In a society heavily reliant on knowledge and ideas, communication is key. The ability to communicate knowledge and ideas from one’s disciplinary advantage can determine the extent to which one can achieve career success.
From an engineering perspective, the ability to collaborate is crucial to developing effective integrated solutions to complex multidisciplinary problems. There can be no collaboration without communication. Similarly, and maybe less instinctive to many, there can be no communication without a certain degree of collaboration of minds.
Throughout the ENGGEN series of courses through to your Year-4, and in fact, throughout your undergrad training, effective communication and collaboration will be increasingly expected from you. Thus in this course, you will learn and apply the principles of communication, with the aim to make each of you skilled in the art of effective collaboration. As collaboration requires teamwork, their is a very strong emphasis on collaborative group work, and students will learn about being effective team members. Learnings include how to recognise, prevent, and correct team dysfunction and how to assess and improve team and individual performance through giving and receiving feedback.
There are four parts to this course. The first is on teamwork, the function or dysfunction of teams, conflict management and decision-making. These are all part of the skills needed to form an effective high functioning team. The second is on modes of discourse, reflective practice, and giving and receiving effective feedback. These are all part of the skills needed for communication. The third is on the social skills of participation, perspective-taking, and social regulation. These are key ingredients to any successful collaboration. The fourth is practising and contextualising these skills by discussing current important topics, such as those around health and safety, sustainability, ethics, and stakeholders.