APPENDIX: Students’ Reflections

Student Reflection 1

“Through the learning journey of SIE2013 Sustainable Building Engineering, I have learnt many things and I will categorise them into 4 parts – critical thinking, reflective thinking, communication skills and technical knowledge.

1. Critical thinking:

I have learnt to apply critical thinking. This sentence might sound simple and easy, however, the process of applying critical thinking is difficult. In the past, I am used to just diving straight into finding the solution after receiving the problem. However, in this module, I have learnt that not all general solutions will fulfil the problem requirement in terms of applying the knowledge of prescriptive-based and performance-based approaches. For example, many traditional solutions might be the general solution to solve all the problems in the past. However, with the new integration of technologies and with the world evolving, we are not able to copy-paste the traditional solution to the problem we are encountering. It might work to solve the problem, but it might cause new problems as well. “You can’t be creative with the things you don’t know.” – A quote from Professor Moshood. This quote really enlightened me that if I don’t understand the problem, I am solving in terms of who, what, when, where, and how the problem occurs, I will never find the solution that solves the problem. In addition, I am glad that I was able to apply critical thinking in this module and especially in the weekly reflection question and project. Hence, I understand the importance of critical thinking.

2. Reflective thinking:

While applying critical thinking, reflective thinking is also critical in solving problems. While analysing the problem or question, it is also important to question myself and by doing so allows me to explore more in-depth what the problem or question is asking. Furthermore, by applying reflective thinking, I was able to think and view things from different people’s points of view. For example, through the group project, I was able to analyze and understand the reason behind the human behaviour of the nurses as I thought from their point of view which helped a lot in the project. Hence, by applying reflective thinking, I can learn more in-depth knowledge of and various factors behind the problem or question.

3. Communication Skills:

As we meet and communicate with different people every day, communication skills are essential. I feel that communication skills refer to the ability to convey your idea or message effectively. If someone’s communication skills are not that good, they will not be able to convey their idea or message effectively and the person receiving the idea or message will not understand. This can potentially lead to miscommunication and a worse scenario of argument due to being irritated. Through this module, I am happy that I was able to develop my communication skills.

4. Technical Knowledge:

In this module, I have learnt more about the technical knowledge of Sustainable Building Engineering. At the start of this module, I felt that I did not have much knowledge regarding

Sustainable Building Engineering. However, with the help of the lectures and lecture materials, I was able to understand more in-depth the technical knowledge such as the way we should approach the problem, prescriptive-based and performance-based approaches, the factors that affect indoor air quality, how digital solutions can be integrated into the Sustainable Building Engineering, factors that contribute to water and energy consumption. I am also glad to be able to apply what I learnt through the group project. By doing so, I was able to understand better while applying critical and reflective thinking.

In conclusion, I have learnt a lot in this module, and I am super lucky that I have a supportive and fun group which makes the learning journey much more enjoyable.”

Student Reflection 2

“Before this module or even this trimester, I was doing a summer internship with Aurecon Singapore as a student sustainability consultant. My job scope there was mainly helping with green mark certifications. I am fortunate to have had an excellent supervisor and team during my learning journey there. Often, I was given the luxury of flexibility in my work at the same time, I could always clarify some uncertainty and guidance along the way. However, I have approached this job scope by jumping into the policies and trying to solve the problem based on the structured criteria, which is a prescriptive method now that I know of. There was a certain level of critical thinking involved, but I wish I had attended this module before working at Aurecon. I would have achieved more with these critical thinking and problem solving skill sets. I would definitely say this module has honed my problem-solving skills.

Friday has always been the most draining day, nonetheless, it is also the most efficient and anticipated day for the week. I credit this to Sustainable Building Engineering. Why so? Let me tell you why. As I always believe in muscle memories, upbringing and environment. Thus, I really appreciate how Professor Moshood educates us each time, always consistently diving deep into issues. No doubt, it has always been energy-draining each time, but it has influenced my train of thought and critical thinking skills.

