My Biodata

My name is YuanYuan and I am currently a third year Life Sciences undergraduate studying in National University of Singapore (NUS). I will be graduating in May 2010 with a Degree in Bachelor of Science (Honours), with concentration in Biomedical Sciences. During my course of study in NUS, the modules have prepared me well in my theory and laboratory skills so that I am competent to enter the biomedical industry.

Besides the academics, I had also take part in organizing the Science Orientation Camp (SCAMP) for the freshman from the Faculty of Science, and actively participated in 'Space' under the Science Club. The co-curriculum activities had encouraged the development of my leadership skills and allowed me to learn how to manage time between my studies and the co-curriculum activities.

On top of that, I had an internship experience in Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in 2008. I was attached to a Senior Research Scientist and worked under my mentor for a research project. The past internship experience had allowed me to have a glimpse of how research work is done in real life, and I learnt to use sophisticated laboratory instruments. In addition, I had also picked up cell culturing skills and presentation skills. Most importantly, I learnt to be independent and plan my experiment in advance.

Prior to my university education, I was from Nanyang Junior College where I studied Mathematics, Biology and Chemistry. As such, my interest in Biology has led me to pursue Life Sciences in NUS. Other than the main curriculum, I was actively involved in the Guzheng Ensemble and took part in the Singapore Youth Festival (SYF) and performed in various occasions outside school. I had also taken part in other SYFs during my secondary school days when I represent the school's Wind Orchestra. As a sectional leader of the Wind Orchestra, I learnt to coordinate, communicate, and motivate my team members. Clearly, a leader should also be responsible and capable of setting a common goal for the team.

On the whole, I hope that the valuable experiences and skills that I have learnt so far can be useful in my future job search. However, I would also like to see and learn more whenever possible.

Inter-Gender Communication

*Click on the picture to enlarge*

I came across this comic published by the Los Angeles Times over the internet. It was pretty interesting to see how different genders decipher messages differently and I thought that inter-gender communication would be an interesting topic for discussion.

No doubt, men and women vary significantly in their verbal communication, body language, and how they listen to others. They often pick up different cues in the conversations, and interpret the meaning of the message differently from what the speaker intends to convey. Even in the course text, it was stated that "women often hear the feelings, while men hear the contents and facts" (Chew et al, 2006).

Clearly, the differences in receiving and processing the information between men and women can create potential conflicts when they communicate with each other. Women usually pick on the details of the message and process information collectively. In other words, women take a step further by relating details of this message to the information from another message. On the other hand, men read messages more independently. Other than picking on the details of the message, they look at the general content of the message.

Since men and women were born to be different and they have distinct mindsets and behaviours, don't you think that inter-gender communication can also be classified as a form of intercultural communication since both involves different mindsets and behaviours?




Reference:
Chew M.L., Lee K.C. (2006). The Science of Effective Communication - Developing Active Listening. The Science of Effective Communication in the Workplace.