Design It: A Reflective Writing

This reflective writing discusses personal and knowledge development in engineering management. It covers critical self-analysis and reflection on personal and knowledge development, literature review on identified areas, and an action plan for the next 6 months. The identified areas of improvement include creativity, design technology, and emerging technologies in engineering.

Running head: A REFLECTIVE WRITING
'Design It': A Reflective Writing
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1A REFLECTIVE WRITING
Executive summary
The study aims at doing a reflective-piece of work to identify potential areas of improvement in
me. It does so by going through several stages like doing a critical self-analysis of both personal
and knowledge development. It also uses Gibbs Reflective Cycle to write a reflective content of
personal and knowledge developments. Moreover, it covers a literature review on the identified
areas of improvement to be able to design an action plan of improvement.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Summarization of blog entries.....................................................................................................3
3. Critical self-analysis and reflection on personal development....................................................4
4. Critical self-analysis and reflection on knowledge development................................................6
5. Literature review on the identified areas.....................................................................................8
6. Action Plan for next 6 months...................................................................................................10
7. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................13
References......................................................................................................................................14

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1. Introduction
Taking part in activity-based learning sessions is a good approach towards personal and
professional development. These activities can help to identify a numerous positivity and
negativity into one’s life. Being a student of ‘Engineering Management’, I am needed to learn
both technical and personal skills to behave professional and technically sound in the job place.
These things are now a necessary part of a professional career. Getting good jobs have become
tougher these days due to increasingly rising demands of employers for professionals with sound
technical and interpersonal skills (Hajkowicz et al., 2016). Limiting efforts only to design a good
‘Journey Map’ is not just sufficient enough for a brighter career, there are needs for added things
as well. Added things will include taking parts in activity based sessions probably at the
academic level as these activities will help to identify the personal strengths and weaknesses
zones. The preparation for getting a good job should follow an organized way. The main purpose
of this assignment is also to discuss my personal and professional skills development in an
organized way. It mainly has a few stages included in skills development process. Those stages
are critical self-analysis and reflection in context to knowledge management and personal
development and constructing an action plan.
2. Summarization of blog entries
Weekly blogs for different weeks were mainly aimed at improving personal and technical
skills in participants. I was also one of the participants in activities being held during entire ten
weeks. These activities have helped me in identifying my personal strengths and weaknesses,
understanding a few areas for future development and observing others doing so many things
quite effectively. I got to learn so many things like ‘Rapid Prototyping’, which is needed to put
ideas into the form of tangible products. I was also able to learn theories related to design

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technology. Moreover, activities had also imparted a knowledge on latest design technology
related tools like 3D printing.
3. Critical self-analysis and reflection on personal development
A critical self-analysis
This section covers an analysis of my strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it also
identifies what are opportunities and threats to me. To reach to the mentioned purpose of this
section, a personal SWOT analysis will be extremely handful. There are some strengths in me as
well as the weaknesses, which I could identify while being part of the different activities. At the
start, I found this topic ‘Design it’ as very interesting. I was very excited and soon could develop
an idea that this is going to be a good journey. I eagerly waited for next activities to come to
know what is there for me in this unit. After going through the entire activities, I could identify
that there are some strengths and weaknesses in me. I could also learn that being a student of
engineering management, I have a list of opportunities and threats as well. Moreover, these
findings indicate towards the necessity to adapt to an action plan, which helps me to repair my
weaknesses and prevent the potential threats.
Strengths: The ability to construct problem solving ideas is one of my strengths. At the
start of this unit, I was not very confident with problem-solving skills. However, later on, after
observing how others do it, I could identify ways to develop the problem-solving skills.
Eagerness to learn is the other strength in me, which encourage me to look towards varieties of
opportunities. This is also why I have decided to continue taking parts in units, which are
focused on improving ‘Design Technology’ skills. I am also a good observer of things as I could
identify the ideas, which my classmates had generated.

