Reflections on ES2007S : The journey

It's hard to believe that ES2007s has finally come to an end. It was by far the most enjoyable module I've taken in NUS. I used to look forward to Tuesdays and Fridays and the engaging nature of the module made the other drab modules I have bearable. I was quite sad the day of the last class but I'm glad we will have a batch outing sometime during reading week. As far as the module is covered, I decided to break it down:

Valuable lessons learnt:

1) How to influence my non - verbals to project confidence and skill
2) Writing great CVs and cover letters
3) Preparing for and performing at job interviews
4) Drafting research proposals with a certain degree of formalism
5) Critical reading
6) Making things engaging yet structured ( my tendency to ramble has reduced)
7) Using Haiku ( something I learnt in the process)
8) YOU are the presentation, not your slides

Here are some some lessons I learnt indirectly:

1) Enjoy cultural differences, its the only way you will grow. Live & Learn
2) Friends are found in the unlikeliest of places
3) Wanderlust is the greatest desire, travel and visit the places you talk about
4) If you get to know a person well enough, he/she WILL impress you

I feel Brad did a wonderful job of both teaching and facilitating learning. Not all learning comes from your professor but your peers and this showed in our classes. He fostered a very good level of interaction and exchange between us and this made the classes even more enjoyable and unforgettable. His diverse experiences in life and his blog added to the appeal ES2007S had to me.

I lauded Shi Ying for sharing so openly in her second blog post, and today I'm going to do the same.
I haven't told too many people, but I went through a bit of a personal crisis this semester JUST before my peer teaching, my long time girlfriend back in India ended things with me.It had a really bad effect on me, I started skipping all my classes. I was scared about whether I could present for my peer teaching as I was fighting back tears just before I had to present. I'm glad it went well, meeting all of you and the workload distracted me and made me realize, life goes on. It was as if everything was perfectly positioned to help me through this time.

I don't feel like ending this blog post as its the last thing we have left to do in this module, but I have to. All good things do come to an end.  I wish all my peers the very best !  Don't ever be daunted or intimidated by anything, you are ALL amazing people in your own unique way. I'm ending with one of my favourite songs, high hopes by Pink Floyd. All the best for your future!

Reflections on Oral Presentation

I have always enjoyed presenting in front of an audience, regardless of the topic. The topic we chose for our oral presentation was something close to my heart – Wi-Fi connectivity. I saw it as an opportunity to combine my love for technology with my love for presenting. We finished our proposal and slides in good time. I was slightly nervous the day of the oral presentation because the other oral presentations had been of a very high standard. In effect, the bar had been raised.  Before the presentation, we were slightly apprehensive about the fact that we had not been able to successfully conduct an interview but nevertheless we substantiated our claims using empirical data such as an online speed test conducted in PGPR and YIH. 

 I thought Bernard presented very well and set the tone for the presentation effectively. Ding Ding’s part was not very content rich but more of comparisons of his experiences back home and his experiences in NUS. My part was largely technical and contained a lot of technical jargon such as routers, extenders, hot-spots and so on.  I really wanted to make it as interesting as possible but even I felt that it became slightly like a lecture.

The Q&A session that ensued went off fairly well, I was equipped to answer all technical questions and vacillations. The reception of our class was largely mixed. Many found it slightly abstruse and technical. The solutions did not seem to flow into direct results. Our presentation was aimed at the Computer Centre and our use of technical information was to substantiate our claims and show the feasibility of our solutions. In the view of a technical presentation , I was very satisfied.  I just wish that we were able to reach out to the audience more in terms of content and convince them a little better. However, seeing as it was aimed towards Computer Centre, I feel better about it. 

Overall, I've enjoyed every bit of this module, the peer teaching, the proposal formulation, the oral presentation and all the blogging. This is not my last post, I really want my last post to do justice to this module so I'm going to pace it out and write it when I'm in the mood for some retrospection. Thank you guys for all your useful comments, faithful readership and all the friendships I made. Keep reading for the last post!

