This proposal highlights the potential problems triggered by the implementation of the new regulation by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). The clause states that for future installation of solar panels on rooftops, exit stairways will be required. The requirement of having an exit stairway incurs a cost that will be borne by local solar panel companies adopting “solar leasing” as their main business model and it will cause a setback to the solar sector. The proposed solutions consist of two parts, providing subsidies for installation of solar panels and floating solar panel technology. The proposal suggests that these solutions will help to prevent the decrease of solar companies in Singapore and in return, boost the solar sector and its market to aid Singapore in their green movement.
Personal statement
Dylan Tan Hong Kuang
During my polytechnic education, I learnt how steam turbines produces electricity. However, this method was very harmful to the environment. Over the years, I have developed an interest in clean energy and have been intrigued with the possible idea of harnessing energy from the sun without harming the environment. With my group, I hope to be able to come up with a solution to enable the installation of solar panels in homes both affordable and convenient.
Letter of Transmittal
Team Hazy
SIT@DOVER
10 Dover Drive
Singapore 138683
29 October 2015
Dr Beh Swan Gin
Chairman
Singapore Economic Development Board
250 North Bridge Road
Singapore 179101
Dear Dr Beh
Re: Proposal for Solar Panels Installation Subsidy
We are delighted to present the above proposal aimed at presenting plausible solutions to encourage installations of solar panels and counteracting the possible setbacks that may arise with the implementation of the new Singapore Civil Defense Force (SCDF) regulation.
The report will present a summary of research done, revolving around solar panels related installations in Singapore and Singapore’s efforts in increasing solar energy produced as a country. In addition, it will also detail the impacts faced by the solar industries in Singapore due to the new regulation, at the same time presenting probable solutions coupled with the weighing of its benefits and negative effects.
We appreciate your time spent on this proposal. We hope you will consider our proposal to catalyze the achievement of Singapore’s goal to produce 350MWp of solar energy by Year 2020.
Yours Sincerely,
Dylan Tan Hong Kuang
On behalf of Team Hazey
Reader response Draft 4.
“Why climate change needs engineers”
In the article “Why the climate fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015) states that innovations from engineers will be crucial in the fight against climate change. In order to achieve this, Singapore has launched several new schemes to help nurture engineers so as to better equip them with the necessary skill-set in order to better combat sustainability challenges and climate change. The author also states that the only way to incorporate sustainability in our urban environment is through advancements in technology in the green energy and environment as well as the sustainable development sector. Some technologies mentioned include “eco-smart towns” with fuel cells and efficient systems to recycle and dispose of materials effectively. In the same article, Kuttan, director and country manager of Clean Technology Center, further emphasizes that such tasks will not be possible without the expertise of professional engineers from the energy sector. She concluded that solving such challenges would require innovations from a vast field of professional engineers understanding how various technologies blend cohesively together to form a sustainable power system. I agree with the fact that engineers should be entrusted with the important role in solving the problem of climate change in the near future.
In our current urban environment, we are surrounded by technology and machines that have become such a big part of our lives that many would find it near impossible to live without such commodities. Removing equipment that is currently responsible for the majority of carbon emissions would be out of the question. However, with the expertise of engineers in the green technology sector, such problems with carbon emissions as well as inefficiency of equipment and appliances could be greatly reduced or even removed (Chua, 2015).
In addition, Chua (2015) states that cities in Asia are especially important in the fight against climate change as they are currently responsible for up to 75 per cent of the region’s carbon emissions and the statistics are expected to increase if nothing is done to mitigate such existing issues. In recognition of the substantial amount of carbon emission from the cities, engineers from consultancy firms use their analytical, technical as well as interpersonal skill to analyse problems and come up with methods to solve specific environmental problems in the industry. A good example would be engineers from AECOM, an integrated infrastructure firm (Li, 2015). Engineers from the firm will advise clients on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings, while creating a comfortable and healthy living environment for tenants. With the influence of such engineers, there should be a significant decrease in carbon emissions in the future.