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Weaknesses: I need to work on improving the creative skills in me. Creativity is utterly
required to make instant decisions for taking part in activities that provide a good platform to
learn various things. The inability to identify potential platforms of personal skills development
is the other weakness in me.
Opportunities: Prototyping technology has a lot to offer to engineering professionals. The
engineering industry already has a lot of prototyping technologies available to it. In addition, the
industry also witnesses emerging technologies such as 3D printing. The unit did help me to
understand the importance of discussing or sharing each other’s ideas. It is because such
discussions produce or generate new ideas.
Threats: I am needed to be more careful with my inability to identify appropriate
resources to progress towards my goal. It happened to me in this unit as well. However, this
could be sorted out with an organized action plan, which I would be able to do by the end of this
study.
Reflection on personal development
Gibbs reflective cycle is a very helpful guide for doing reflective works. It allows
conducting a piece of reflective study through its various stages such as description, feelings,
evaluation, conclusions and action (Pianpeng & Koraneekij, 2016).
On reflecting back to my self-analysis, I can describe the areas, which I am needed to
work upon. More specifically, I must look to improve my ability as a creative person. This is
helpful not in academics only but in job places as well.
Gibbs cycle also advises to feel or react to the identified weakness in me. After being a
part of this unit and also after knowing the growing job competition in the engineering industry, I

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must say that creativity is an important skill to attract employers. Moreover, creativity is required
to be a dynamic people at job places (Sia & Appu, 2015).
After evaluating my self-analysis, I find myself as needing a development plan to help
me groom my ability as a creative person.
In summary, I could say that I need to make an action plan, which is able to repair my
inability as a creative person.
I would put into a detailed action plan for the next six months to help me repair this issue
and become a creative person. A detailed action plan will be given later on in this report.
4. Critical self-analysis and reflection on knowledge development
A critical self-analysis
Strengths: I am good at understating technical skills as I did it by easily understanding
the ‘Rapid Prototyping’.
Weaknesses: I need to learn the ‘design technology’ skills in order to pursue a potential
career in the engineering industry. In addition, I am also needed to be more familiar with design
thinking tools, which will help me to progress with this unit. I am also required to learn how to
apply co-creation tool in real life problem.
Opportunities: The engineering industry in particular the design works is getting fuelled
with emerging technologies like 3D printing. It is, therefore, important for me to be aware with
DT skills and theories, so that, I am competitive enough to sustain my career in the engineering
industry.

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Threats: Engineering industry is dynamic in nature, which keeps on producing newer
technologies more rapidly. Hence, it is important to participate into number of such units and
also take help from case stories, online resources, textbooks and journal articles to be informed
on current changes and emerging trends.
Reflection on knowledge development
In this section again Gibbs reflective cycle will be used. Gibbs reflective cycle will help
to identify the contents to be included in the action plan.
The description stage of Gibbs encourages to describe the experience of activities. The
description suggests that I must work upon two areas such as being familiar with design tools
and attaining the design technology (DT) skills. In addition, my action plan should also include
the resources, which will help me be informed on current and emerging trends.
Feelings suggest to understand the level of urgency for improving the identified areas.
Since, I am management in engineering, it is, therefore, necessary for me to be updated with
ongoing changes in the industry. Being updated with the industry will help me use various
technologies, tools and strategies in problem-solving. In addition, decision-making skills will
also require utilizing various information on the engineering industry.
After I evaluated my strong and weak zones, I could summarize the areas of
improvement. Moreover, I am needed to work upon the ‘design technology’ related skills and
tools, co-creation tools and emerging technologies as well.
In summary, I can say that I am still into academics and needed to travel a mile to
succeed in the field of technologies. The main areas of improvement would be learning to

