Blog post 6: Final Reflection

13 weeks of learning and what an experience it has been! This is my last semester in NUS and I knew it was going to be really hectic with my final year project. But it also meant that it was my last chance to take an interesting module, something completely different from all the other modules I’ve taken in NUS. And I can say with confidence now that I chose the right module.

Personally, the most surprising aspect is the change in my writing skills. I’ve considered myself a somewhat good writer, but I realized just how much I had to improve. Writing my resume cover letter was especially challenging. I had to revise them several times and it made me realize that every line I put into a cover letter is equally important. Job hunting is really not pleasant, but thanks to this component I did start my job hunt much earlier than I would have. My presentation skills have also improved considerably. I’ve realized how important rehearsals are and I’m much more confident about my presentation skills now.

Peer teaching was a lot more fun than I thought it would be. Because we gave ourselves enough time to prepare, Madhu and I both had fun learning about interviews and preparing our slides. And of course, how can I forget the mammoth proposal and oral presentation. Since all three of us were in our final year, I was a little worried about how we were going to keep up. But thanks to Madhu and Benedict (and to Google Wave), we managed to work regularly. It was amazing how whenever we’d hit a roadblock, one of them would always come up with a way out. They were always so calm and helpful. It was a great experience working with them J And of course we had a great class. All of you were so accepting and made it so comfortable for anyone to come up and speak in front of the class.

Of course, this module wouldn’t have been such an amazing learning experience without Ms Lim. This is the first time in NUS where I’ve had such close interaction with a teacher. The most memorable thing I’ve learnt from her is what big difference seemingly small things can make. Like what time you send your resume, or your body language when you sit before an interview panel, or sending a thank you letter after an interview. I wouldn’t have given much thought to these things earlier. Thanks also for having so many fun activities in class. I really appreciate all her time and effort in giving us valuable feedback on all our work. I know I’ll remember all these things when I start working.

I hope I can take forward all I’ve learnt from this module in whatever I end up doing after graduation. I wish all of you good luck in everything you choose you do. Take care and let’s keep in touch J

Reflection on Oral Presentation

I must admit that this was one of the most challenging presentations I’ve had to give for any of my modules in NUS. It required a lot of preparation by everyone in the group. My main concern was to keep the audience engaged throughout the presentation. I wanted to make sure that we didn’t merely repeat what was already in our proposal. So we decided to make the introduction section engaging by using quotes and appropriate pictures. We also wanted to highlight the results from our survey and elaborate on the nature of the proposed module itself. One of the things that get me excited about presentations is the layout of the slides. So we did spend quite some time to design a layout that was both formal and visually appealing.

We also rehearsed quite a few times. I was to present the introduction section and I had some difficulty in deciding what to say from the large amount of information we gathered from the background research. I didn’t want to be boring, but still convey the information necessary for our proposal. As only the key words were on the slide, it took me a lot of practice to remember the details I wanted to mention during the presentation. And of course, I wanted to make sure that all three of us were familiar with the transitions between slides.

During the actual presentation itself, I was less nervous than I thought I would be. I generally tend to rush through presentations as I want to make sure that I mention all the details I remember. This happened during the peer teaching session as well. So I tried to go a little slower and make an extra effort to look at the audience to make sure they were following my presentation. Also during the peer teaching session, I felt I was standing too far behind and remained there throughout. So this time, I tried to use more gestures. Our transitions also went pretty smoothly and I think our slides looked good on the big screen. During the Q&A session, I think we answered the questions to the best of our ability. Personally, I think my strengths were that I spoke loudly and clearly and was well prepared. However, I think that my part of the presentation may have come off as a bit too rehearsed. Also, I think I still need to work on speaking more slowly during presentations. Overall, I think our group performed quite well and I had a great time working with my group members on this challenging project.

Blog post 4: Intercultural behaviour

I am an Indian, who grew up in Thailand and now studying in Singapore. Having grown up in a different country and now studying in yet another country, there have numerous instances where I’ve been in a group of people with different cultural backgrounds. By now, I’ve learnt to adapt to people with different cultural backgrounds. After spending time with them, I begin to understand how they think, what they like and dislike. I no longer find their habits unusual or ‘foreign’. Whether I share their opinion on a matter or not, I make sure it never ends up in a conflict or becomes an issue. Despite all this, there are times when the differences in our cultural backgrounds are glaringly obvious.

