Effective Communication

At the start of this module, my goal was to refine my writing skills and improve my public speaking skills so that I can present confidently and fluently in front of the class. As mentioned in the descriptive reflection to Professor Blackstone, I get nervous quite easily when I have to present by standing in front of the class. This made my voice trembles and I tended to speak faster, which led to unclear pronunciation during the presentation. Throughout my journey in this module, I feel that I have made some improvements in my presentation skills. When doing the research project, I chose to be the speaker of my group so that I can practice my presentation skills. Besides that, Professor Blackstone always discusses with the class the skills that we should pick up during the presentation. We also have to pitch our project ideas to the class and receive criticism on our presentation skills. All of these helped me to refine the contents that I should present and made me more comfortable t...

  Baltacioglu. E, Gurz. M, Hames. Y & Kaya. K. (2017). The meeting of hydrogen and automotive: a review. International journal of hydrogen energy , 23334-23336. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319917306353   In this journal article, Baltacioglu, Gurz, Hames and Kaya (2017) shared about the employment of hydrogen energy in vehicles and its advantages and challenges. The authors stated that the advancement in the transportation sector had led to the extensive use of fossil fuels. This phenomenon increased carbon emissions in the environment and caused global warming. With that, the authors claimed that hydrogen is the alternative to overcome the problem because hydrogen is a renewable energy resource and has zero carbon emission. Hydrogen fuels react with oxygen through the fuel cells only produce water emission and electrical energy to power the vehicles. This article provides useful information for our research project on the advantages of impl...

In the article “The Expanding Role of Sensors in "Smart" HVAC System,” Manz (2018) has claimed that the integration of sensors in building systems is the key to create smart buildings and achieve energy efficiency. According to the writer, energy efficiency has been taken seriously since the rise of oil prices in 1973 and 2000. Manz (2018) has mentioned that the tremendous improvement in technology increases the possibility of achieving energy efficiency. The replacement of analog predecessors to sensors in the HVAC system enables wireless-communication which also helps to reduce the wiring costs. With the utilization of sensors, all building systems can communicate in real-time by transmitting data and analyzing information to allow maintenance interventions. It helps to cut down energy costs as the building systems are maintained at all times to perform efficiently. The writer also stated that sensors reduce manual operations and “eliminate the need for recalibration”. Base...

  Dear Professor Brad,      I hope you are having a great week. I would like to take the opportunity to give you a short introduction of me.      I am Wong Kei Man, currently a year one student in sustainable infrastructure engineering (building services). I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in hotel & leisure facilities management. I found my interest in the facilities industry during my three-year-study in polytechnic. With that, I decided to study engineering as I wish to gain more technical knowledge and be able to contribute to building an eco-friendly environment in the future.         Being a good listener is my strength in communication. I worked as a front desk officer in Fairmont Singapore during my internship. A hospitality worker needs to listen to guests’ needs to provide services that are within guests’ expectations. Besides that, it is also necessary to listen to guests’ complaints so t...

“Communication skills are an essential component in the education of engineering students to facilitate not just students’ education but also to prepare them for their future careers.” Marc Riemer, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University (2007)      It is important for engineering students to equip themselves with communication skills as it helps to boost their understanding of the knowledge. Moreover, it allows them to communicate clearly and effectively in the future workplace.