This is me  |
 MSc MSE : AY21/22 Sem 2
 Well, it's almost time for module selection season and I'm finally updating this review for AY2021/22 Sem 2. This will be my final module review since I'm finally graduating for good (I hope, unless I decide to take on another post-grad degreee/PhD?). Similar to the previous semester, I was working while trying to clear my final 3 modules of my MSc and lucky/unlucky for me I managed to get a mod taught by my boss, so that made my life slightly easier, yet there were expectations to be met. Aside to this being my last semester, it will also likely be the last semester that NUS will hold modules online in view of the improving COVID-19 situation. That means the mark allocation and grading requirements might change for modules again, On the bright side, at least you will get to meet your peers. One of the saddest things throughout my MSc life is that I never once met with any of my course mates, well in fact, I have never seen anyone in person, so that's pretty sad. All in all, this MSc journey had not been easy, but we made it. Here you go, the final review *Disclaimer: Due to the COVID-19 situation that happened during this semester, the grading for modules were modified to meet the Work-from-home requirements and it might not be continued in the future.BN6401 Advanced Quantitative Fluorescence
Microscopy Lecturer: Prof Pakorn Kanchanawong (Tony) This module was not part of the MSE basket, so I had to make an appeal to take it as a non-core elective (NCE) module since it was an Engineering module. Well, I was lucky enough that I was working under Dr Tony at that point in time so the appeal wasn’t much of a hassle and the main reason why I took up this was so I could better understand what I was doing at work. Classes were scheduled every Tuesday 12pm – 3pm which isn’t the best since it’s normally my lunch time… and Dr Tony fully utilizes these 3 hours to cover content. Mark Allocation - 10% Outline + 10% First Draft + 10% First Draft Review + 40% Final manuscript + 15% Peer Review Report + 5% Peer Review Rating + 10% Online Open-Book Quiz. As you can tell, a large percentage of the module grade was determined by your term paper which is essentially a review paper on a topic of your choice. Dr Tony recommended choosing a topic that is related to our research and by that, I mean for the PhD students. For someone like myself, I was pretty lost in trying to find a topic to write on, so it did take me a while to get the ball rolling. The process of writing the paper was not as bad as it seems since there were a few check points for us to make sure we got our work done and can hand it in on time. Also, Dr Tony was always available to help guide us along the way so if we had any issues, we can always drop him an email to arrange for meetings to discuss the papers. The online quiz is a new edition for this semester as there was a public holiday that happened to be on a Tuesday. So, instead of arranging for a make up lecture during Reading Week, Dr Tony arranged for an online quiz to happen during reading week and that made things slightly easier for us. Content covered over the 10 weeks were tested during the quiz but not to worry. There was a mock quiz for us to practice. For myself, I did pretty well during mock quiz but somehow, for the actual quiz, I barely passed. Guess that was how I got my B+. There were actually people who got full marks for the quiz so yeah explains. My advice for people planning to take this mod? Please know what you are getting yourself into. This module is very very heavy on the technical content so you really need to know what you are getting yourself into. Also, please be prepared to spend time doing your review paper. Although it might seem to be a very simple task similar to the undergrad term papers, the requirements are slightly different for this. The paper needs to be at least 3k words and we need to summarize information into tables, prepare the permissions to use figures etc. so do start early once you have your topic and don’t be like me only starting when the first draft deadline is close (which is in Week 7 for our year). Overall, I learnt a lot in this module. To be very honest, this is one of the few modules I can say that I have actually learned from. The content covered were very relevant and up-to-date which made it even more useful for me. Would recommend this module for those who have strong interest or experience with fluorescence microscopy and I’m not too sure if they will allow this to be taken as an undergraduate TE so do check with the BME Office. Expected Grade: B+ Actual Grade: B+ (Considering my horrid term paper and lower than average quiz results, I'm glad I got this) ME5506 Corrosion of Materials Lecturer: Prof Manoj Gupta I really loved this module for its content but it was a very scarily graded module. Mark allocation – 50% mid-term quiz + 50% final quiz, both were closed-book with a A4-sized cheat sheet allowed only in the final quiz. Questions were straightforward which made me doubt myself a lot when I was doing the paper and it doesn’t help that papers