POL Report
04GR791
Expectations
Our expectation from p0 comes from the realization; whenever we join the mainstream of job there will be a position responsibility. This responsibility will include working effectively in a team. Nowadays Most of the grants are being awarded to the research team rather to individuals. The future of our professional career depends on our group work skills. Besides to the work prospect, P0 project experience exposes us to the real world scientific research frontiers.
AalborgUniversity's new approach
Team approach is not a new idea; the alarming need for the group work has prompted the AalborgUniversity to embed the team work in their curriculum where students gain a sense of belonging to the group. This team environment motivates the team members to perceive of themselves as a member of bigger entity (team). Thus, working together and achieving academic success.
Sink or Swim together
The Aalborg university model of sink or swim together was shocking news in the early stage of our group work. Later on we realized that this concept comes from the very basic definition of society. Man is a social animal and our 21st century achievement is a result of our cumulative efforts rather than individual efforts. Our success stories of group work will help us to understand how a situation appears to others and thus it creates a sense of social bonding.
Do we ever change?
Our group is rich in terms of cultural diversity. That cultural diversity comes with the price drastic differences such as study styles, perceptions, prioritizing and timing. Would it be possible for us to change and adopt a common approach? At the begging of the project such an idea perceived as impossible but as time passed our mentality changed. It is true that man is a creature of his environment, he can adapt to different environments. We did change.
P0 work process
The overall time (one month) that spent on p0 project can be categorized in to three phases of anarchy, convergence and team work. In anarchy phase there was not much group approach. In second phase we succeeded in creating of a gravitation force where all member of the group came together but yet certain challenges remained the same. Third stage was a success where all members of the group adopted a common approach to group work. The following is an overall picture of our work.figure (1.1) referes to the three stages.
Figure 1.1
Cooperation with our supervisor
Despite language barriers on the early stages of the project, we managed to bridge that gap between ourselves and the supervisor (Alvaro).We had an option of choosing between two topics: Sound Localization and BCI. Based on the group consensus, we chose the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) project. Supervisor’s prompt feedback on our project related problems was of a great importance. Time was an essential element in our communication and project progress. Both; supervisor and group members tried their best to save as much as possible time in terms of communication.Provision of material, references, meeting had a direct bearing on our Project development.
Our groups is on the verge of becoming one team with the spirit of cooperation and positive reinforcement from the supervisor. Bearing such legacy of cooperation, we will proceed to the next level of P1 project with confidence.
Group Work:
Team members informed each other on project work progress. Group was flexible in certain parts of the project such as classification which required further reading. The rest of the project had to be within the project dead line.
Positive expectation of members
Promoting positive expectation of group members in terms of ability. Members were encouraged to influence events and share relevant or useful information.
New ideas
New ideas were welcomed from members based on their respective knowledge and expertise. Whenever a challenging situation presented itself, each member was given equal opportunity to express their opinions; however the member who possessed knowledge in the related background was given a leading role to do the follow-up.
Distribution of work
Project work was distributed fairly between group members based on their background and expertise.
Sharing work
After completing their part, members offered help to each other.
Work environment
There was a friendly working environment. A positive image of professionalism of members during meeting sessions was reinforced.
Conflict resolution
A conflict regarding the timing and study style was addressed in the first two meetings. Later on a consensus was reached which involved members spending more time with project related work and less on their individual tasks.
Advice:
1. Brief group on your progress report. Documentation is important rather than relying on mere words.
- Make sure that every members of the group gets a crystal clear problem statement
- set a strategic objective
- identify barriers to team performance
- Be a good listener.
- Ensure group task is completed and get feedback from the supervisor once a phase of the project is over.
- It takes a while until all group members resort to a common study style. It might happen they never be able to bridge that gap.
Figure 1.2 P1 project time analysis
Teamwork
A picture paints a thousand words.
Group 791
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