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different technologies to be equipped with skills to effectively utilize ‘DT’ technologies and
tools and co-creation tools and many more.
A detailed action plan can be found later on in this report.
5. Literature review on the identified areas
As opined by Cropley, (2016), creativity is one of the fundamental elements of
engineering. More importantly, creativity is related with the identification and generation of
novel and effective solutions to problems. Engineering design in a likewise manner is aimed at
similar goals, which is identify technological solutions to problems. Cropley further says that
creativity in engineering firms can enhance their capability and capacity for innovation. It is of
sheer importance to embed discussions on creativity in engineering education.
As stated by Toh and Miller, (2015), selection of appropriate tools and identification of
skills is of huge importance in the engineering design process. Toh and Miller further says that
very little facts are known to people about how such selection process is handled. Authors have
observed that in few situations, engineering professionals make selection of technologies based
on what is more feasible with the available resources. On the other hand, few have this habit that
they use creative ideas to select best engineering tools and technologies for a given problem
situation. It is, therefore, evident from the fact presented in this particular article that showing
creativity to the selection process is encouraged.
According to Mostafaeipour, (2016), Value Engineering (VE) technique is an important
process to facilitate innovation into the product design. Mostafaeipour finds that value
engineering can be used to increase the level of efficiency in products and optimize the cost of
life cycle. This leads to a shift from traditional approach of designs towards new efficient designs

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influenced from engineers capable in producing creative ideas. In the opinion of Rampersad and
Patel, (2014), creativity in recent times has emerged as a desirable graduate skill among
employers and students. In the light of this fact, Rampersad and Patel suggest that it is important
for academic institutions to consider a modification into existing syllabus for engineering
students for including creativity as an integral part of the syllabus. There are further
recommendations for promoting the existence of work-integrated learning to help students
become equipped with graduate skills, which employers are currently looking for. Authors say
that recommended changes if implemented in academics such as in engineering institutions,
graduate professionals will be equipped with relevant opportunities. Hence, the rate of
unemployment will decrease as well.
According to Raghav et al., (2016), there are needs to implement an educational
environment to promote an integrated learning environment where graduate skills are embedded
with current and emerging skills such as creativity. Authors have shown their concerns towards
the syllabus, the teaching standard and the learning environment that are provided to engineering
students. The authors have felt the necessity to promote creativity as a part of the recommended
syllabus, so that, graduate engineers are equipped with competitive skills. Shaikh, Khahro and
Memon, (2015) opines that creativity is an essential element of engineering projects because
these projects are very complex in nature and require a very high level of problem-solving and
decision-making skills from engineers. It is, therefore, important as suggested by authors that
creativity needs to be embedded into engineering syllabus, so that, productivity of engineering
graduates equipped with creativity skills could increase.
As opined by Moon et al., (2014), ‘design technologies (DT)’ such as 3D printing is
extensively used to make Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs are used for various

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military purposes attack missions, interplanetary exploration, surveillance of pipelines and
others. Currently, the research work on UAVs is motivated towards developing a fuel efficient,
fast adaptable UAV design enabled technologies for agile and flexible structures to be able to
adapt to and operate in any environment. The article put lights on the importance of working
towards attaining the DT skills and be acquainted with numerous emerging DT technologies.
According to Macdonald et al., (2014), time to market (TTM) is important in regards to a new
product development as this will affect the profitability of products of next generation. 3D
printing instead of 2D can help to attain the goal. This indicates that there are continuous
development works are happening in engineering design works. It is, therefore, evident that
engineering graduates must understand a number of technologies emerging in engineering
industry. This is possible only when these graduates have enough exposure to design technology
tools and theories. As argued by Godoi, Prakash and Bhandari, (2016), 3D printing that is also
known as additive manufacturing is also nowadays used in designing foods. It is generally being
used at three stages of food designs such as printability, applicability and post-processing. By
using these technologies, food making companies are competing each other in regards to food
designs. The fact suggests that the application of 3D technology is very wider and is perhaps
applicable in quite a many industries. Hence, the fact recommends to work on improving design
technology related skills.
6. Action Plan for next 6 months
This section covers a broader discussion on the action plan for the development of skills.
Action plan is for supporting my personal development seeking developments of identified
skills. Hence, the action plan will be as follows:
Priority Item Person Start date End date Progress

