE WORD: Reflections on learning

You can change your world by changing your words...

                                                                    Joel Osteen

This reminds me of ES2007S. Those four months of early morning classes, challenged my ‘late to bed’ habits. Moreover the highly interactive teaching style and the tough competition posed by the outspoken peers demanded a lot from a reserved person like me. But now, looking at the positive changes this module has brought in me, I feel it was totally worth every effort.

I often hear from my dad that a positive attitude beats all odds and self-confidence, distinguishes one’s life.There are many such positive people with extraordinary talents. But only a few of them successfully mark a legacy, the ones who are able to create a strong impression. Such impressions they leave in us, are mostly a result of their effective communication combined with achievements.

[For instance, Obama’s ability to speak to the large groups of people gave him an edge over his competitors. Despite of lacking initial support, he successfully employed his words to his advantage to win the masses. The youtube link below briefly describes the reasons for his style being effective.]

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFPwDe22CoY)

Communication, briefly, is an art of imparting or exchanging information. It is often perceived that people proficient in a language are good at communicating. However the truth is that communication does not necessarily need a great vocabulary. Effective communication requires sincere attention, critical thinking and the right choice of words (even though simple). Essentially listening, questioning and expressing.          

Strong communication skill and emotional intelligence have become the major requisites the current generation of employers, expect from their staffs to survive the highly stress inducing work environment. With flow of ideas and technologies over countries, intercultural communication has become very important. Moreover working in teams demand coordination skills and ability to resolve interpersonal conflicts over ideas/opinions. Use of the 7Cs of effective communication (Courtesy, Correctness, Conciseness, Clarity, Coherence/Cohesion, Concreteness, Completeness) helps construct and convey messages convincingly, suitable for the audience and meeting the purpose. This when supported by strong non-verbal communications like expressions and posture gives an additional chance to create an impression about ourselves.

Through Peer teaching and oral presentations I got an opportunity to test my communication skills alongside the proposal that required professional writing skills. These four months of interesting lectures from Mdm Fazila & Co and the experience I gained working in teams, definitely rose my confidence to communicate in a professional environment.