Lastly, to counter the production of carbon emissions, many engineers have developed various new technologies to produce energy while reducing our environmental footprint. New companies such as Pionovasion have started projects to commercialise convenient and affordable environmentally friendly technology such as the solar cloth, a portable yet bendable thin-film solar cell that is able to harness energy from the sun. A group of engineers have recently installed solar panels in a remote school located in the inaccessible part of the Tangshan Mountain, Hebei province. The solar panels are currently providing 90 per cent of Wang Bao Primary School’s electricity consumption which helps reduce carbon emission by 13.7 tonnes and saves the school US$2,180 on electricity bills annually. With solar technology being developed to provide clean energy conveniently anywhere there is sunlight, the need for energy from coal should be drastically reduced. Through such innovations in solar technology by engineers, the issue of carbon emission by the country is expected to improve tremendously.
In conclusion, there should be a great demand for engineers in the green technology sector in our future. I feel that Singapore took the necessary initiative to aid the recruitment and development of engineers in this very important sector. This should open opportunities in the engineering sector to further develop new ideas and solutions, which would result in a significant drop of carbon emissions thus making Singapore’s dream of being the first “Smart Nation” a reality in the near future.
Reference
Chua. J. (2015 July 28). Engineers play crucial role in climate change. Eco-Business. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/engineering-plays-crucial-role-in-climate-change/
Chua. J. (2015 September 29). Bringing the power of the sun to every home. Eco-Business. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/bringing-the-power-of-the-sun-to-every-home/
Li. M. (2015 May 13). Engineers have a role to play in minimizing climate change. Aecom.com Retrieved from http://blogs.aecom.com/engineers-have-a-role-to-play-in-minimizing-climate-change/
Shah. V. (2015, June 8). Why climate fight needs engineers. Eco-Business. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/
The role of peer and tutor feedback in my learning
Growing up, I believe everyone has been exposed to various forms of presentation, be it a talk during an event, a lecture or a simple sharing session. I have encountered really engaging presenters that got my attention throughout the presentation as well as some that were soothing enough to induce slumber.
During my tertiary education, there was never a strong emphasis on presentation skills and the delivery of content for the engineering course I studied in. Because of this culture, I was not bothered that much with my sub-par presentation skills.
SIE 2016 effective communication module was a real culture shock for me as I was dealing mostly with numbers and diagrams for most of my tertiary education. Most of our presentations were informal and there usually would only be one person paying attention to our presentation which was nowhere near as frightening as presenting to an entire class. However, for this communication module, we were expected to present to an entire class whose attention will solely be on you for a good three minutes. What made my anxiety worse was knowing we had to replicate the standards shown in a video two weeks before the actual presentation. However, I am glad that I was forced out of my comfort zone to prepare for a formal presentation. I was really nervous before and during the actual presentation and was disappointed that I still blanked out despite practicing so much. Presentation skills will be very useful when conveying ideas in the future and I am thankful I had a chance to learn such a useful skill in this module. I intend to improve on my presentation delivery more in the future and I know the only way to improve is through constant practice.
Another main take away from SIE 2016 would be the practicing of writing skills and basic English. We were tasked to maintain e-portfolios with the use of blogs as well as doing assignments like writing responses to an article online. I have never been comfortable expressing myself with words or to maintain a personal journal despite the teacher’s efforts in my secondary education. Which is why I found the reader’s response entry during the first few lessons of this module really challenging to, coupled with procrastination, the assignment took forever to complete. Through these assignments, I have found myself being able to read and comprehend articles as well as paraphrasing information from other sources and forming my own opinions on the topic a lot better. I believe these writing skills and knowledge on different report formats will be very important and helpful for the rest of my education in SIE.
Feedback is definitely essential for an individual to improve in any aspect. Throughout this module, we have had to give constant feedback to our peers on several assignments as well as feedback from our tutor. Through feedback sessions with my peers, we were able to highlight flaws in each other’s writing that we might not have been aware of. Additionally, by spotting each other mistakes and learning from them, we can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. By reading assignments by my peers, I was able to expose myself to a wider range of writing styles and learning from different styles to incorporate into my own writing. Other than peer evaluation and feedback, there was also feedback and criticism from our tutor. His feedbacks were always firm and clear yet never failing to encourage you to improve on your next attempt.
