Reflective Journal Essay for Innovation and Enterprise Development

This reflective journal essay provides a detailed account of a student's experience in the Innovation and Enterprise Development course. The essay utilizes Gibbs' reflective cycle to structure the reflection, covering the description of the course modules on innovation and creativity, the feelings experienced during the learning process, and the analysis of the challenges faced, such as public speaking anxiety. The evaluation section discusses the excitement and new ideas gained, while the conclusion summarizes the enhanced knowledge of problem-solving methods and public speaking skills. The student also includes an action plan for future professional development, emphasizing the application of critical thinking and the importance of seeking guidance from mentors. The essay highlights the benefits of teamwork, creative collaboration, and the application of theoretical knowledge in overcoming challenges. References to course materials and resources are also provided.

Reflective journal essay
Introduction
In this paper I am going to reflect my experience while pursuing Innovation and
enterprise development course and in order share my views, I will be using Gibb’s reflective
cycle which comprises of several sections that includes description, feeling, analysis,
evaluation and conclusion. At the end of the reflection, I will also provide an action plan for
the future as per the format of Gibb’s reflective cycle.
Description
The first module of the course is innovation and creativity. It was for 6 weeks
followed by group project for two weeks in collaboration with the Vologram Company. The
classroom session provided two classes in every week. The learning from the classroom
enriched my knowledge about 5 building blocks of problem solving with some exciting as
well as attractive examples and images (Eugene 2019). Importance of brainstorming,
creativity and critical thinking was a part of this module and it helped me to learn how these
two can encourage problem-solving (Thomas, 2019). In this regard, learning the basic
concept of innovation is essential and this course supplied a clear idea about it. One of the
important parts of this course was project and in classroom sessions I learned the details of
project management.
Feeling
I feel learning in the classroom was quite helpful as there was a good environment
and I also believe that a good tutor or mentor can help in moving forward with the learning
approach. The tutors established a friendly relationship with us and it helped me in clearing
all my doubts during classroom lectures without any kind of hesitation. Also, this course

increased my knowledge about the ways of critical thinking skills and its application in
solving any problem. For example, while forming the group and preparing for the
presentation, some critical thinking skills were required and while maintaining the
coordination among the team members every decision plays an important role and in this
purpose, critical thinking skill helped me a lot to overcome the challenges. However, before
my presentation for the project I was quite nervous as I have a fear of speaking in public.
Evaluation
At the beginning of the classroom session I was not so interested but when the
progress went on, I felt so exciting and the new ideas I gained from the learning made me
enthusiastic about the course. However, the main issue I faced was before the presentation as
I have fear of public speaking.
Analysis
On analysis it can be said that innovation and creativity is an integral part of project
management and critical thinking skill always promotes creativity as well as innovation
(Eugene 2019). I was doing the project under the supervision of my mentor along with other
colleagues. I learned from the tutors that creative collaboration and effective teamwork can
produce better solutions during any difficult situations. Also, it helped me to understand my
responsibility towards other team members. The tutors in this course described the
Tuckman’s model which is essential for describing the stages of group development. When I
was feeling nervous my colleagues and mentor supported me a lot to increase my confidence
level. In this regard, I realized, having a clear theoretical knowledge can help in overcoming
the fear of sharing knowledge in public.
Conclusion

Finally, I can conclude that I had a lack of idea about the problem-solving method and
its importance but this course enhanced my knowledge and also developed my public
speaking skill. I received support from my mentor and colleagues and now I am excited for
the next module learning. In future, looking back to this learning journey, I will structure my
tasks and will apply all the means of professional growth I have captured from this learning.
Action Plan
The knowledge I gained from this course module will help me in future when I will be
working as a professional. The knowledge of applying critical thinking skill in detecting error
or finding solution will be quite helpful in my working practice. Also, I will be more
confident during presentation in future. However, if I face any difficulty, I will also try to get
suggestion from the seniors and mentors.

References
Eugene, B. (2019) ‘Creative Problem Solving and Design Thinking’. Tangent Trinity’s ideas
workspace [online]. Available from
file:///C:/Users/Personal/Downloads/3430838_1415157917_Session4DublinEBCreatoveProb
le.pdf
Eugene, B. (2019) ‘Critical thinking’. Tangent Trinity’s ideas workspace [online]. Available
from
file:///C:/Users/Personal/Downloads/3430836_993996821_Session3DublinEBCriticalThinki.
pdf
Eugene, B. (2019) ‘Effective Project Management and Execution’. Tangent Trinity’s ideas
workspace [online]. Available from
file:///C:/Users/Personal/Downloads/3430841_692001213_Session10DublinEBProjectMAng
em%20(1).pdf
Thomas, K. (2019) ‘Ideation and Brainstorming’. Tangent Trinity’s ideas workspace [online].
Available from
file:///C:/Users/Personal/Downloads/3430835_642423370_Session2DublinKTIdeationBrains.
pdf