Johan Engineering

Principles of sustainability to create viable systems:

During my internship, when my team was designing the mechanical attachment for the arm, we developed a suggestion which we presented to our supervisors. While they liked the design, they did not like the components in the mechanical systems as they were too cheap and unreliable. They were afraid they would have to be regularly replaced. Instead, they required us to use standardized industrial components they had in storage and knew were reliable.

Having to change all the components of the design we had worked so hard on was frustrating and it felt like the work we had done up to that point was now mostly wasted, because they did not communicate this requirement in the initial stages of the project. I also felt uncertain about how to proceed as the way we had been working was not in line anymore with what the company expected, and the team explore new knowledge and solutions we were not used to.

I believe that even though the experience was very frustrating, the team and I learned a lot about what is expected of us in industry and how to design with reliability and sustainability in mind. On the other hand, I also believe this would have been an important point to communicate at the beginning of the project, as it greatly limited the components we could consider in our design.

Communication can often be difficult in unfamiliar situations, the team and I were doing our first internship work experience, and the supervisors were overseeing their first project of this kind. The team were using our experience at university to solve our problems and the company were expecting similar methods to what they were used to in their environment.

From the perspective of the internship supervisors, they were used to the methods and components they were using in their company. Therefore, it might not have occurred to them that we would not consider those as options in our design. They assumed we would make the design similar to their designs and therefore did not communicate all their requirements right away. This is probably also due to the fact that this was a new experience, and they were also learning how it worked.

In the future I will prioritize communication much more in the beginning stages of work life and projects in general. I will make sure I fully understand what is required of me and what methods might be expected of me to use. I will also try to understand the environment and culture I am in, to avoid making unnecessary mistakes and contradicting the workplace environment.

 

Professional Practice within intercultural and global contexts:

As an international student in a professional environment, there are a lot of cultural aspects and communication clues that are still unfamiliar. One example of this was when talking to the company in the beginning of the project. While discussing how to design the mechanical attachment, the supervisors and my Australian team member started discussing something they had seen on an Australian TV show as something that could be interesting to consider in our design. I had no idea what they were talking about, and it was difficult to keep up with their thought process.

I felt quite lost and useless when I couldn’t keep up with the discussion. I also began stressing about how well I would be able to perform and what the supervisors would think of me as a worker, if I wasn’t able to contribute well to the design.

I believe that while my understanding of English is almost as good as fluent, there are still cultural aspects I do not fully comprehend. Some of it I will never be able to fully understand as I did not grow up in the same country. I believe that while working in an international and intercultural context it is important to be aware of and avoid relying on specific cultural references as much as possible.

Becoming aware of all the cultural influences on your own behavior can be quite difficult and it can be hard to make sure a lot of people from different cultures understand your language. It is still important to try and understand the other cultures you are communicating with to be able to better work and understand each other.

Especially from an Australian person’s perspective, it can be difficult to be aware of when someone is not fully keeping up with language and cultural context. Especially since being in Australia, they are used to communicating this way their whole life. It can also feel like it is the person from a different culture that should make the effort to understand your culture.

I learned a lot working with people from different cultures during my internship, that I should avoid making assumptions about what other people already know and understand. I also learned that I need to constantly try to learn and understand other cultures I am working with to be able to communicate effectively.