Module and project learning

 Critical Reflection

Wow, time sure flies; it passed quickly, and now it's already the last lesson. It was truly a fun and enriching time in the UCS module. Before university, I would say I was bad at communication skills. Although I had communication modules in polytechnics, they were just not sufficient. I was afraid of public speaking; it felt like stepping onto the execution ground. Every time I gave a speech in front of a group of people, I would stutter a lot. However, after going through the UCS module, I have successfully pushed myself out of my comfort zone and am now able to give public presentations fluently.

Not only communication skills, I improved my formal report writing skills too . Although I had written multiple reports in polytechnic, they were not formal enough, as the standards were not as demanding and strict as they are now. I had to put in much more effort and gain a better understanding of the mechanical engineering aspect to ensure my reports were informative and supportive enough. Additionally, peer evaluations from classmates were enriching, as they helped me identify my strengths and limitations.

Lastly, learning effective communication with other individuals is also something valuable to me. In polytechnic, the group tended to split the workload without clarifying each other's strengths, resulting in a lack of quality in the report. Through multiple lessons and meetings with other classmates in the module, I learned that effective communication could enhance work quality and build stronger bonds between individuals.

Project Learning

I served as the leader of the project, and my main responsibility was organizing meeting events and distributing the workload to ensure the project could be delivered before the deadline. It was quite a challenging role, as not everyone may have time during the events you organize, so effective communication is crucial. Additionally, the tone when speaking to others is important because you don't want to come across as if you are ruling over them.

 

Moreover, respecting each other's thoughts without bias is extremely crucial because it engages team members and fosters open communication when they feel their thoughts and opinions are being respected. These experiences will undoubtedly be valuable in my future workplace, as working as a mechanical engineer will involve collaboration with engineers from other fields during projects. Applying the communication skills learned will undoubtedly allow me to excel and succeed.