When ES2007S comes to an end...

Well, week 13 is here and ES2007S class has officially ended. The past 12 weeks has been a wonderful learning experience for me. I would never have expected myself to do a module like this as I wasn’t an outspoken person to begin with. I could still remember on the first day of the class when Dr. Radhika asked us the reason for taking this module. My reply to her was that it could fit my timetable and I came with an open mind to learn about things taught in this module. So now, let me share my experience in this module as well as what I have gained after these 12 weeks of lessons.

The most difficult part for me in this module was definitely doing oral presentations for peer teaching as well as for the group project. Doing an oral presentation was something that was rather tough for me. After finishing ‘A’ levels, oral presentation was something that was left untouched for quite a few years. When I was in army, I did not have to stand in front of a bunch of trainees to brief them as my job was to facilitate their training as a senior operator. Most of the time, I would be helping the specialists in the background. After getting so used to doing so much of background work, doing an oral presentation in front of a group of people felt really weird as all eyes would be on me for that few minutes. Through these 12 weeks of lessons, I feel that I have learnt quite a lot from Dr. Radhika as well as my fellow classmates on oral presentation skills. I’ll definitely keep three things in mind in the future when I am required to do an oral presentation: preparation, delivery and audience, and what to consider for each of these points. I felt that I have improved on my oral presentation skills after going through this module, even though I know I definitely have lots of room for improvements. 

Another thing that I have learnt to do better after taking this module would be managing my time better.  As the workload for my course of study was relatively heavy, I had to make use of time wisely so that I would be able to complete my work on time. It was not easy but I managed to do it. I also have to thank my group members as they were really accommodating when it comes to work. At times that I could not finish my part on time due to work from other modules, they would tell me to go ahead with my work and would help me wherever necessary. I did the same when they were more occupied with their work and when I have completed mine. After taking this module, I think I am more capable of managing time well and will definitely be helpful for me in the future. 

Coming to the practical aspect of this module, it was definitely useful to learn about application letter and resume writing which would be helpful for job application in the future. After l have learnt more about the application letter and resume writing, I realized that the previous resumes that I have sent out for a part-time job application was really lacking in many aspects. Neither did I know that there was a need for an application letter as what I did previously when I was looking for a part-time job was just to write a short paragraph on the interest I have for the job in the email. As we had an assignment on application letter writing, I took it as an opportunity to craft my resume for the future usage. I think this really helped as I was actually killing two birds with one stone in the process.

The mock job interview was also useful as I was asked some questions that were unexpected. For example, my interviewer asked me whether I am okay if they relocate me to work in other countries. To be frank, I have never thought about this and this is definitely possible, given that globalization has led many companies open their branches in other countries. The difficult questions that were taught in the interview lesson also gave me an idea of what kind of questions to expect during interviews and I am now more mentally prepared for these questions if asked in an interview. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this module as it was a great learning experience for me. It is a useful module for all students and applicable not only to the working world, but also to our daily lives. I would definitely recommend it to my friends in NUS. I would like to thank Dr. Radhika for being such a wonderful tutor as well as my lively classmates for bringing joy to the class. All the best for your future endeavours and see you guys in school!