I had some friends in Thailand who were Indian by race, but had been living in Thailand for several generations. They were a very close-knit and conservative community, where anything of significance spreads across the community like wild fire. Even during school days, my classmates had very mature conversations that I couldn’t relate to. But I eventually became good friends with all of them. So, when I’d finished my first semester in NUS and went back to Thailand for my holidays, I wanted to meet all of them and catch up. We decided on a nice restaurant for dinner, and I was really looking forward to it. But, after a few minutes of conversation, I realized that I really couldn’t relate to any of them.

May be it was moving to a different place and interacting with different people, but frankly, our priorities and opinions were radically different. They had a heated discussion about drinking, and several other controversial topics. After insisting many times that there was nothing wrong in drinking or following a different lifestyle, as long as you didn’t harm anybody, you know, the “Live and let live” policy, I gave up. For the next two hours, I listened to the conversation, while mentally disagreeing with everything being said. Even though I had very strong moral values, I was quite open-minded about most things. I believe everyone has a right to do what they like, as long as they don’t harm or offend anyone. No one should be frowned upon because they have different preferences or habits. And in today’s highly globalised world, it’s important to be accepting of different lifestyles, and listening to their argument was frustrating. Eventually, we finished dinner and went to a games arcade, started playing games and all the frustration was forgotten. I went home feeling quite happy at having met my friends.

In hindsight, it is quite easy to understand where they were coming from. I’ve often heard that in their families, traditional values are emphasized strongly as their parents do not want their children to be influenced negatively by the modern culture and liberal lifestyle they are exposed to in Thailand. May be my friends had such opinions because of the conservative environment they were brought up in. Everyone has strong opinions, which is heavily influenced by their cultural backgrounds. It is difficult to change such opinions easily and I should have respected their point of view instead of getting frustrated. At the end of day, they are really good friends of mine and I really like spending time with them. So really, intercultural differences do not have to come in the way of building good relationships as long as everyone involved respects those differences.

Blog post 1: Job Ad and Application Letter

	Company	National Cancer Centre Singapore
	Job Title	Research Officers (Translational Research Lab)
	Location	Outram Road
	Date Posted	Friday, January 08, 2010
	Closing Date	Sunday, February 07, 2010
	Responsibilities
	You will embark on cancer translational research with a focus on correlating molecular genotypes with clinical phenotypes including cancer behaviours and cancer drug response. You will have the opportunities to combine genetic and proteomic approaches to investigate the molecular signatures in cancer and to discover how they influence the clinical phenotypes or drug response. A variety of techniques will be employed including tissue collection and processing, mutation analysis, SNP study and genechip technology.
	Requirements
	- BSc or MSc in the life sciences or related field - Experience in either basic molecular biology techniques, cell culture, immunohistochemistry, or genechip works will be preferred - Fluent in both written and spoken English - Have a good knowledge in computer and database work - An extremely organised individual with good interpersonal skills and able to work independently - A strong interest in biomedical research

Blk XX, #XX-XX, Room X
XX, Prince George’s Park
Singapore 11XXXX

February 3rd, 2010

Human Resources Department
National Cancer Centre Singapore
11 Hospital Drive
Singapore 169610

Dear Sir/Madam,

I came across an advertisement for the position of research officer at your organization on the NUS eJobs website, and I would like to apply for the same. I am aware that the National Cancer Centre conducts extensive research in the areas such as cellular and molecular research and medical sciences. I believe my experience in experimental techniques along with my passion for research will help me contribute significantly to your research project.

I am currently in my final year of study and will graduate in July 2010 with a B.Eng degree in Bioengineering. I’ve taken courses such as cell biology, tissue engineering and cellular bioengineering, from which I’ve gained considerable theoretical knowledge about cellular mechanisms and diseases. In addition, I’ve worked on research projects in the area of biomaterials and tissue engineering, including my final year project. I had the opportunity to study cell differentiation in greater detail during my internship at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. During such practical work, I have mastered experimental techniques such as cell culture, RNA extraction, RT-PCR, and other molecular assays. I have also thoroughly maintained records and critically analyzed experimental results. I am aware the job involves studying cancer behavior and their response to drugs. My experience in working on related research projects along with the courses I’ve taken will be an added advantage for this position.

I have been active in several extra curricular activities in university. These have involved organizing events such as workshops and exhibitions, and mentoring. I’ve also won the Distinction award for my contributions and a student achievement for my participation in community projects. Such activities have given me the opportunity to interact with people from different backgrounds, and enhance my communication and interpersonal skills.