There will definitely be more reports and presentations to come in the future and I believe the skills I have picked up from this module will help me tremendously with my journey in SIT.
Presentation reflection
16 November 2015, the day our group had to give an oral presentation to the rest of the class. Even though we had the longest time to prepare and were presenting to a group of familiar faces, it was still terrifying as I was never very comfortable being the centre of everyone’s attention. On top of that, the videos of professional presenters shown in class we very intimidating and knowing that we were expected to perform at a similar level was terrifying.
Despite the repeated self-practice sessions I had in my room with me talking to myself in the mirror, I still had stage freight on the day of the presentation. I did manage to calm myself down a little by reminding myself that I was presenting to people that had been in the same situation I was in. During the presentation, I did notice that whenever I felt really nervous and forgot my lines, I would stare at the ceiling and lose eye contact with the audience. Something we have been constantly reminded not to do. I also forgot to use one of the slides which left me a little confused when I turned around to check which part of the presentation I was at. I felt so much relief when I saw the chart on the final slide. Because that meant that the end of the presentation was near. I felt my voice was loud enough to reach the audience at the back but I was not aware of where I was standing during the presentation as well as what kind of gestures I used during the presentation.
I was looking forward to constructive criticism during the feedback session as it would give me an idea on how to improve for my next presentation. But the class seemed really hesitant to give criticism that day.
Overall I felt that we managed to sell our idea fairly well and there will always be room for improvement. I believe presentations will be an inevitable and important part of our lives in the future, be it informal or formal. I will put in more effort to maintain eye contact and engage the audience in my next presentation as well as changing my mind set to calm myself down and be more confident.
The source of my inspiration
To the man that I have always looked up to, portrayed as the strong, cheerful and wise, the man that could fix almost anything and solve any of my primary school math problems. My hero, my father.
He is the most selfless man I know. Always putting our needs before his. When I was young, I often see Dad arriving home from work after 9pm. I foolishly thought that was the normal working hours of an adult, working from 8am till 8pm every day. However, the fact was that he was constantly taking part time courses to improve himself to get a promotion to better support the family. Despite his busy schedule, he would always find time to spend with the family on weekends. He was never fond of visiting restaurants because of how taxing it would be on his wallet, but would still make an effort to expose us to such luxury once in a while. Till today, he would still order the cheapest item on the menu while letting us order whatever we craved.
When I was young, I would have fevers that would last several days fairly often. During those times, he would sacrifice sleep just to take care of me even after an exhausting day at work and knowing he had to wake up early for work again the next day. He would even take leave just to stay home to nurse me back to health.
He was also the one to instil discipline, teach respect as well as how to have fun. He would bring us on camping trips at East Coast Park during the weekends where he would teach us how to build a tent, ride a bike, as well as starting a fire for the barbeque. Being an engineer, mathematics was one of his stronger subjects and he was always eager to share his mathematical knowledge. However, I was always hesitant to ask for his help as he would spend a lot of time making sure I really understood the topic, when what I really wanted was to finish up my homework and play.
Growing up, I have always thought of nagging as one of my father’s hobbies. He could nag non-stop and leave me wondering how he never runs out of things to say. I do know he means well and that he only nags at me because he cares and genuinely wants me to change for the better. Which leaves me feeling guilty after throwing my temper at him. Through his countless nagging session, I have grown and learnt so much.
Being the troublesome boy in my primary school, I patronised the discipline master’s office fairly often. My father would receive frequent calls from the discipline master, which he would respond on the phone, “Oh, it’s you again, what did he do this time?” Despite constantly disappointing him, he would always stand by my side and supported my interests. Making him proud would mean the world to me.
To my father, the one always wanting the best for us and never expecting anything in return. I will never be able to repay the amount of time he has sacrificed for us. The love and effort he put in. I am truly blessed to be able to call him my father.
