Professor Andy Khong from NTU College of Engineering penned down his thoughts and offered his wisdom to students.
Beyond the academics
The world is evolving into one driven by competing forces, and our interconnected economies are dynamic and heavily interdependent. In such a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world, companies must adapt and turn challenges into opportunities to stay relevant and competitive. This often translates to a workforce where employees are resourceful, innovative, and highly collaborative. Gone are the days whereby companies hire based solely on what their candidates know, since domain knowledge today may well be obsolete in the very near future. That is not to say academic knowledge is not important – companies focus on how you can leverage your know-how and contribute effectively to their needs. Skills that you possess will therefore serve as enablers that drive knowledge into tangible outcomes that advance humanity.
Preparing yourself
Given the multiple roles that we simultaneously undertake in our daily lives, our commitments quite often compete for our time. Academic pursuit, by far (and rightfully so), should remain as one of your top priorities as you navigate your learning journey. But what lies beyond academic pursuit? Apart from relationships, personal interest, wellbeing, and health, where have you placed holistic development in your list of priorities? Here is a RIGHT approach that you can consider getting you started.
Week 1- Recognise your needs
Skills for the future may include, for example, communication, collaboration, decision making, and strategic thinking. Knowing what skills employers are looking for is essential but are by no means sufficient. Recognising the level of competencies that you possess in each of these skill areas allows you to chart and plan your next step in your holistic learning journey. Multiple online resources (e.g., SkillsFuture framework) describe skills specific to your domain expertise and other essential (soft) skills employers are looking for. Free online tools (e.g., skillsyouneed.com) are also readily available to assess the level of competencies through self-assessment. While these tools may not be entirely accurate, they serve as a good guide and provides you with feedback for your developmental needs.
Week 2 – Identify available resources
Workshops and seminars offer excellent opportunities for students and working professionals to acquire new skillsets. Often, due to time constraints, email broadcasts go unnoticed and end up in the spam folder. NTU’s Career Attachment Office, for instance, offers career and workplace skills workshops that prepare students for interviews, job assessment and aptitude tests. There are also workshops conducted around the campus to equip students with domain-specific knowledge. Most students, however, waited until their final year before tapping on these resources, failing to realise that acquiring these skills requires time and effort. Competitions and hackathons offer students open-ended challenges where no solution is deemed perfect – participants are exposed to problems without a clear solution. These wicked problems require them to incorporate a decision-making process that reflects real-world situations. Often, students feel they do not possess sufficient skills and are intimidated by other more experienced participants. Most of these competitions, however, provide training opportunities and do not assume prior know-how. Exposure and working alongside more experienced participants will provide valuable and much-needed exposure
Week 3 – Get into the action
Setting time aside to acquire skills regularly aids in prioritising your commitments. It also regulates your attitude towards continual improvement. Time is the most valuable asset, and faced with competing demands, failure to allocate time would be unwise in today’s setting. One can, for instance, set aside an hour per week indulging in online seminars organised by the National Library Board, or meeting up with a career coach. You might also consider picking up an online workshop that complements your domain knowledge – learn about the fundamentals of social sciences if you are an engineering student. Investing time today in these valuable activities will allow you to tap on your newly acquired knowledge and skills when a situation calls for such a need.
Week 4 onwards – Hone your newly acquired skills
Newly acquired skills without opportunities to hone them are akin to tools locked away for good. Co-curricular activities such as student clubs, societies, and makerspaces offer excellent options for you to apply newly acquired skills and, more importantly, learn from failures. Practise leadership and strategic thinking skills so that your student clubs can generate a higher impact. Create opportunities for yourself by venturing into a start-up with your peers. You might fail, but you have already failed if you do not even take the first step.
Week 6 onwards – Time to reflect
We are all endowed with the ability to reflect and track our progress. Like how one might invest in virtual gym mobile apps, you might want to consider skill tracker software. The university is working towards a system where students can visualise how their skills build up over time from their activities, be it on or off-campus. In the meantime, there is no harm in going back to the pen-and-paper to chart your progress. That email had brought back many fond memories, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of his quest toward his holistic education in NTU. Towards his graduation, I can sense that he has never regretted putting in the effort to develop himself beyond the knowledge he acquired from his academic courses. Regardless of how well he has achieved in those, he has undoubtedly empowered himself by taking that small proactive step towards equipping himself with skills that complement his domain knowledge.
And oh, I wonder when the wedding invitation is coming?
Associate Professor Andy Khong is the Associate Dean (Students) at NTU College of Engineering. He is passionate about student development and learning.