The research projects being undertaken at the National Cancer Centre offers an excellent opportunity for me to purse my interest in biomedical research. I believe my skills and enthusiasm make me an excellent candidate to join your research team. I would like to further discuss my application during an interview. I can be contacted at 9016-6617, or by email at aish963@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time.

Yours Sincerely,

Aishwarya Srinivasan

Enclosure: Resume

Blog post 2: Interpersonal Conflicts

I am convinced I have some super power that helps me read people’s minds. Okay, not quite. But I’ve come pretty close on several occasions. I can tell what is bothering someone and I usually attempt to talk to them about the issue. This could be why a lot of my close friends consider me a good listener. At the same time, I’m not too communicative when it comes to talking about my own problems. This becomes especially difficult when I have to express negative opinions about something or someone. This is probably what got me involved in certain tricky situations as well.

One such example would be the issue I had with a certain friend of mine. We met in our first year in university and seemed to get along well enough in the first few weeks. I had begun to notice even then that she was quite competitive about academics, but assumed that was a result of the highly competitive environment she came from. And then she began panicking about work. She didn’t have time to do any assignments, and when she did sit down to work, I’d get a call within a few minutes, asking for help. In the beginning, I was as helpful as I could be. I’d share my answers for her to double check and explain the methods. We’d also talk about how she was having difficulty dealing with the stress of academics, living away from home, and so on.

However, I began noticing that she had an extremely busy social life. There was always some dinner, movie, outing or party she had to go to. The busier she got, the worse the whining became. I was getting a little tired of listening to her complaining about how she couldn’t finish an assignment or study for the mid-terms, when she could have easily skipped the movie the night before to catch up with work. I tried explaining this to her in a non-accusatory manner, by explaining how I managed my own time between academics and friends. But my point didn’t quite get through to her. The whining continued, and so did her “partying”. The last straw was a group project we were both working on. I didn’t want to create a conflict by refusing to work with her. Instead, I made sure we divided the work evenly and set proper deadlines so we could finish on time. And, of course the work didn’t get done. I was not too surprised, but her attitude really began to get on my nerve. So finally, after much thought, I decided to confront her about it.

It was not a pleasant experience. She insisted that she really did put in her best effort and I attempted to explain how her results would be so much better only if she managed her time better. We kept repeating our own points of view. One thing led to another, and at one point she accused me of being “jealous” of her social life. That did it for me. I did not want to continue the argument. I merely completed the project to the best of my ability. Since then, we’ve never worked together. Three years later, we still have polite conversations when we meet and I don’t hold a grudge against her at all. However, I do wish that the whole situation could have been avoided. How could I have communicated my point of view better? Probably expressed my concern for her and tried to sound more supportive. Perhaps, she could have also acknowledged her responsibility and listened to me just a little better. Both of us have probably missed out on a good friendship. I can only hope that I am more careful with such situations in the future and sort out issues at the right moment and in the right way.

Blog post 1: Effective Communication Skills

The complexity of the human mind has always fascinated me. At any one time, our minds are filled with such a variety of ideas, opinions and thoughts. We make different choices based on our priorities and backgrounds. But only recently have I started to understand the importance of communication in all of this. After reading a few articles over the last week, I was quite surprised at the extent at which communication skills have been studied. At the same time, all those articles were so easy to relate to. For instance, there have been times when I just knew that “something was wrong” with the other person. I could never quite pinpoint why I felt that way or what was actually “wrong”. Now, I realize that it was probably their body language or the tone of their voice which made me feel that way.

I’ve also realized that my communication skills have changed drastically over my four years in university. Earlier, I’d much rather use writing as a means to convey my ideas. But somehow, I was uncomfortable doing the same face-to-face. Slowly though, I’ve started to find conversations easier and am more confident about what I’m saying. Also, having lived in different places, I’ve realized that I need to put in extra effort to get closer to those from different cultural backgrounds. In a way, looking at communication as a science rather than an art provides an explanation for all that I’ve observed and experienced so far. It’s a relief to know that communication is not just an art that only a few lucky ones can master. Over the next few weeks, I hope to understand this science better and use the skills not only in my career, but also in my personal relationships.

Testing the Waters...

My very first blog post...Just to make sure blogspot doesn't throw any nasty surprises my way when I post our first assignment this weekend. Here's hoping I keep the blog updated even after I finish this course. Happy Blogging everyone!