Overview of Course

As we all agree, this course has been an enriching experience for all of us. It has not only been the only class with my utmost attendance, but also my most-looked-forward to class. To describe the class in one word would be fulfilling – in terms of content, concept and company.


One of the most important activities for me was the mock interviews. Being a university student, in order to secure good internships, it is important to be able to give a good interview. Personally, this was one thing I was really unsure of. Starting from writing a cover letter to making the final mark on an interview was a feared arena for me. I would consciously try to stay away from going for interviews and try and have phone interviews. Also I was very unsure of how to build an effective resume and an equally complimentary cover letter. Hence this course taught me to structure my resume and letter correctly, to use effective words, to format professionally and to present confidently. All the usual faux pas made by a novice were clarified and worked upon in this part of the course. Also the ability to look at an interview from the interviewer’s and the interviewee’s perspective is important to truly understand what makes an interview a successful one. Hence the activity of the mock interviews helped a lot in that understanding. The peer teaching about Interviews was a highly enriching one from which I learnt a lot and hope to use most of it in any upcoming interview.






Once again, I would like to thank all of the members of this sectional teaching group for being so easy to work with and being an absolutely delight. I hope the semester was a good one for all.

Oral Presentation

Oral presentations are an integral part of any professional's life. I am glad to have been given an option of being a part of one in this module.

Reflecting upon my oral presentation, I really enjoyed working with my team. Midst all the joking, laughing, fooling around, I have learnt a lot through this oral project. Ranging from planning, making Gantt charts, surveying, interviewing, making email correspondence to working with ethnically different team mates, brainstorming, accepting and rejecting ideas with due respect and making decisions.

On self-analysing my oral presentation, in my opinion my preparation was fair. I knew my subject well and in coherent depth. The slides were crisp, precise and to the point with sufficient information on them - enough to explain the point. There was good flow from one team member to another in my opinion. The delivery of the presentation was clear and concise with good explanation for most of the parts. The pictorial depiction of the proposed idea was a good concept as pictures assert more than words. The talk did not entirely depend on the presentation but the presentation complimented the talk. Also the summarizing was convincing and the concluded the presentation rightly. Eye contact was effective throughout, though in some places it could have been better. Use of words was apt and language was easy to grasp. The question and answer round was challenging, but I tried my best to answer as much as possible extrapolating from the survey results and interview questions.

The things I could improve upon includes better use of words, not repeating same sentences in different forms, better presence of mind especially in the question and answer session. Also, in my opinion I should practice a little more to bring more fluency in my speech while giving the presentation.

Intercultural Communication

National University of Singapore is one of the most global universities in Asia; and being a part of this institute makes you meet an eclectic lot of people from all around the world. One such person was a friend of mine from Amsterdam. Charlotte (which in English is pronounced as shaar-let, but in Dutch it became shar-laut-tay), was in NUS for a semester and then came to India to stay with me over the summer. Any interaction with her was an experience in itself. It made me realize the evident culture different between us.

During one of such interactions with her, we were talking about living alone in a city. For me, Singapore was the first experience of living alone, away from parents, more due to necessity rather than choice, not that I was complaining. She had an absolutely different view about that. Coming from Netherlands, she was brought up in an environment where children were encouraged to fight for their living right from adulthood. It is an unsaid norm for them. We both just looked at each other trying to absorb our difference and understand each other.

Another time when she was making her plans to roam about the whole of North India, she refused to book a railway ticket or a hotel room before leaving for the place. It surprised me and my family to no end. We, in India, due to our excessive population always pre-plan our transport tickets and accommodation unlike the Dutch, who have this spirit of adventure which gives them the zest to just leave their house without any prior knowledge about where they are going to good - which can prove to be good and bad, but most importantly very different from my travelling style.

One of the most hilarious situations were when my brother, as a token of Indian hospitality, gifted Charlotte a pair of ear-rings. She was shocked because she thought my brother had developed feelings for her. When she told me about it, I just burst out laughing. In Netherlands, gifting ear-rings is domain of the boyfriend or the lover unlike in India where jewelry is just another piece of gift. That was another ideal example of intercultural differences.

The little time, Charlotte and me spent together would be one of the most enriching experiences of my life in terms of intercultural communication. The amount I learnt about her cultural, and she about India were an eye-opener to not just each others culture, but it also made each other understand our way of thinking, dealing with life situations and emotions.

