Master's in Civil Engineering: Personal Reflection on Communication

This personal reflection is written by a Master's in Civil Engineering student at the University of Technology Sydney, reflecting on their experience as a graduate civil engineer on a 20 km road construction project. The student assesses their attainment of graduate attributes, particularly in communication and coordination, leadership, and project management methodologies. The reflection details the student's role in stakeholder engagement, highlighting the importance of effective communication and collaboration among diverse stakeholder groups. The student evaluates their current skills, identifies knowledge gaps in technology-based communication and project management tools, and outlines a plan to address these gaps through coursework and additional training. The reflection provides a comprehensive self-assessment of the student's professional development and future goals within the field of civil engineering.

Personal Reflection 1
Personal Reflection
Student Name
Student ID
Email address
Tutor
Signature

Personal Reflection 2
Personal Reflection
Introduction
My Name is XXX YYY currently undertaking a Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering at
University of Technology Sydney. I am a holder of Bachelor of Technology Degree in Civil
Engineering. After graduating with my bachelor degree, I got a job as an intern engineer at a
local construction firm. After working for three months, I was employed as a graduate civil
engineer by the same company. This position gave me an opportunity to work on a 20 km road
construction project that involved both local and international stakeholders. My main role in the
project was to develop and oversee implementation of stakeholder engagement plan (SEP). The
role incorporates creating awareness about stakeholder engagement, identifying all stakeholders
involved in and affected by the project, establish the most appropriate approaches of engaging
and managing stakeholders, developing methods of enhancing effective communication,
cooperation and collaboration of stakeholders, and creating innovative problem solving
techniques.
The main objective of this personal reflection is to understand the expectations of a master’s
degree in civil engineering graduate, assess my current attainment level of the graduate attribute
of E (communication and coordination), and to identify any knowledge and skills gap that need
to be filled and develop a plan on how to fill them so as to improve my overall competency in the
future.
Current Accomplishment
E.1. Communicate effectively

Personal Reflection 3
Construction projects involve stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and professional fields.
These stakeholders have varied levels of technical knowledge and expertise, cultural beliefs,
interests, powers, priorities and influence. However, they must all work together as a team for
successful deliver of the project despite their differences. This can only be attained if all
stakeholders communicate effectively with each other throughout the project. The project I was
working on as a graduate civil engineer involved 12 stakeholder groups: client, project board,
employees, lead consultant, government officials, suppliers, contractors and subcontractors,
interest groups, impacted communities, vulnerable groups, public and the media. As the person
mandated to facilitate stakeholder engagement, I identified and analyzed all the needs of these
stakeholders and developed a comprehensive SEP that facilitated seamless communication and
sharing of information among them. I ensured that a variety of communication methods was
available so that stakeholders could choose the most suitable one. When developing the
communication methods, I always combined the stakeholders to be involved in the
communication, the purpose of communication and the language that should be used so that
every person understood what was being communicated. Therefore considering how effective
communication was among stakeholders during this project and the overall success of the
project, I have adequately attained the graduate attribute of communicating effectively, which is
under graduate attribute of E (communication and coordination).
E.2. Work as an effective leader or member of diverse teams
During this project, I was the leader of stakeholder engagement and management. I had to
coordinate all selected representatives of each stakeholder group. I organized and chaired several
meetings with the representatives and had numerous discussions with them. These
representatives had varied levels of knowledge, cultural backgrounds and came from different

Personal Reflection 4
countries and fields of professions. Some of them did not have any technical knowledge on
matters construction industry. Language barrier was also a challenge but I ensured that we
communicated effectively. If there was any miscommunication between various stakeholders, I
was always the one to follow up and ensure that every person got the right and complete
information on time. Based on my performance in this project, I believe that I have developed
adequate skills to meet the graduate attribute of working as an effective leader or member of a
diverse team.
E.3. Identify and apply relevant project management methodologies
Successful project delivery in the construction industry requires application of appropriate
project management methodologies. Even though I was appointed to oversee development and
implementation of SEP, I was still required to perform other tasks related to the project when
need arises. For instance, I was regularly involved in examining project progress and determine
if set milestones and deliverables were being attained as expected. To achieve, I had to apply a
combination of several project management methodologies that included waterfall, critical path
method, agile and hybrid methodologies. Each of these methodologies has its
advantages/strengths and disadvantages/weaknesses. I got a chance of exploring how each
project management methodology works and the best situation to apply it. My contribution was
very essential towards the overall success of project delivery. Therefore I can confidently say
that I have the project I worked on gave me an opportunity to develop and demonstrate the
graduate attribute of identifying and applying relevant project management methodologies,
which is part of the main graduate attribute that I have chosen in this self-assessment paper
(communication and coordination).
Expected Accomplishment

Personal Reflection 5
My decision to enroll for the masters of civil engineering as my postgraduate course that I am
pursing now at UTS was driven by the need to fill the existing knowledge and skills set gap.
Most of the construction related activities today, including communication and coordination, are
technology-based. Therefore I need to improve both non-technical and technical knowledge and
skills. I believe this course will help me acquire the required knowledge and expertise to fill this
gap. Some of the areas I consider as gaps based on my current knowledge and skills are:
available technological tools that can enhance communication between stakeholders in the
construction industry; advanced and more efficient project management technologies; available
information technology tools for effective communication and collaboration, how technology
reduces cost and improves efficiency of communication and collaboration among stakeholders in
the construction industry; economic analysis of effective communication and collaboration in
construction industry; and barriers affecting effective communication and collaboration among
stakeholders in the construction industry.
Activity Plan
To achieve the required knowledge and skills to fill the current gap, I will have to complete the
relevant coursework of the course I am pursuing. Most of the subjects in the course will equip
me with adequate knowledge and skills to fill the existing gap. Some of these subjects include:
project management, risk engineering, engineering and construction management, and
engineering practice, among others. Additionally, I am planning to enroll for relevant short
courses and study part time during my study period. The specific courses are project and
leadership management course and operations management course.