Few students were as fortunate as I to be allocated a company so close to my home.  A 5- minute ride to a nearby MRT station and a company van to pick me up and send me to the doorstep of my company.  But seriously speaking, the convenience of going to work is of minute importance when compared to the experience and knowledge that I was able to gain during my 24 weeks' industrial attachment at Presscrete.

My first 3 months was spent at the Ground Engineering Department where I was attached to a design engineer, Mr David French.  He was a great character and I was exposed to many interesting geotechnical methods of construction, all of which I had never learned before in CSE.  After 3 months, I was attached to the Structural Engineering Department where I got to learn about post-tensioning.

As the company had a number of on-going projects at that time, I was sent to a couple of sites to have a taste of first hand experience.  The supervisors at the different sites were very helpful and were always willing to answer my seemingly endless barrage of questions.  I even got to know some of the construction workers pretty well.  I learned about why they would want to leave their families behind in India and travel so far to come to Singapore to work as construction workers.  It may come as a surprise to some that a few of these workers are actually diploma and degree holders back in India.

The staff at the company was very friendly, and I am not just referring to the engineers.  I got along quite well with the Administration as well as the Accounts Department staff as we always had lunch together.  I was also very appreciative of the engineers for not treating me like a ‘greenhorn’ who didn’t know anything.  We were able to engage in serious technical discussions and they never discarded any of my suggestions or ideas, always treating what I had to contribute with sincere respect.

Now that I am back in CSE, I am delighted to discover that a lot of what I learned and witnessed during my stint with the company, especially during my site visits, is actually being taught in class.  I am able to visualize what my lecturers are teaching because of my real life experience.  This makes understanding much easier.

Although I have gained a lot from my industrial attachment, I think the most important thing that I discover is that often in our pursuit to make money and to lead a good and comfortable life, we must remember not to lose our sense of humanity.  Money isn’t everything.