Final Blog Post

Dear friends, we’ve finally come to the last and final event for ES2007S. It’s been a long and arduous journey, not without its difficulties. However, there has been so much that I’ve learnt that will bring me through in future.

One of the most important things I’ve learnt through project work is the value of unity. Unity is an essential aspect of cooperation and success. I like to imagine it as 4 people carrying a heavy object. The moment one person lifts his hand off, the weight is now evenly distributed among 3 people. On the other hand, if one person puts in more effort than the others, then some weight is lifted off the other 3 and makes it lighter for them to carry. The dynamics of unity involves finding a good balance between taking rest, bearing each other’s burdens and pulling more weight when necessary. If everyone is committed to a certain cause, then synergistic effort will get us there.

Leadership is also one area I’ve made some observations in. The fact is this: there can only be one leader. Just as the voice of one can provide strong vision, the voice of many will confuse and destroy unity. In a team where there is an abundance of leadership, perhaps, there needs to be a clear understanding of who is taking the lead in the project and to have everyone understand that pursuing the purpose of the project is far more important than elevating one’s pride. In other words, a strong team led by a confident leader is greater than the sum of its parts. If we gain this understanding, then we will be able to work together and not fall behind. Of course, the leader should be careful not to   assume that he is at liberty to make decisions on his own or dictate what is to be done. After all, honor is accorded, but true respect is earned.

In this modern word, technology is an ever present and I’ve learnt that the right use of technology can really accelerate the process of the project work. Applications like google docs, skype and oovoo all help to make virtual meetings a breeze. WikiNUS eliminates the need for hardcopy submissions, although there needs to be alot more work on it in terms of formatting and ease of use.

Apart from all these soft skills, what I find most valuable about this course is the hard skills I’ve picked up along the way. Writing a proposal, for one, is one of the most amazing feats I would never have imagined myself doing. Crafting my resume, application letter and doing blog posts and reflections, all teach me the skill of writing and pitching. The clever use of language is something I will always remember. And if there’s one thing this course taught me, its is ATTENTION TO DETAIL. Details, details, details. Not to make me an anal person, but I’ve learnt to be more sharp and tight in the output of work. These are valuable things I will never forget from this course.

And of course, how could I forget great friends. The friendships forged over the months remain precious and treasured. If you have nothing left in this world, at least you have friends. Thanks for the time of learning, laughing, crying(?), and complaining. You make this class just that much more interesting.

Thank you all! (: