NUS Module ES2331 Communicating Engineering : A Review

There are two parts to this module. Communicating Engineering Project 1 (CEP1) is about a panel discussion. Over the first few weeks, some skills, nature and importance of communication will be discussed. Thereafter, in groups of 3 to 4, we had to look for an professional engineer and interview him/her. The aim is to understand what exactly an engineer does in his field of work, the importance of leadership, communication and other soft skills in the workforce, and how all these compare to the theoretical knowledge we acquire in school. After the interview, we discussed about the findings and took notes that might be useful for the panel discussion.


The panel discussion is a formal discussion on one of the seven topics that are made known to us a week before the actual panel discussion. The topics will be closely related to what we interviewed the engineer in the earlier weeks. Each panel discussion group and the topic to be discussed on is randomly picked/grouped by the tutor and only made known 10 minutes before the panel discussion. Therefore, its very much an on-the-spot discussion. Each group is given 30 minutes to discuss openly about the chosen topic, but individuals are graded separately.


Although it's an on-the-spot thing, do prepare beforehand for ALL the topics. Do some research, collate essential points. Also try to be flexible in the discussion - don't always add points only. Or don't only substantiate what others said. Help others at times, bring out your own points, disagree on occasion and do not forget to cite examples.


CEP2 is a presentation about a scientific controversial topic of one's choice. It is a formal presentation and the purpose is to convince the audience to go for/against the topic depending on your presentation. It is graded based on your slides and your presentation, therefore a lot of chances for oral practice will be provided. Slide creation techniques and presentation skills will also be taught before the actual presentation. The presentation lasts around 15 minutes and shall be completed by the individual student.


This module is probably the one of the slackest module around, because there isn't any given assignment, though the CEPs can be rather stressful. Be prepared to spend some time preparing for both CEPs, and also you'll need to spend loads of time practising for CEP2. It can be rather hard to score well if you're shy or nervous when it comes to speaking out in front of an audience.


THIS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN BY A NETIZEN KNOWN BY THE MONIKER AFORL, A CURRENT NUS UNDERGRADUATE. THANK YOU AFORL FOR ALLOWING US TO REPRODUCE YOUR REVIEW.


The Czar (Site Founder)

Dated 13 August 2014