Reader response Draft 3
In the article “Why the climate fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015) states that innovations from engineers will be crucial in the fight against climate change. In order to achieve this, Singapore has launched several new schemes to help nurture engineers so as to better equip them with the necessary skill-set in order to better combat sustainability challenges and climate change. The author also states that the only way to incorporate sustainability in our urban environment is through advancements in technology in the green energy and environment as well as the sustainable development sector. Some technologies mentioned include “eco-smart towns” with fuel cells and efficient systems to recycle and dispose of materials effectively. Kuttan, director and country manager of Clean Technology Center, further emphasizes that such tasks will not be possible without the expertise of professional engineers from the energy sector. She concluded that solving such challenges would require innovations from a vast field of professional engineers understanding how various technologies blend cohesively together to form a sustainable power system. I agree with the fact that engineers should be entrusted with the important role in solving the problem of climate change in the near future.
In our current urban environment, we are surrounded by technology and machines that have become such a big part of our lives that many would find it near impossible to live without such commodities. Removing equipment that is currently responsible for the majority of carbon emissions would be out of the question. However, with the expertise of engineers in the green technology sector, such problems with carbon emissions as well as inefficiency of equipment and appliances could be greatly reduced or even removed (Chua, 2015).
In addition, Chua (2015) states that cities in Asia are especially important in the fight against climate change as they are currently responsible for up to 75 per cent of the region’s carbon emissions and the statistics are expected to increase if nothing is done to mitigate such existing issues. In recognition of the substantial amount of carbon emission from the cities, engineers from consultancy firms use their analytical, technical as well as interpersonal skill to analyse problems and come up with methods to solve specific environmental problems in the industry. A good example would be engineers from AECOM, an integrated infrastructure firm. Engineers from the firm advises its clients on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the building, while creating a comfortable and healthy living environment for tenants. With the influence of such engineers, there should be a significant decrease in carbon emissions in the future.
Lastly, to counter the production of carbon emissions, many engineers have developed various new technologies to produce energy while reducing our environmental footprint. New companies such as Pionovasion have started projects to commercialise convenient and affordable environmentally friendly technology such as the solar cloth, a bendable thin-film solar cell. A group of engineers have recently installed solar panels in a remote school located in the inaccessible part of the mountains. The solar panels are currently providing 90 per cent of the school’s electricity consumption which helps reduce carbon emission by 13.7 tonnes and saves the school US$2,180 on electricity bills annually. With solar technology being developed to provide clean energy conveniently anywhere there is sunlight, the need for energy from coal should be drastically reduced. Through such innovations in solar technology by engineers, the issue of carbon emission by the country is expected to improve tremendously.
In conclusion, there should be a great demand for engineers in the green technology sector in our future. I feel that Singapore took the necessary initiative to aid the recruitment and development of engineers in this very important sector. This should open opportunities in the engineering sector to further develop new ideas and solutions, which would result in a significant drop of carbon emissions thus making Singapore’s dream of being the first Smart Nation a reality in the near future.
Reference
Jean C. (2015 July 28). Engineers play crucial role in climate change. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/engineering-plays-crucial-role-in-climate-change/
Jean C. (2015 September 29). Bringing the power of the sun to every home. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/bringing-the-power-of-the-sun-to-every-home/
Michael L. (2015 May 13). Engineers have a role to play in minimizing climate change. Retrieved from http://blogs.aecom.com/engineers-have-a-role-to-play-in-minimizing-climate-change/
Valdehi S. (2015, June 8). Why climate fight needs engineers. Retrieved from http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/
Why climate change needs engineers – Draft 2
Base on “Why the climate fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015) states that innovations from engineers will be crucial to the fight against climate change. Thus, Singapore has launched several new schemes to help nurture engineers to better equip them with the necessary skill-set in order to better combat sustainability challenges and climate change. The author also states that the only way to incorporate sustainability in our urban environment is through advancements in technology in the green energy and environment as well as the sustainable development sector. Some technologies mentioned include “eco-smart towns” with fuel cells and efficient systems to recycle and dispose of materials effectively. Kuttan, director and country manager of clean technology center, further emphasizes that such tasks will not be possible without the expertise of professional engineers from the energy sector. Therefore, she concluded that solving such challenges will require innovations from a vast field of professional engineers understanding how these technology blend cohesively together forming a sustainable power system. I agree with the fact that engineers will be entrusted with the important role in solving the problem of climate change in the near future. *
Considering the fact that in our urban environment we are surrounded by technology and machines that have become a very big part of our everyday lives and many would find it near impossible to live without such commodities. Therefore, removing equipment that are currently responsible for the majority of carbon emission would be out of the question. However, with the expertise of engineers in the green technology sector, such problems with carbon emission as well as inefficiency of equipment and appliances could be greatly reduced or even removed (Chua, 2015).
