Engineers are the lifeline of the world. Everything around us has been created by engineers in one form or another. For school-leavers interested in Engineering, the 1-year Foundation in Science programme will build up your basic knowledge in this field and help you in becoming a successful engineer in several ways.
Gain a strong basic knowledge
You will be spending 1 year strengthening your knowledge in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, which would help you in keeping up with the Engineering Programme later.
Master the essential soft skills
As an engineer, you will have to meet and communicate with delegates and important people effectively, attend conferences and present your ideas publicly. Communication is an essential skill that one has to master regardless of profession and job position. Public speaking is among the communication courses that are integrated into the programme structure of Foundation in Science in order to hone your communication skill. Besides, good communication skills are also needed when you handle feedback, either from the others to you or from you to the others. Professional handling of feedback will help you improve yourself and take you to the next level in your career. In short, mastering different soft skills such as communication skills will help you stay ahead of your peers during interview or public presentation.
Learn to pay attention to detail
Engineers are supposed to give attention to details. Most of the time, an engineer has to deal with more than one projects at one time, which means that you need to have to ability to multi-task. , Mistakes, even the slightest, are not allowed in the engineering world as you are dealing with lives and millions of investment. Even a minute missed-out can lead to project failure, loss of money and casualties. Foundation in Science gives you a jumpstart to learning to pay attention to detail. You will find this attribute extremely useful and important once you start your engineering degree.
Understand leadership
As you continue to succeed as an engineer, you will be taking up various leadership roles. It is thus essential to understand the responsibilities of a leader from the start. A foundation course will instil in you the necessary leadership skill and charactericis through its comprehensive programme structure and learning activities.
Be a team player
Along with your Foundation studies, sometimes you will be working in groups to learn crucial skills such as team building, interpersonal skills and time management. You will soon understand the value of team spirit and being a team player when you start your engineering degree. There is no engineering work that can be completed by only one person. Both the engineering degree and the real engineering world require you to work in teams. You will have to communicate and cooperate with different people to achieve a desired project outcome. Undoubtedly, Foundation in Science prepares you to work in teams.
Creative thinking
Creativity is one of the criteria to be a good engineer. Problems are evolving and there are new challenges from time to time. As an engineer, being creative and solving problems day in and day out is a routine. Foundation in science will definitely help trigger your creativity and encourage creative thinking.
Overall, Foundation in Science kick starts your life as an engineer one year ahead of others. Hence, by the time you move on to your engineering degree programme, you would have learned some essential skills relevant to the engineering degree, enabling you to pursue the engineering degree at ease. The one year spent in completing your Foundation in Science is definitely well worth.