Moreover, the weekly graded presentation has really sharpened my presentation skills and communication skills. Despite, we can choose our own team, I have not personally worked with three of my group mates. Fortunately, they are wonderful and capable people, I would say by far this team is one of the best project teams I have worked with. We are people with different background and skill sets, and all of them has been committing unselfishly. We manage to quickly find each of our strengths and weaknesses, and we split our roles accordingly. I am thankful that the weekly presentation has always been a professional set up which made us want to do our best, and the constant feedback on our presentations has made us better presenters. I was archiving my presentation case studies for the exam before writing this report, I am proud to see the progress we have made throughout these few months, and I can clearly see how our presentation evolve into more professional and engaging materials.

Sustainable Building Engineering is also by far, the only module which allows me to work with industry partners. This is an exceptional experience. It really helps us better prepare ourselves for the work phase. From sourcing potential partners based on project requirements to communicating and being accountable for this “start up” like project. There were many uncertainties along the way, which we had to clarify with our project partners. Thankfully, they are approachable and treated us professionally, these stages have given us a platform to learn and acquire communication skills with other stakeholders. For instance, organizing meetings and crafting professional emails, I really love how this module instills our technical knowledge into practical industrial applications.

Initially, for our project, we wanted to locate the issue caused by human behaviour online, but after 2 weeks, we felt this approach will only allow us to feel the surface of the issue. Thus, we decided to outsource healthcare facilities and schedule visits to find the core of the problem. Moreover, we did not know where and how to start, but this module emphasizes a lot on feedback on everything and everyone. Hence, it shined a stepping stone for us to start, which is crafting questions, through questions, we will then deep dive into issues.

There are many keywords I have acquired that are good reminders to keep myself on a right track; like value = usefulness/ invested resources, risk = hazard x vulnerability. Many case studies and informative slides broaden my knowledge of sustainability. As mentioned, you can only be creative over something you know, this module has touched on many aspects of sustainability which I am truly curious about.

All in all, prior to this, I enrolled in this course due to curiosity. This module and Professor Moshood have changed this curiosity into interest, and knowing that the world is only at the surface of sustainability, there is so much more to achieve to make the world a better place for ourselves and future generations. The journey toward better sustainability will not be easy, knowing there are so many stakeholders and money involved, but we must keep in mind that these things will not exist in the first place without a healthy mother earth.”

Student Reflection 3

“I would like to start the reflection report by thanking Prof Moshood for taking the time and patience for guiding us through the course and correcting the mistakes made along the way.

The lectures have been a two-way interaction as Prof Moshood takes the initiative to ask questions that would lead us or to say enable us to think critically, about how to approach the problem which is rare in Singapore’s education system. As such it took a couple of weeks to get accustomed to the teaching methods, as it was different from how the other modules were taught but it has definitely benefited me greatly in learning to think critically and reflectively in the long term. And that to be open-minded as there are no particular correct answers.

The reflection questions at the end of the presentation slide enable me to think critically about what is taught and how to apply them. Furthermore, the tutorial classes enable me to step out of my comfort zone and to always keep improving my presentation skills, which I believe is one of the critical skills to have in the current age and would also be beneficial for the near future after graduation.

Sustainability engineering comprises of many different factors that can affect one another directly or indirectly such as the performance mandates contradiction quote “A complex problem is the kind of problem that evolves from connected components of a system with competing performances that affect the system’s overall performance” from Prof Moshood.

And through the innovation project, reinforces the concepts taught in the lecture and applying them though real-life scenario. It’s important to focus not only on the solution but also paying attention to the process the end user of the solution has to go through to use it. I believe that sustainability engineering is an ongoing process where it can be further improved like how mother nature had millions of years of evolution and to this day, it is still improving itself.

I would like to end the reflection report with an equation from Prof. Moshood that Value = Usefulness / Invested Resources can be applied to most things in life, from something as simple as an action to something as complex as deciding how a building is to be built, the equation still stands true.”