In addition, Chua (2015) states that cities in Asia are especially important in the fight against climate change as cities in Asia are currently responsible for up to 75 per cent of the region’s carbon emissions and the statistics are expected to increase if nothing is done to mitigate such existing issues. However, in recent years, the Singapore government has recognised the rising demand for engineers to help transform Singapore to improve the quality of living for its citizens as well as to address the current issue of climate change. Furthermore, with support from the government, Singapore will be one step closer to its dream of being the world’s first Smart Nation.
Lastly, to aid in such issues, new companies such as Pionovasion has already started projects to commercialise convenient and affordable environmentally friendly technology such as bendable thin-film solar cells. This solar technology is able to provide clean energy conveniently to homes or any vehicle anywhere there is sunlight. Thus reducing the need for energy from coal, which is currently supplying 65 per cent of China’s power needs.
In conclusion, I feel that Singapore took the necessary initiative to aid the advancement of more green technology as well as opening the opportunities available in the engineering sector to further develop new ideas and solutions plus making possible the dream of Singapore being the first Smart Nation a reality in the near future.
References
Valdehi Shah. (2015). Why climate fight needs engineers. Retrieved 22 September 2015 from http://www.eco-business.com/news/why-the-climate-fight-needs-engineers/
Jean Chua. (2015). Engineers play crucial role in climate change. Retrieved 27 September 2015 from http://www.eco-business.com/news/engineering-plays-crucial-role-in-climate-change/
Jean Chua. (2015). Bringing the power of the sun to every home. Retrieved 28 September 2015 from http://www.eco-business.com/news/bringing-the-power-of-the-sun-to-every-home/
Readers response draft 1 (Why the climate fight needs engineers)
Base on “Why the climate fight needs engineers”, Shah (2015) states that innovations from engineers in the green technology sector will be crucial to the fight against climate change. Thus, Singapore has launched several new schemes to help nurture engineers to better equip them with the necessary skill-set in order to better combat sustainability challenges and climate change. The author also states that the only way to incorporate sustainability in our urban environment is through advancement in technology in the green energy and environment as well as the sustainable development sector. Some technologies mentioned include “eco-smart towns” with fuel cells and efficient systems to recycle and dispose of materials effectively. Kuttan, director and country manager of clean technology center, further emphasizes that such tasks will not be possible without the expertise of professional engineers from the energy sector. Therefore, she concluded that solving such challenges will require innovations from a vast field of professional engineers understanding how these technology blend cohesively together forming a sustainable power system.
I agree with the fact that engineers will play a huge role in solving the problem of climate change in the near future and the new schemes introduced by Singapore will be able to attract more people to join the industry as well as being able to train and further develop existing engineers in the green technology sector.
Considering the fact that in our urban environment, we are surrounded by technology.
Technology and machines has become a very big part of our everyday lives and many would find it near impossible to live without such commodities. Thus, removing equipment that are responsible for the majority of carbon emission would be out of the question. However, with the expertise of engineers in the green technology sector, such problems with carbon emission as well as inefficiency of equipment and appliances could be greatly reduced or even removed.
I feel that Singapore took the necessary initiative to aid the advancement of more green technology as well as new ideas and solutions.
My Effective Communication Journey 