Topic outline

  • The teacher carrying out the practical teaching in this module is Henni Kervinen from the Language Centre. The intended learning outcomes of this module are:

    After succesfully completing the Communication Skills module, the students

    • have improved their skills and competences in communication and collaboration in a multicultural and multidisciplinary environment
    • can identify possible further development needs and are ready to make a plan for enhancing their personal communication skills and competences
    To successfully complete this module, the students need to:
    1. Participate two communication workshops
    2. Finish two assignments
    • Assignment icon
      Communication Skills: Assignment 1
      Not available unless:
      Here are seven interviews with graduates from Aalto School of Chemical Engineering (or from its predecessors). Watch the interviews and write a short reflection (200-250 words) answering the following questions:

      a) Which communication skills at work seem most relevant for you after watching the interviews and why? Name three most relevant ones and give a short explanation on each.

      b) Reflect on your own communication skills based on your previous experience at work and in your studies. What are your strengths and which skills would you like to improve next?

      c) (Optional) Was there something in the interviews that surprised you or that you found confusing?

       Please submit your reflection here no later than Friday 17th February 2023.


    • Page icon
      Alumni interviews Page
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      Click the links on this page and watch short video interviews with our School's alumi. The theme of the interviews is "Working-life communication skills".

    • Scheduler icon
      Registration to communication workshops 1 & 2 Scheduler
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    • Forum icon
      Communication Skills: Assignment 2 Forum
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      Prepare a pitch about yourself and record it with your phone/laptop/iPad. This assignment has four parts a), b), c) and d). Please read the instructions carefully until the end.


      a)     Think of a job position / role you would like to apply for in the future. Make it as specific as possible: which company, which industry, what kind of role, what kind of tasks? Do some research on possible companies / organizations and see what they do and think how your skills would fit their needs. You could even look for an interesting currently open position.

      b)     Once you have decided the position and company you will target your pitch to, prepare the content of your pitch. You may find some of the following questions helpful, but don't try to answer all of them:

      ·       Who are you, what is your field, what are you interested in? What have you studied? What have you learned? What do you find particularly interesting in your field and why? What is your work experience? What would you like to do in the future? What can you offer to the company, why should they hire you? You can think about this as a short introduction of your skills, previous experiences, and future aspirations. Practice being concise yet concrete and compelling in your speech.

      c) After you have outlined your pitch, record it with your phone/laptop/iPad. The pitch should be no longer than two minutes, but a shorter one of around one minute is preferred. This exercise aims to help you practice summarizing and conveying your message in a short amount of time.

      Submit your pitch to your assigned group (group specific DLs on week 10).

      d) Watch your groups’ videos before Workshop 2 and write down 1-2 paragraphs of “feed forward” to each of your group members. (See the instructions for the feedback on a separate page)

       


    • File icon
      Article for the compensating essay File
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    • Page icon
      Peer feedback for the videoassignment (instructions) Page
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    • File icon
      Instructions for the compensating essay File
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    • File icon
      Workshop 1 / slides File
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