Student Reflection 4

“I have learnt a lot from this module, starting from the lectures. I first learned that the word sustainability involved a lot more factors then just being eco-friendly. Also learning how sustainability differs from Green as sustainability can only be achieved if the three main factors, Environmental, Economic and Social have been taken into account in the actions to create something sustainable be it something as big and complicated as designing a building or something as small as making a recyclable shoe. Learning how to define words that I would have thought to have only mean something simple was eye-opening, one example was defining value as usefulness divided by invested resources. This was of thinking has opened my mind to help me better understand that these words are very powerful and just by slapping sustainable or green on a product, doesn’t make it sustainable or green.

I have learnt to better analyse the problems that I have been presented regarding this course and also sometimes the problems I face in real life. The problem-solving method that I had prior to this module, is to just find a solution to the problem. That was why when I was first asked to think of a problem regarding human behaviour and either excessive energy or water consumption that was in a healthcare facility in Singapore, I found myself thinking of how to reduce energy and water consumption in the context of a healthcare facility. When told that, that was thinking of a solution and not identifying the problem I was confused and lost on what I was expected to do, as that was the only way I know how to solve problems. After learning that in order to solve a problem you must first find the root cause of it, then everything made sense.

To solve a problem, knowing what is the cause of the problem is crucial as after identifying it, making steps towards creating a solution for it ensures that the problem will not come back again. This leads to also identifying what is the problem a problem, this method of thinking will help one to find the proper root cause of the problem. After that learning how to question the processes that is already in place, on why they should or should not be continued led to me learning about prescriptive and performance-based problem solving and solutions. The examples provided by Professor Moshood was nothing short of amazing, because the examples given was simple to understand but not something I had thought about before. This examples really helped me to truly understand the difference between the two problem solving methods, the good and the bad of each of them while prescriptive was acting as a base line, safe and easy to access.

Performance based problem solving was the harder one to do as you would need to ask questions about the processes provided to you if they were really all that great, or if they are how can we better improve. The world we live in now will need us to use both of these methods to solve problems, as without prescriptive based solutions, we would not know where to start from and without performance based problem solving we will not survive as mother earth is changing and we need to make sure when she does, we are ready for it. Which leads to the next thing I have learnt, the six principles of sustainable building engineering. To respect the wisdom of natural systems such as the bio mimicry principle, to learn how nature solves some of the problems we are facing without having to spend a huge amount of resources.

The respect for people, when designing a solution of a problem you must think of how it affects the end user and think whether your solution brings value to them, if not will this solution only cause them more pain rather than ease, which will bring into question will people use the solution you have made or just throw it aside. The respect for place, this ties into the performance based problem solving, for example when designing a building in Japan as compared to a building in Singapore, even if the task is similar to design a building. However the two are very different, in terms of the climate, biology of living things, geography and things like how Japan are more prone to earth quakes but Singapore rarely has them. In order to design a building to provide value to the end users, you must first respect the place to find out all of the things mentioned above to better under the problems you will need to solve.

The respect for the cycle of life, cradle to cradle and the circular economy was unknown to me before this module, as good as cradle to cradle sounds, for companies to implement such methods they would have to invest more resources and maybe even cause themselves more problems as this idea does not have a general solution to it, thus leaving these companies ‘alone’ when a problem arises. Therefore, they would so much rather stay safe and continue to do what they having been doing that works as it generates them money in the end of the day. This led to me questioning why is that so, one reason I could think of was because as much as Singapore is advocating to go green or be sustainable, Humans will always want to prioritize their comfort and convenience over anything else. Which leads me to the respect for energy and natural resources, as professor Moshood once said you cannot appreciate something that you do not understand, this quote really highlights how blessed I was to use water so freely as I did.

Not understanding how hard it is to really to maintain a readily available source of electricity and water leads to one being complacent and not value it by wasting it. Finally, is the respect for the process, as the world changes, solutions that was once considered great in the past cannot be used in modern times as the problems we are facing or about to face has evolved and will continue to do so. Therefor the processes we use to solve our problems must also change. This module I can safely say has really helped me in more aspects of my life rather than just learning about sustainable buildings. I am very grateful to have Professor Moshood teach me about this module and also skills that I can see myself using in the future when I am working.”