were done in person so I was doubting myself for completing the paper too quickly. The first quiz was done individually with no external help or cheat sheet. This meant that you could only blame yourself if you did badly. Paper was meant to be 1 hour long and covered the contents taught in the first half of the semester. There were about 5 questions in the paper and no past year papers were given to us for practice since the prof mentioned that he may repeat questions. So essentially, we were on our own for this. More than half the class scored very well for the first quiz and honestly, this worried me a lot since this class was huge and the bell curve was expected to be steep since everyone did well. Final quiz was done is a pretty odd fashion. Firstly, we could decide if we wanted to do it individually, or in pairs. If we decided to do in pairs, pairs would only submit 1 answer sheet and they both will get the same grade. The benefits of doing in pairs? You get to bring in 2 cheat sheets (1 each) and you could discuss your answers. For someone who knew literally no one in the class, doing in pairs was not a viable option so I opted for the individual submission. This meant I had 1 A4 cheat sheet and my brains. Luckily content covered was only for the second half of the semester so anything tested in the first half will not be tested. However, we did need to know the basic concepts which did help in answering the questions. Similar to the first quiz, it was 1 hour long and we had around 5 questions to complete. And of course, I was doubting myself when I finished the paper early. Content wise, lectures were pre-recorded and uploaded weekly on Tuesday evenings so we could watch them at our own pace. This really helped part-time students like myself to find time to catch-up with work. I also managed to arrange for consultation sessions with prof to clarify doubts before the final quiz and that also helped with increasing confidence for the module. Overall, this is a good module for students who have interest to know more about materials and their corrosive behaviour. Content covered was very relatable and you can see real life examples in our daily lives so it’s easier to understand the abstract concepts. I did see a few undergrads take this module so do consider that. Expected Grade: A- Actual Grade: A (Kind of half expecting something lesser, but glad the bell curve pushed it up to an A) MLE5214 Advances in Polymeric Materials Lecturer: Prof Ouyang Jianyong Strong words, but I really disliked this module to the core. When I selected this, I did not expect it to be conducted in such a ‘secretive’ manner and it didn’t help that the prof was not exactly helpful a that start. Maybe because this module is taught with undergraduates under module code MLE4202, the prof had the mindset this mindset that his class should be prioritized. Of course, I understand that for full-time students, this is expected, but even after I raised my concerns stating that I was a part-time student who needed schedules to submit for leave applications, Prof Ouyang was not keen on assisting, which made me dislike the module even more. Mark allocation for this module was not the most organized as well. 60% Closed-book finals + 30% Mid Terms + 10% Lecture Quizzes. The date for finals was set so there was no queries on that, but for the mid terms and quizzes, he almost always refused to answer my questions directly regarding the schedule and also refused to place the schedule on LumiNUS despite having one. I had to email him multiple times to re-emphasize that I needed the schedules as proof to apply for leave and only 1 week before did he oblige. Lecture quizzes were also a mystery. He never told us when there would be quizzes or how many we were going to have (really need to check with NUS if this is even allowed). One fine day at the end of lecture he would suddenly say, let’s have a quiz. I get it that he wants to make sure we were always attending his classes and paying attention to him, but he really needs to consider the part-time students. ESPECIALLY SINCE CLASS WAS 4-6PM. Content wise, the module covered relevant information which could be applied easily in our daily lives so they were pretty easy to grasp as long as you pay attention. However, the method of delivery aka him reading off slides was not the best. Not that I am being bias here but Prof really needs to work on structuring his classes and ppt in a way that he stops sounding like he is reading off a Wikipedia page (this I have also left a feedback for him in the system). I will say if you are considering taking this module, especially since we are going back to in-person classes, do be prepared to commit fully else you will not be able to catch up with work or even the tests since everything is a big ‘test if you are actually listening’ Expected Grade: B+ Actual Grade: A (Totally did not expect this considering how horrible my class attendance was and also how he wasn’t the best lecturer available) Labels: 2021, 2022, Material Sciences & Engineering, Module Review, MSE, NUS, Reflections, School Life, Uni Life |
