Let start off with a tip- make sure you rest up during semester break. No rest equates to breakdowns in the first week of second semester. And you’ve got no time for that.
Truth is, I pretty much had no break. With Warman competition robot build and other commitments, I didn’t give myself time to revive, hence the early minor breakdown. If you are reading this, take the wise advice and get heaps of rest during mid-semester break.
It’s only been two weeks down but I feel 6 weeks behind. Semester two week one is an awakening call to the busy semester ahead.
Onto the papers now,
First up MECHENG 222, the Dynamics paper, the next version of ENGGEN 121.
The first two weeks of this paper is going to be a mind-blank. You are about to be bombarded with dozens of symbols. But take a breather. All will make sense in a week’s time. The concepts introduced in second year are much like first-year dynamics, but it takes a while to get your head around the new symbols and coordinate systems. Key is to visualize from different views. Might seem a bit abstract, but that’s second year for you.
Next up MECHENG 211, the Thermofluids paper.
The first few weeks of Thermofluids is quite manageable. But before you know it, if you don’t keep up with your work, you will find yourself slipping into a deep dark well. Best tip would be to start reading the coursebook early on. The concepts taught in lectures do not go into great depth and you are expected to keep up by going through the coursebook on your own. Also, don’t ditch your tutorials, that one hour might just help to understand more than what you did in the three hours of lectures during the week.
Next is MECHENG 236, the Design paper
This paper is pretty much the same old stuff from 235. This time the project involves designing a moveable bridge. The only thing different is that you have to make a scaled model of your bridge and present your proposed design to the clients. Like in MECHENG 235, you are expected to be following with the lecture material, despite not being tested on it until exams. The lecture content this semester gets the inner mechanical engineer excited. This semester you are going to be working with hydraulics, pneumatics, brakes, clutches, and more.
Lastly, ENGGEN 204, the “managing design and communication” paper. AKA; time to use MS Word and Excel like an adult.
This paper is pretty much a treat. There is no exam and it is said that most people get A and A+s in this paper; probably your best bet at trying to hike your GPA. Important things to remember is that the lectures might seem irrelevant, but the concepts of communication and collaboration are key to all fields within engineering. As mechanical engineers, much of your future job roles will involve a lot of paper work in order to convey your design ideas to the client. As a future leader, part of your success comes from just being able to acknowledge the power of word.
Until next time… A