Student Reflection 5

“Critical Thinking

Throughout the process of this whole module, I have learnt how to think critically. For example, when working on the project and for the weekly presentations, I often have to think out of the box and to look further than what we are asked. We often have to question the question, which really helps to make us think more.

Reflective Thinking

Through the project given, we are tasked to analyse and also influence human behaviour on how it may affect energy or water consumption. We are also able to put ourselves into the perspective of the relevant individuals in our case, the nurses and staffs. We are able to think in their point of view, and to relate why do they waste energy or water. It could be because of their own comfort, convenience and lack of awareness which eventually leads to energy or water wastage. Our group visited Yishun Community Hospital and found out that the nurses will leave the door of Medical Supply Room open frequently and this causes issue in the hospital as the hospital is naturally ventilated while the Medical Supply Room needs to be air-conditioned 24/7 in order to prevent spoilage of the medication. Leaving the door open may also cause condensation to occur and thus formation of mould as well which will eventually affects air quality.

Communication

I get to meet up very often with my groupmates to discuss on the project. We would meet at least once every week so that we get together to brainstorm and think of ideas together to ensure that we know what to do and we are on the same direction. We also get to communicate with the facility manager of Yishun Community Hospital through emails, online meetings and face to face meeting. We get to learn how to communicate and to get all the information that we require professionally.

Technical Knowledge

I get to understand further beyond the word “Sustainability” and realised that it affects other aspects, such as economic, social and environmental. The formula of Value = Usefulness/Invested Resources has deeply etched into my mind.

I would like to thank Prof Moshood for helping me to think critically by asking me questions in class and for all the dedications to the class.”

Student Reflection 6

“I remember when I first attended the first lecture, I was taken aback because growing up in Singapore and going through the education system here, it was not common to have the teacher, or lecturer or in this case a professor teaching with so much energy and passion. It was truly a refreshing experience and being naturally introverted and shy I was not the type of person who asks or answers questions in class. But I realised through the weeks, that by not actively participating in class I was losing out because I was spending my time as an invested resource but I was not engaging in the discussion which meant that I was not learning. I was not using my brain to think and to question.

One of the key takeaways from the past thirteen weeks, is that having a critical and reflective mind is crucial and uncompromisable to have. Especially as an undergraduate in the Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering course and potentially a future engineer. Without the ability to think critically when faced with problems and the inability to reflect on all aspects of the problems can be severely dangerous. My eyes and my mind were really opened through the course of this module because it showed me new perspectives and facets to what Sustainability is all about. I learned that Sustainability is not just about recycling or going green or saving plastic but rather it is so much more than that. It is not just about caring and trying to save the environment although that is important as well, but other aspects such as social and economic sustainability is as important too. Having balance and respecting each aspect is a key part in sustainability, and it is a tall order for us future engineers as we strive towards building a sustainable world to live in.

Another key learning point I have learned in this module is the process on how to solve problems and the ability to convey our solutions and ideas through story telling. Through the help of the project assigned to us and working with real world scenarios and industry people really gave me valuable experiences. Learning to adopt a performance-based approach when solving problems and taking the time to talk and empathise with the users’ needs is so much more important and beneficial than just giving a cookie cutter solution to them because if a solution merely solves one issue but causes two or three more issues in the process means that the solution is ineffective and has no value. The process of finding the root problem and slowly coming up with ideas and solutions while being able to adapt because the process is ever changing allows us to be teachable and fixable.

Story telling is also a skill that I had the opportunity to really stretch and learn here in this module. I have been exposed to many presentations when I was studying Architecture in my polytechnic, but the weekly presentations on the different questions each week really stretched my mind and forced me to think, reflect and at times question the question. Over the weeks, I have learned that communicating our technical knowledge through story telling is an effective method to present and convey your message across. Working together in a team also allowed me to learn from my group mates because we all have our own individual strengths and areas that we are good at, thinking, reflecting, and questioning together in a group setting really made discussion more interesting which led to so much more depth in our discussion and presentation.

There is really so many aspects and things that I have learned through this module that I will be able to mention them all, but I have really enjoyed every single moment in class. I genuinely believe