Module Review: Year 4 Sem 2

Hello readers!

In this blogpost, I would be sharing about the modules I took in AY18/19 Semester 2. I took a total of 5 modules, which my coursemates deemed as crazy because it was so rare to see a final year student taking this many modules in their final semester.

But I'm glad I survived (barely). So here are the modules I took:

CE4104 B. Eng. Dissertation
CE5604 Advanced Concrete Technology
CE4282 Building Information Modelling for Project Management
LAS1201 Spanish 1
LSM1306 Forensic Science

That adds up to FYP, 2 UE and 2 TE! One mistake that I made was not overloading in earlier semesters, but oh well :-( Here comes the module reviews:

CE4104 FYP

For FYP, I felt that the projects can be classified into 2 main categories, they are laboratory works and analysis works. For lab works, it is basically running experiments in the lab, which I feel was more physically demanding compared to analysis works, where you could just run analysis on your laptop using various software and not enter the lab. My FYP was a lab-based one, hence I spent almost 3-4 days in a week at the lab preparing my samples and running my experiments. As my FYP was more tedious compared to some of my other friends who were also doing lab works, I rarely see some of them around.

As FYP for CEE runs through 2 semesters, one thing I noticed was that during the first semester, the human traffic in the lab was much lower than that of the 2nd semester. It just meant that we were people who waited till the very last minute, especially when deadlines were approaching to CHIONG our FYP *awkward smile*.

I cannot comment too much on analysis works because I did not do that, but hearing from my friends who did it, some of them had the luxury of downloading the software onto their laptops and doing their FYP at home. However, some of my coursemates needed the license for certain software, hence they stayed in the E2 and E1 PC clusters to do run their analysis.

Also, CHOOSING THE PROF YOU ARE WORKING UNDER IS SO SO SO IMPORTANT!!!!!!! I cannot emphasis this enough. Disclaimer: I understand that all professors are very busy people, they not only mentor kids like us for FYP, they also have to teach modules, do their research and write their papers, work for the industry as consultants, travel overseas for conference, have a family etc.. However, I believe that having a professor who is contactable and accessible is very important. This is because when I felt that my FYP had lost its directions or when I faced obstacles that was too difficult to handle, the person who gave me guidance and mentorship was my professor. I remembered right before my interim presentation, my professor stayed till 9pm with me to run through my slides and thesis. During that consultation, there were so many mistakes being pointed out (maybe I was lousy) but I am so thankful for that session. I do have a few friends who presented their findings to their examiners on the day itself because their professors were way too busy.

I felt that the results of my FYP were not that great, some of the experiments did not yield the results that I was expecting which was very worrying. It was that same feeling which I felt for 4 years: "my efforts did not reflect in my results". But I heard from my seniors that the grading of FYP considers both effort and results...

Since other reviewers have the habit of including their grades in their reviews, I will join the bandwagon!
Expected Grade: B+
Actual Grade: A-

For CEE department, if you want to get A or A+ for your FYP, you would have to participate in the poster presentation. However, if you are very sure that the highest you can get is A-, then just ditch the idea of the poster and enjoy your life unless you want "closure" for your uni life then go ahead with the poster (JUST LIKE ME!). Additionally, for the thesis submitted, we were graded based on our final draft and not the final thesis submission.

CE5604 Advanced Concrete Technology

I took this module for a number of reasons

1. Lectures were once a week and was recorded

2. There were only 1 mid terms (30%) and 1 finals (70%), no project no presentation.

3. Both the exams were open book

4. My friends said that it was easy to get A. (WE WERE WRONG)

This module was taught by prof Zhang Min Hong, it was basically a CE2155 materials part module but tougher, more content and more details. Even though it was an open book exam, DO NOT BE FOOLED. I felt that there was still a need to study for it because during my mid terms I was frantically flipping through my notes, trying to find the answers to the questions and hence wasting precious time. I felt that there was no need to memorise the content exactly, but there was a need to know where to find what (eg. which set of notes to refer to when certain questions appear). I personally felt that Prof Zhang's notes were slightly less organized compared to some of the other professors, which is why I strong recommend attending/watching her lectures. Additionally, many of the chapters were interconnected, hence it would definitely be helpful to remember some of the basic content (eg. functions of superplasticizers, mineral admixtures etc.).   

For the exams, everything that was tested could be found in the notes. For the quantitative questions (which were the concrete mix design and calculation of void space), it did required some sort of understanding as they were slightly application-based questions. There were some questions in the exam which she recycled from the Past Year Papers (PYP), so do take a look at the PYP.

Overall, this module was very manageable, because it was one of those "Own Time Own Target" module, this is why it was a good module for a bad student like me, who accumulated 3 weeks of webcast and watched for 9 hours straight. I strongly do not recommend doing this because it is very detrimental to learning but I needed more time for my FYP so..... you get it ;)

Expected Grade: A-

Actual Grade: A

  

CE4282 BIM for PM

This module had a mixture of hands-on PC cluster sessions AND lectures in classrooms. It was a very manageable module until the project part kicked in. Basically, I felt that my group and I did nothing until 2 weeks before the project deadline. Again, I really do not recommend last minute work because it was physically and mentally challenging (but I do it anyway because I prioritize FYP).

The reason I took this module was because when I was interning, everyone kept telling me how BIM would be the future of engineering. In addition, I already picked up some Revit myself during my internship, hence I thought I could beat the bell curve (BUT I WAS WRONG). Also, I saw the chance to write more lines in my resume with the many software taught in this module (which I am very thankful for because some of the job interviewers saw it as my advantage).

