Final Reflection on Learning

            The particular aspect of the module that I cherish the most was the lesson on oral presentation. I understand that presentations contribute heavily to career growth. I was really eager to try out the various techniques taught during the lesson on oral presentation. Being a good orator in my regional language I thought oral presentation would be an easy task. But that was not the case, though certain skillsets are common to all presentations.

            I did not have any prior experience in terms of presentations. After my peer teaching session, I felt I had to improve on my presentation skills. The feedback from my peer teaching session was that there was not adequate eye contact. I also realized that I should try to avoid reading from the slides. When I practiced, I realized that I was not catching the attention of the audience and hence it would be difficult for the audience to follow me. I referred to the notes provided and additional material provided in the module website often. This enhanced my understanding. While practicing, I modulated my voice and used appropriate gestures. I also made frequent eye contact and avoided reading from the slides. After my oral presentation I understood that adequate practice is needed to make a good presentation. I really felt I have improved on the various verbal and non-verbal skills.

            I understand that presentations play a crucial part in my career. Before the start of this module I felt adequate experience was definitely needed to present well. This module provided the experience I needed and I am now confident of making a good presentation with the skills learnt in this module.

Reflection of Oral Presentation

      First I would like to thank Gwen, Xinyi, Clara and Hongwei for being really kind to give our group their actually allocated slot for oral presentation. It would have been really difficult for our group if we had to present first as we had not started with the slides for the oral presentation.

      We had an interesting topic for our proposal – implementing a campus wide webcast for lectures and tutorials. Since oral presentation contributed to a significant percent of the overall grade we realized that we had to work hard and make our presentation really effective. We met on the Sunday before our presentation to ensure we complete the final draft of our proposal. Significant amount of work was done but it was for the proposal and not for the presentation though they are interdependent.

      As it was the final week of the semester, our team (Team Engineering) members had tests and project submissions. We met online on Diwali, and by that time we had a rough draft of our presentation slides. Since we live far from one another, we thought it would be ideal to meet online and we practiced without any script for the first time. We somehow managed to meet in a teaching room in Engineering, the evening before our presentation and by that time we had prepared our scripts. We practiced and simultaneously edited the slides in order to make our presentation effective. We used animations, transitions and pictures to make our slides visually appealing. I practiced on the night before our presentation to ensure that my delivery appears natural.

   

      On the day of our presentation we wanted to have a dry run before our actual presentation but we were not able to do so. We used emotional approach at the beginning of our presentation. As I did not hold on to my script I was able to use hand gestures and eye contact appropriately. There were times during my presentation where there was not exact an exact synchronization between my speech and my slides. Apart from a few glitches like the one above i felt the presentation went well. I strongly believe it was a team effort and we worked well as a team.

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

      I first arrived in Singapore about a year ago for my undergraduate degree. Initially, I felt culture I would not have much trouble adapting to the culture of Singapore. However, I realized without understanding culture it would be very difficult to survive in an intercultural environment.

      In my home country, you have to buy a ticket to travel to a particular destination and people stand in a queue. But people rush to board the train at the station and they don’t stand in a queue for boarding a train. In Singapore, people stand in a queue and wait for people inside the train to come out and stand on the sides of train door.

      An embarrassing situation occurred during my travel in the MRT within the first few days of my arrival. In my home country there are no reserved seats for old people. As I was new to the country, I did not know about the concept of reserved seat. I rushed to occupy a seat in the train, which turned out to be a reserved one. I received quite a number of stares from the people in the train. Wondering what was wrong, I looked around struggling to understand the situation. To my surprise, I realized after looking at the picture which had information about the reserved seat that I should not have rushed to occupy that seat.

      In conclusion, I feel it is mandatory to know the cultural differences especially when you are travelling to a foreign country. It helps you blend successfully into the society. For cultural conflicts, that occur unexpectedly make an effort to understand the situation and act accordingly. Maybe, even asking a question to the people around you may help.

Application Letter

Internship Advertisement

Project Title and Discipline

Reality Capture Software Development

Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial and System Engineering.

Prerequisites

·         Basic knowledge of C++ or C#

·         Knowledge of Computer Vision Preferred

Job Description

·         Research and Development on Reality Capture projects. For example 123D catch.