Cover Letter

You may find the advertisement at this link: file:///C:/Users/Megha%20Bhattacharya/Downloads/Jedi%20Masters%20Program%20%20Internships.htm

Megha Bhattacharya

26 College Avenue East,

Tembusu Residential College,

#15-163 Singapore 138597

Phone: +65 98213727

Email: megha@nus.edu.sg

10^th September, 2011

Mr. XYZ ABC

HR Director, Lucasfilms Singapore,

The Signature #05-00,

51 Changi Business Park Central 2

Singapore 486066

Dear Mr. ABC,

Having heard so much about Lucasfilms and Productions, I was really eager to apply for the ‘Learn from the Master’ Internship programme for this summer. As a Year Two Computer Engineering student, I plan to take up graphic designing and animation as my field of specialization. Talking to some people who have worked under this Internship programme last summer, I have learnt a lot about the style of working in Lucasfilms. The creatively inspiring work environment of Lucasfilms along with the learning opportunities you provide are an important stepping stone for a beginner or an intern.  For a beginner like me, I think this is the best opportunity to grow as a graphic designer or animator. Also my persistent learning process and experimental approach to work will constructively add to your company’s innovation.  

I have learnt a lot from my summer internship at Codebox, which provides freelance work for American companies,  as an Online Marketing Intern, where my job scope taught me to imagine creative solutions to old problems, display artistic skills for E-campaigns, interact with different people and cultivate workplace professionalism between the culturally different teammates. Hence my artistic innovation can be of great use to Lucasfilms as a graphic designer.  

As a coordinator for various student run clubs like NUS Indian Dance, Sparkz-Talent Show of NUS, I have gained the skill of prioritizing tasks, organizing events and multitasking which is essential as a part of the requirement for this internship. As a part of NUS Stage, I learnt to understand various phases of any production – film, theatre or dance. Hence I value productions and will be an asset to the company in maintaining or managing productions.

Since I am currently working as an Events Executive for ASEANpreneur Singapore, I interact with people all around the ASEAN region through verbal and written means of communication enhancing my people’s skills, ability to interact with a wide spectrum of people, and communicate effectively.

It would give me great pleasure to tell you more about me if I were able to meet you sometime. I would love to provide a more detailed insight into what I can do for your company. I am hoping to hear from you soon. Feel free to contact me through any mode of communication – phone or email.

Yours truly,

Megha Bhattacharya

Enclosures: Resume 

Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

As long as humans will live, communication will be alive. As long as communication lives, there are bound to be interpersonal conflicts. Resolving those very conflicts are a sign of a mature individual with sufficient amount of Emotional Quotient. This story is about such an interpersonal conflict where resolving the conflict is confusing as there isn't anything wrong or right about emotions ever.

Coming from the land, where arranged marriages are not uncommon, I have always tried to understand the amount of interpersonal conflicts it creates. The situation goes: A pretty South-Indian girl meets, falls in love and decides to marry a handsome North-Indian boy. One might think everything seems perfectly simple as the people involved in this very institution of marriage are agreeable to the proverbial pact of spending the coming seven lives with each other. But fortunately or unfortunately it is not that easy. Fortunately, because many in India die due to lack of drama in their lives, and stories pertaining to familial matters always interest Indians. Nevertheless, the simple love story comes to a standstill.

Now the issue is of the strict, conservative and geographically oppositely placed set of parents. The young couple in love is suddenly not allowed to get married to each other because their parents - the people who would hardly spend time with each other - have a problem with each other. And that very problem doesnt stay restricted to their minds, but are very well percolated into the minds of the young lovers turning their dream of holy matrimony to an absolutely obsolete idea. The reasoning parents use is the fact that too much diversity in the culture of the bride and the groom will create household conflicts and cause irrefutable marital problems leaving the idea of being together redundant. This way of thinking is understandable to a very large extent, but again the fact that two mature individuals have decided to be with each other after supposed thinking-over comes into the picture. Hence questioning their intent or maturity is not exactly called for.

This brings us to the question of resolving such a conflict. This is a very common dilemma and since this involves emotions, it is difficult to think of a generic answer. The choice to be made is about choosing family or the person you want to get married to. Is it morally right for the young lovers to disregard their parents who have brought them up and go ahead with the marriage or is it alright for them to forget about the love they shared because their parents always know the right thing?

What Communication Means to Me

As one deeply thinks about communication, not the just the professional aspect of it comes into the picture, but also personal communication. To put it more objectively, learning about communication involves how, why and what is communication in all realms of life. And that is precisely what we are going to infer in this course – ES2007S.
Communication for me is a flow – of thoughts, ideas, ideals, dreams and even emotions. Dictionaries define communication as an act of giving. It is to a very large extent the truest meaning of communication. I believe in the power of giving, not just philanthropically, but in a more direct and literal manner. You give a person a part of you. That is communication! And when it involves something so personal it has to be effective. Hence effective communication is important for me.
On a very personal note, being a people’s person in and out, I believe that effective communication is important in any human relationship be it at the workplace, home, school or anywhere. As history has been proof of how even slight miscommunication lead to a breakup, an unsuccessful deal or in the most extreme cases, even loss of life.
World’s biggest problems have never risen from the fact that someone did communicate, but from the fact that there was miscommunication or in some case no-communication. Hence a basic skill set of efficient communicating abilities is a must. I strongly believe that humans are a vulnerable race, and if you are able to convince them with your communication skills, the world will be yours.