There were a few computer software that were taught, such as Revit, Tekla Structural Designer, Tekla Structures, Naviworks and Dynamo. The tutorials taught in the PC Cluster covered only the very basic functions such as creating walls, floors, beams, columns and running analysis with a click of a button. There was still a need to put in the effort to learn the more advanced functions of the software at your own time.

I felt that this module was a very group-project-based module, there was a lot of teamwork needed. Below are the breakdown of the components:
A group project (designing a building, yes you do archi + C&S): 35%,
An Individual quiz: 40%
A group assignment: 10%
An individual assignment: 5%.

Of course, the individual assignment was still done as a group because TEAMWORK! For the individual quiz, it was done at the PC lab using our own laptops, everyone received the same questions but with different orders, so ultimately everyone still has to learn the different software by themselves. There was no way to cheat.

Being a Technical Elective, there were a few masters students whom already had industrial experience. Hence, during the project presentation, some of the groups really came up with very sophisticated building design and walk-through using software other than Naviswork. I remember the feeling of defeat when I compared my group's design with the other groups. However, I heard of the judges telling this to the group beside me "It's a very nice building design, but how structurally feasible is your building?" It turned out that the group has yet to come up with a structural model and run the structural analysis (It was part of the project requirement).

All in all, it was a very enjoyable module with many things to learn. But for me, my greatest takeaway was how to use Revit and Tekla Structural Designer.

Expected Grade: B
Actual Grade: B+ (Thank you Dr Yeoh)

LAS1201 Spanish 1

The main reason I took this module was because there was no finals. Also, the thing I like about language modules was that there was no understanding of any concepts required. It was bascially just pure memory work. However, being a language mod, consistency was needed because new vocabulary was introduced every lesson. In addition, I felt that the pace of the lesson was slightly fast after recess week.

We were told to buy the textbook Aula Internacional 1 during the first lesson, however, there was a major disaster (emotional word I know) with the supplier and co-op, hence many students were unable to purchase the textbook. From the conversation I had between the aunty at the bookstore, she explained that the supplier did not manage to deliver what they promised for weeks and hence the bookstore decided to look for a new supplier.

To be honest, I felt that if you were only planning to take Spanish 1, and not continuing with the higher level Spanish modules, there is no need to purchase the textbook (if I remember correctly, it cost more than $40). I had a few classmates who took photos of the textbook from other classmates who bought it instead of buying their own, because Spanish 1 only covers the first 4 chapters of the entire textbook. Personally, I survived the first 6 weeks of lesson without a textbook. 

This module include a mid term quiz of 25%, final quiz that was conducted during week 12 (25%), oral exam conducted on week 13 (20%), a group project of making a video in Spanish (20%) and lastly, class participation 10%. 

Since I rarely spoke in class and predicted that I would do badly for oral, I told myself that I had to do well for my written quizzes and the video assignment which added up to 70%. For my mid terms and final quiz, I scored 89/100 and 82/100 respectively. It was not difficult as everything tested were taught in class. Basically, the format for both written quiz was listening comprehension, fill in the blanks and a short essay/write-up (I just memorized a few sentences and vomited them out). I skipped 1 lesson due to FYP commitments. Filming the video was easy (shoutout to Sheron, canoe dude Edwin and Karmae who edited our video alone herself) because it was freestyle filming and my groupmates came up with a very creative idea for the video (which was further confirmed by our tutor). I probably did very badly for my oral of 20% (as expected) because I spoke too much English to my tutor. The oral started with a 1 minute introduction of myself, and the next 4 minutes was conversation with my tutor. The questions asked were mostly covered during lesson. 

There was a lot of effort needed for this module as I found myself revising my Spanish every night. Havier was a great tutor who was very well-prepared for every lesson. However, I really did look forward to every lesson because it was a break from the mathematical concepts I was learning in Engineering classes.

Expected Grade: B+

Actual Grade: A-

LSM1306 Forensic Science

For the module, I was outbidded on CORS so many times that I wrote an appeal to Prof Stella. She was very responsive and kind to allow me to take this after CORS bankrupt all my points in my General Account but okay Year 4 last sem. I have never been more thankful.

This module was taught by lecturers who held full time jobs in the day, such as a prosecutor, pathologist, police officers etc. Hence, it was an extremely insightful module, which I felt that whatever I had learnt were directly connected to the industry. Lectures were mostly very enjoyable, with only 1 or 2 chapters consisting of very dry content. The gory images that the lecturers showed were sometimes disturbing, especially when they explained the entire event of the case, it made the case very memorable. There was no webcast for this module because the images used in the lectures were confidential.

From the many module reviews I read online about Forensic Science, they talked about how steep the bell curve would be when 1 incorrect MCQ answered could result in 1 grade difference. Hence, I did not want to take this module initially because I was always on the naughty list of the Bell Curve God. But I remembered that I had 3 SU left, so all I need was a C+ for me to SU this module.

For the hands-on practical, it was doing fingerprinting with black powder and black magnetic powder, writing an essay based on a video shown and identifying the types of hair (human/ dog/ cat/ deer/ mouse hair) under a microscope. The weightage of the practical was relatively low, hence I did not have the pressure to do well, but I scored an A- (no bell curve here yet). Similarly for the mid terms, which I scored a B+ (no bell curve here yet too). The weightage for finals was huge, hence I studied slightly harder than during the mid terms, because people warned me about the bell curve.

For the module, other than Prof Stella, I would also like to thank the Bell Curve God for pulling me through.

Expected Grade: B+
Actual Grade: A-

End of Blogpost.