Midpoint Reflection: Personalized Second- and Third-Year Experience of a Chemical Engineering Undergraduate

Abstract

With ever-increasing worldwide challenges and the need for originality in their solutions, engineers from countless backgrounds are giving their full effort towards closing gaps and aiding sustainable development in almost every sector. Yet, during such times, it is also vital to not disregard another side of the engineering profession: the scholars pursuing and soon to complete their engineering education, training and degrees, most joining the workforce, where they too will be involved in the efforts aforementioned. In this circumstance, it becomes greatly important to view through a magnified “lens”, the progress of students in their respective engineering and specific programs, which still lacks being often academically published for viewing by the larger populace. Interestingly, one such way is from hearing the students’ perspective in the form of reflection, which is becoming more accessible via online channels in recent years. Similarly, this paper is an accumulation of the personalized Second and Third-Year experience, which together forms the middle year experience and midpoint reflection of a chemical engineering undergraduate. It briefly expresses personalized academic insights and lessons learnt from the student’s viewpoint, by taking advantage of the available freedom of expressing the university learning process, where the Engineering Identity Development usually takes effect. Ultimately, this paper aims to give students a refreshed outlook, and more intently to those concentrating in engineering fields, on ways to explore their own interests and develop independent viewpoints, by pursuing their own reflective journeys and forms the framework for the paper to highlight the importance of reflective writing.