Intercultural Communication

Regardless of whether we consider the domain of a workplace or an informal setting like a party, intercultural communication is of utmost importance. In this age of globalization, meeting individuals from different cultures  is quite common. The world is indeed becoming "flat" as Thomas L. Friedman proposed in his best-selling novel. Studying in an international university such as NUS  and working in  Asia's largest business and services hub makes it imperative to master the art of successful intercultural communication. In this post, I recount my beginning as an intercultural communicator and what experience at NUS has taught me.

I came to Singapore last year to pursue my undergraduate education at NUS. In my first few days, I was careful about being sensitive to the customs and practices of different cultures in Singapore. I realized that it is only through a proper understanding and appreciation of different cultures can one truly be a global citizen.

Cuisine is an important part of culture and I made it a point to try out Laksa, Chicken Rice, Mee Goreng and other local delicacies. It is virtually impossible to survive and grow accustomed to a foreign country without trying out the local cuisine. In settings such as the office of a Multi-National Corporation(MNC) it is important to show one's awareness and appreciation for the customs of different colleagues/superiors. Cuisine is one of the best ways to show it because bonding between colleagues/team-members happens during social settings during group meals/drinks.

When I came to Singapore, I did not have an idea of the Singaporean education system comprising schools, JCs and Polytechnics. While interacting with local students it appears insensitive to keep asking questions about their high school system. A little bit of awareness and understanding goes a long way in forging relationships and establishing trust. I took time to understand the system and it's workings so I have a basic understanding of the Singaporean system and this aided by initial interactions immensely. I also learnt to be patient and lucid in answering questions about the Indian education system and admission policies to NUS. This facilitated a better exchange of information and helped me forge friendships in the first few days of school.

Speaking at a pace that is comfortable for both parties is also important. Throughout the course of my first year at NUS I have realized that it is impolite to speak fast when talking to non-native English speakers. This has enabled me to be more sensitive to my peers and also aided effective understanding and communication.

I believe intercultural communication skills are improved through practice. Only by practicing more and more can we hone our skills and prepare ourselves for the modern world. 

Cover Letter

Address

Handphone: XXXX-XXXX

Email ID

21^st September 2012

Recruitment Manager

Credit Suisse,

1 Raffles Place

Singapore - 04816

Credit Suisse Summer Internship Application

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am an undergraduate student studying computer engineering in the National University of Singapore (NUS) and am extremely keen on interning at Credit Suisse as an Operations/Information Technology Analyst for the summer internship programme.

I believe that my strong background in C,C++,C#,.NET and Java provide me with a good base to quickly understand and adapt to the systems specific to Credit Suisse. My ability to analyze situations and learn swiftly would enable me to add value to my position. I have spent this summer working in the Tax and Regulatory Services department of Ernst and Young Private Limited (EYPL) India. I built an application in C# to tabulate and reconcile tax returns from different countries for expatriate clients. This automated a tedious task of preparing matching sheets based on individual treaty agreements increasing net productivity.

I am pursuing my undergraduate education at NUS on a full scholarship offered to me by Singapore Airlines and Neptune Orient Line (SIA-NOL). The highly selective SIA-NOL is awarded to individuals with extraordinary academic and extra-curricular achievements. This desire for excellence would drive me to exceed expectations at my workplace and give my best.  

I believe that creativity is essential for efficient problem solving. I have trained in classical piano for the last ten years and hold a Grade 5 certificate from the Associated Boards of the Royal School of Music (ABRSM). Music has honed my discipline and structured thinking. I have an interest in learning about the world of business and recently started participating in business plan competitions. I spearheaded a team of three and our startup idea qualified the quarter finals of the Ideas Inc. 2012 competition. . This willingness to learn new things and grow will allow me to add value to my position and improve my performance constantly I have also been selected for the School of Computing(SoC) Leadership programme to hone my skills as a student leader.

