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FURTHER LEARNING RESOURCES

Proficiency Tests for Postgraduate Studies

Overview of Proficiency Tests for Postgraduate Studies

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Several challenges may come up in the workplace for which there is no pre-defined curriculum to tackle. The ability to analyse each of these challenges and understand their uniqueness and proffer the relevant solutions is essential for success in the workplace.

“For my final year project, I developed a solution to reduce malaria infection in my study area. I started by identifying the water bodies that provided natural habitats for mosquitos, tried many approaches to exterminating them, and educated members of the community on the most successful approaches.”

A SWOT analysis is an approach to understanding and proffering solutions to a situation, development, organisation, industries and individuals. 

The S stands for Strength, W for Weakness, O for Opportunities and T for Threats. Other popular techniques are the Root Cause Analysis, Mind Maps, The Pareto Principle etc. 

Take a more systematic approach to class projects. In class, personal essays or group studies, explore concepts with problem-solving frameworks such as SWOT and Root Cause Analysis. 

Participate in student competitions or programmes which require students to provide solutions to problems. It may be campus-based, national or international programmes such as Enactus, Hult Prize and Microsoft challenge.

This skill is valuable in industries and career disciplines where professionals excel by providing insights from knowledge and analysis, finding answers to unknowns, and providing solutions to problems. 

The Top industries are:

  • Consulting
  • Higher Education (Research and Development) 
  • Transport & Logistics
  • Information & Communication Technology
  • Business Services

Top Career Disciplines are:

  • Consulting
  • Finance
  • Design and Engineering
  • Policy and Development
  • Information Technology

Movies

  • A Beautiful Mind
  • Apollo 13
  • The Boy who Harnessed the Wind
  • Moneyball
  • Agora

Books

  • Systems Thinking
  • Principles by Ray Dalio
  • The Back of the Napkin
  • Thinking in Systems: A Primer
  • The McKinsey Mind

Podcasts

  • How Can I Say This
  • Mindful Communication Podcast
  • The Lost Art of Communication
  • Superstar Communicator podcast
  • Talk About Talk – Communication Skills Training

Other Further Learning Resources