·         The assignment involves software development on prototypes and high quality features for next generation   products/ web offerings.

·         The following exciting technologies and platforms are involved: Computer Vision, Photogrammetry , Laser scans, Win & Mac OS, Cloud & Mobile

Contact                                                                                                                                            Desmond Teo                                                                                                                                    Project Manager                                                                                                                                      71 Jurong East Street 13                                                                                                               Singapore 609650          
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25 Prince George’s Park Residence                                                                                                                                                                                              Kent Rigde, Singapore                                                                                                                               118430

                       

15 September 2012

Mr. Desmond Teo,                                                                                                                              Project Manager                                                                                                                                           71 Jurong East Street 13                                                                                                                Singapore 609650  

                                                                               

Dear Mr. Teo,

I hope you will consider me as an intern for the Reality Capture Software Development Project, as advertised in the Industrial Attachment Fair at the Faculty of Engineering, in National University of Singapore.

I was extremely excited to see an internship opportunity at Auto Desk, as it is my dream to work for a multinational corporation which focuses on 3D design software. I’m impressed by the 123D catch tool, which I have been using to turn ordinary photos into extraordinary 3D models and I would love the opportunity to be part of the Reality Capture Software Development Project. Reading over the job description for the position, I recognized myself. As you may see in my attached resume, I have more than three years of experience in C++ and I’m familiar with Matlab. In addition to my projects in C++, I am particularly interested in learning new technologies.

Additionally, I was among the top 0.1 percent in the All India Senior Secondary School Examination in Computer Science and also topped the School in Computer Science. I am good at learning new technologies as I learnt basics of Matlab within a week during my vacation. Besides which, I have a flair towards Reality Capture Projects and I love to work on prototypes for the next generation of products.

I think my skills and experience is an excellent match with what you are seeking, and I am excited about the chance to work at Autodesk.

If you would like to talk to me or schedule an interview, please contact me at 8989 9898. Thank you for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Sudarsan

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

                Kumar and Ramya are cousins. Kumar was a very shot tempered boy and used to fight with his elder cousin sister. Kumar used to fight with anyone irrespective of their age. On the contrary, Ramya always felt her family members did not chide him even when he behaved in a bad manner. She did not like it and felt she never got support from her family.  Once, Kumar commented on the dressing sense of his elder sister and she did not like it. She felt that he should be chided by her mom but, her mom did not do so. She told him to get out of her house and it was none of his business to comment on her dressing style. Kumar always believed his arguments were right and did not agree with her view. They get into a heated argument as expected.

                Main problem is that they try to dominate each other. Though they are a part of the same family they do not understand each other. Furthermore, they have their own justifications for their actions. Kumar tries to be possessive and always wants his decision to be the final one. Kumar may think that the Ramya being the elder one should adjust. Ramya was assertive and wanted her younger cousin brother to understand the difference between right and wrong. Though being elder than Kumar she was not able to control her temperament. The tone of their voices was not proper as they were angry. Interpersonal conflict arises as they share different views.

What do you think would be the right approach that should be taken in order to resolve the conflict?

Why effective communication skills are important for you

      Effective Communication skills play an important role in our life.  Communication skills are one of the most important skills that help us to stand out in public. The amount of knowledge that we learn in our life is of no use if we are not able to communicate effectively. In the present globally integrated world, it is communication skills that distinguish us from our peers. Effective communication skills help us climb the career ladder in the best possible way.

      Good communication skills help in building relationships. In order to get your point across, to explain your thoughts, or to make a statement, you need to have good communication skills. Effective communication minimizes confusion and helps in understanding each other a lot better. For me being an entrepreneur is my dream and effective communication is one of the fundamental skills that have to be mastered.  Furthermore I believe active listening will help me a lot during interviews and in lectures. Active listening is also the foundation of any conversation.

      In order to stand out in interviews it is mandatory to have good communication skills. The recruiter during the interview will definitely look at communication skills to a greater extent when compared to your technical skills. I attended a career series talk in which the speaker said we spend more than eighty five percent of the time to study which contributes only to around ten percent in your career. The remaining ninety percent is determined by how you are able to effectively communicate among your colleagues. Possessing knowledge without the ability to communicate effectively is like trying to store water in a tank with a hole at the bottom.