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level (1-10) Responsible
(8), highly
required
Creativity A number of
ways will be
needed to
follow in
order to
become
creative such
as taking part
in number of
activities to
observe peers
doing creative
things. I will
also read
stories of
reputed
companies,
which have
successfully
used
engineering
solutions. This
10th
October,
2018
10th April,
2019
Just started

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will help me
know a
various DT
tools, which
these
companies
have used in
different
circumstances.
(7), hugely
required
Design
Technology
Tools
A number of
activities will
help me learn
about the
various design
technology
tools.
1st October 1st
February,
2018
Only just
two stories
such as of
Apple and
Blackberry
have been
covered. I
am
intended to
read more
stories on
number of
different
companies.

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(5.5), should
always be
considered
Design
Technology
Theory
Activities will
help. Apart
from this,
online
resources,
textbooks,
journal
articles, case
studies etc.
will guide me
towards DT
theories.
6th October 18th
January
Just
started,
will learn
more
others
theories
Table 1: Action Plan
7. Conclusion
In summary, this can be said that it is important to take part in graduate-level activities
for being acquainted with design engineering theories, tools and technologies. These activities
won’t just help in learning about tools and theories but will also teach how to be creative.
Nonetheless, creativity is an essential element, which employers in the engineering industry are
looking for. In addition, such employers also look for those who are well equipped with design
technology tools and theories. An acquaintance with ‘DT’ theories and tools will help to identify
what theories and tools will be helpful in making the problem-solving decision.

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References
Cropley, D. H. (2016). Creativity in engineering. In Multidisciplinary Contributions to the
Science of Creative Thinking (pp. 155-173). Springer, Singapore.
Godoi, F. C., Prakash, S., & Bhandari, B. R. (2016). 3d printing technologies applied for food
design: Status and prospects. Journal of Food Engineering, 179, 44-54.
Hajkowicz, S. A., Reeson, A., Rudd, L., Bratanova, A., Hodgers, L., Mason, C., & Boughen, N.
(2016). Tomorrow’s digitally enabled workforce: Megatrends and scenarios for jobs and
employment in Australia over the coming twenty years. Australian Policy Online.
Macdonald, E., Salas, R., Espalin, D., Perez, M., Aguilera, E., Muse, D., & Wicker, R. B. (2014).
3D printing for the rapid prototyping of structural electronics. IEEE access, 2, 234-242.
Moon, S. K., Tan, Y. E., Hwang, J., & Yoon, Y. J. (2014). Application of 3D printing technology
for designing light-weight unmanned aerial vehicle wing structures. International
Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology, 1(3), 223-228.
Mostafaeipour, A. (2016). A novel innovative design improvement using value engineering
technique: a case study. Journal of Optimization in Industrial Engineering, 9(19), 25-36.
Pianpeng, T., & Koraneekij, P. (2016). Development of a Model of Reflection Using Video
Based on Gibbs's Cycle in Electronic Portfolio to Enhance Level of Reflective Thinking
of Teacher Students. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 6(1), 26.
Raghav, S., Tiwari, A., Gautam, M., Arya, K. S., Raghav, Y., & Thakran, A. (2016).
Embellishing Innovation Culture for Invigorating Engineering Education. International
Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Technology, 7(2).

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Rampersad, G., & Patel, F. (2014). Creativity as a Desirable Graduate Attribute: Implications for
Curriculum Design and Employability. Asia-Pacific Journal of Cooperative
Education, 15(1), 1-11.
Shaikh, P., Khahro, S. H., & Memon, A. A. (2015). Adoption of value engineering: An attribute
study for construction industry of Pakistan. Mehran University Research Journal of
Engineering & Technology, 34(4), 453.
Sia, S. K., & Appu, A. V. (2015). Work autonomy and workplace creativity: Moderating role of
task complexity. Global Business Review, 16(5), 772-784.
Toh, C. A., & Miller, S. R. (2015). How engineering teams select design concepts: A view
through the lens of creativity. Design Studies, 38, 111-138.