Summary Draft Two

CalRecycle (nd)'s Green Building Materials website, introduces the concept of sustainable buildings. With 3 billion tonnes of raw materials used in construction (CalRecycle, n.d.), sustainable buildings help conserve dwindling non-renewable resources. In addition, sustainable buildings offer many benefits for residents and the environment. That's why it's so important to produce more green buildings for sustainable living. The objective of green building is to resolve the conflict between limited natural resources and numerous resource consumption requirements. The green building life cycle includes building planning, calculation, construction, operation, and maintenance (CalRecycle, n.d.). At the same time, eco-friendly buildings use high-tech materials and apply the concept of sustainability to the selection and use of materials that can reduce pollution. As shown on the website Weforum (2022), a twenty percent increase in green roofs and walls can meaningfully reduce air pollution. In addition, green buildings can improve occupant comfort and improve their quality of life (CalRecycle, n.d). For example, as stated in a website by Eco - Business (2018) it was mentioned that green buildings have been designed to produce conducive environments for healthy by providing more opportunities for exercise and physical activity. With rapid population growth and declining land and resources, it is imperative to promote the production of environmentally friendly buildings. Therefore, the production of green buildings is key in tackling Earth's sustainability issues as it can reduce climate change and it produces less wastage as compared to traditional buildings

Formal Introductory Letter

Formal introductory letter for learning portfolio.

Dear Professor Blackstone,

I am writing to introduce myself to you about the critical thinking and communication module. My name is Muhammad Zulhilmi.  Before enrolling into university, I studied urban design in polytechnic and took the civil engineering specialization. During my internship, I was attached to a few construction sites. I was then introduced to the build industry and oversaw many construction processes such as piling works. I was also given tasks such as land surveying, which built my civil engineering skills. These experiences piqued my interest in engineering. Additionally, as Singapore has limited land, there’s always a problem that needs to be addressed regarding building and housing. Hence, this allows me to enhance my skills by tackling those problems which strengthened my interest in engineering.

During internship, my adaptability in communication allows me to thrive well. I communicated effectively with my colleagues using clear and concise sentences. Additionally, I drew instructions on paper and even used google translate to communicate with the foreign workers. These steps ensured that work flows smoothly. However, I am not fluent when communicating formally as my superiors prefer to speak informally. Being able to work on this weakness will help me when presenting to my clients in the future. Hence, from this module I hope that I can effectively communicate formally as it will come in handy in future interviews and presentations. Secondly, I hope I can enhance my evaluation skills to improve my critical thinking. This will allow me to produce better reports and presentations. I believe under your tutelage, I can work on my weaknesses and improve my strength.

I am willing to humble myself to learn and practice new skills being taught to me. Hence, this makes me different from the rest as there is always room for improvement. 

With this, thank you for taking the time to read this letter. 

Yours sincerely,

Muhammad Zulhilmi

Commented on:

Shahrul

Lokes

Denzil

Effective communication skills for global engineers

 "While all engineers should have good communication skills, global engineers face additional challenges , making effective communication an imperative." Debra Kraft, Careers Content Writer, Demand Media (2016) 

Debra Kraft believes that global engineers envisions a world in which everyone has safe water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter and infrastructure. The engineers must become activists and advocates, leveraging their professionals skills and capacity to generate evidence and positive impact on the people.

More often than not, rural places such as villages and poor countries do not have access to clean water, proper sanitation, food, shelter and infrastructure. It is imperative for the engineers to communicate properly to find out what are the exact needs of the people from the said places and the problems they face. Next, the engineer has to communicate his findings to the relative ambassador or authority that's governing the area. He has to ensure that they fully understand the scenario which allows them to paint the bigger picture and allow them to act out accordingly and accurately. Additionally, he has to communicate and inform his findings to his team as well. It is imperative that he is precise with the information provided so that no information gets missed out which can impair the progress. Effective communication will allow them to be transparent regarding the details, smoothen the workflow processes, voice out opinions, issues or solutions and most importantly it ensures that everyone ends up on the same page.