Brief introduction about myself
Dear Professor Brad Blackstone,
I am writing this letter to introduce myself to you, hoping you will get to know me better. I am Jia Ming, a first year student studying robotic system engineering at the Singapore Institute of Technology. I graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in electronics. During my polytechnic internship, I worked for a robotic start-up company that specialises in creating book shelf scanning robots for libraries. My job scope was testing the robots at various libraries across Singapore and training the librarians on how to operate the robot safely and effectively. Having worked for that company for more than six months, I have gained an interest in robotics as I witness firsthand how robots can help boost productivity for an organisation. I genuinely believe that in the future, robots will be a part of our daily lives. Aside from academic interests, I have a slight interest in film photography.
One of my weaknesses which, in my opinion, is quite a serious one, is not being able to simplify technical terms into layman's terms. During my internship, while I was trying to explain the technical part of the robot to the librarians, they had a hard time understanding what I was trying to say. Although I might not be good at simplifying technical terms into layman's terms, I am an effective listener.
My goals for this module are to improve my technical writing and public speaking skills. In addition, I wish to be a more effective communicator when presenting my ideas to an audience. During my internship, I learned that effective communication is essential, especially for engineers, as we have to give technical presentations and train users. Therefore, I believe I can achieve my goals under your tutelage.
Yours sincerely,
Chin Jia Ming
(Commented on Roys and Darius)
(Revised on: 28 Sept 2022)
Comments
However, I feel that the sentence “One of my weaknesses which, in my opinion, is quite a serious one, is not being able to simplify technical terms into layman's terms.“ could be phrased better and do without some of the commas.
Dear Jia Ming,
Thank you for this clear, informative and interesting reflection. I appreciate the well focused content being aligned with the assignment brief, the clear organization and the flawless language use. In the process you've given appropriate supports for each specific content area, allowing us readers to gain a clear understanding of who you are.
From the discussion of your experience in your education and your robotics internship within libraries, it's easy to see that you have great potential not just as as a communicator in our module but as a student in the RSE programme. From the info you provide on the librarians having a tough time understanding you, it's clear you are motivated to improve by real needs; for addressing that and other shortcomings you'll also have plenty of opportunities in our module.
There is one minor issue with words/phrasing: book shelve > shelf.
The only thing that has actually disheartened in this post is that you have not inspired your classmates to learn more about you and give you feedback. (What's up with that?)
I look forward to learning more from you during the rest of the term.
Cheers,
Brad