Albert's Blog

Subject: Self-introduction (Critical Thinking and Communications) Dear Professor Blackstone, My name is Albert. I am a student from class S20, attending one of the Critical Thinking and Communications modules you teach. I am writing to introduce myself to you. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a Diploma in Aerospace Engineering in 2022. My interest in engineering came from my father, who works as a mechanic. Growing up, I watched him work on cars and was fascinated by how simple inanimate objects enabled complex mechanisms to function. Among the various engineering industries, aerospace piqued my interest the most as I was intrigued by the idea of flying. As such, I decided to pursue my studies in the aerospace field. I believe my communication strength is my ability to understand my audience, a skill I acquired during my national service. I served as a policeman and had to frequently converse with both my team and the public. To ensure everyone could understand me, I would co

“Without clear lines of communication, our ideas would stay within our own small development teams instead of becoming mature products. While this is obvious to those of us who have become experienced engineers, the real question is: Why is it lost to us when we are engineering students?” - Akbar R Khan, Software Systems Engineer, USA, “Good Communication Is Essential...” (2014) The above quote emphasizes the importance of communication in turning ideas into reality. It implies that clear communication is critical for disseminating and developing ideas beyond small, isolated groups. While experienced engineers recognize this requirement, the remark raises the issue of why this awareness is absent among engineering students. Engineering students may not completely recognize how important communication is in the product development process, likely because they are typically focused on technical skills and may not yet understand how teamwork and transparent information sharing generate cr