My academic records, varied interests, team-spirit and passion for my subject of computer engineering would allow me to contribute to Credit Suisse. I would be grateful if my application is considered and I can work as a summer intern at Credit Suisse. Looking forward to your reply,

Yours Sincerely,

Rohit Mukherjee

PS : Edited post based on your comments 

#2 - An Interpersonal conflict

An interpersonal conflict can be defined as a disagreement or difference in views between two individuals over a particular idea, thought or action. Very often in life, we encounter situations where we cannot bring ourselves to agree with certain people and this latent irritation and frustration manifests itself in many ways. In this post, I will talk about an interpersonal conflict that I have had in the recent past. 

Last semester, the computer engineering cohort was assigned an electrical engineering project. The task was to build an unmanned autonomous vehicle(UAV) using basic circuit elements and integrated circuits(ICs). Teams were randomly allocated and I was assigned two team members. I knew my team members as we had interacted during the first semester on several occasions. We divided tasks and began working. The project was difficult and required considerable effort. During our second lab session, I realised that one of the members of my team didn't wan't to do any work. He merely delegated tasks and did his own work while we worked continuously. He made excuses and left the lab early on almost every occasion. By the fourth week, I was frustrated and made my irritation evident by limiting my interaction with him. I assigned him certain tasks and tried to take control of the situation but he always managed to shirk off responsibility and leave early. 

Towards the end of the semester, we were supposed to get the entire vehicle functional. We were one of the most unprepared teams. Many teams who had started badly had overtaken us yet our third member frequently came late and missed class frequently. My second member and I decided that depending on him was pointless and began putting our car together. After working on it seven days a week for up to five hours a day. Our fellow computer engineering batch-mates helped us out and we somehow managed to get the vehicle working partially. Meanwhile, our third member would message us on Facebook with false concern. We asked him to attend a group meeting but he said that he had other work. We complained to our Lab tutor who was seeing what was going on. She empathized and asked us to give him a very bad peer review. 

The dreaded evaluation day came and our third member decided to turn up and claim credit for a device he knew absolutely nothing about. He tried interacting with the professors evaluating us to make a good impression but my other team member and I made sure we made it evident that we had done all the work. The car worked and as soon as our demonstration was over,out third member left immediately saying he had other work.

The question I pose to my readers is : Should we give him zero for his peer review or be considerate  and give him average marks. The harrowing situation we went through makes me want to give him a zero but I feel guilty thinking that this can affect his marks and subsequently his future. 

The Importance of communication

This is the first post on my ES2007S blog. This blog is very different from my other one, its not so much a chronicle of random thoughts and realizations but a structured attempt at personal growth as a communicator. I have a tendency to ramble but Ill defend that using this statement from Beethoven, " there was a method in his madness and a madness in his method".

Communication is the most important part of life; be it in a relationship, an act of creation or simply an idea. Communication is the link that fuels our emotions, the frame that lends shape to our thoughts, and the wings that give flight to our ideas. What I love about communication is that the language  itself does not form the greater part of it. Simple non verbals such as smiling, shaking hands and hugging can trigger feelings of happiness and comfort. Music is also an excellent way of influencing mood and therefore feeling things. Even songs without words have the ability to make you feel morose or ecstatically happy depending on the tune, rhythm and tempo.

Most listeners enjoy the feeling they get while listening rather than study the technical aspects of music. A song can lift one's mood like nothing else, it's one of the purest communication channels interconnecting the mind of the composer to the feelings of the listener. Language barely proves to be a barrier, I can prove this with an example. The feeling I get when I  listen to "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley is the same exultation of the soul I experience while listening to Il Divo's version in Spanish.

The very way people around you look at someone, react to his/her actions and words largely depend on their perception of the individual. This perception is largely a product of communication between your surroundings and you.

My goals for this course are as follows:

1) Communicate as effectively and appropriately as possible
2) Communicate only important elements without boring someone with details
3) Communicate in an organised manner