SIWES Defence: Common Questions and How to Answer Them

At the end of my six-month industrial training at St. Elizabeth Specialist Hospital, Owerri, Imo State, on October 6, 2018, I returned to my school (IMSU).

Two weeks later, my course mates and I were informed by our HOD (Biochemistry), of the exact date for our presentation.

The news shocked us, because actually we weren’t yet ready and prepared but we had no choice.

We were told to prepare a PowerPoint presentation in a CD about one major course-related activity that was carried out by us in our workplace.

Our CD’s was burnt into a laptop and projected on the white board on the presentation day.

We were also told the dress code (black corporate with a touch of red) for the day.

Since I worked in the laboratory section of the hospital, I decided to present on Widal (Typhoid) Test.

My presentation slides were about eight in number.

1^st Slide

The cover page which includes my:

Full name.
Matriculation number.
Department.
Faculty.
Departmental supervisor’s name.
Place of attachment (name and address).
School name.
Date (presentation month and year).

2^nd Slide

St. Elizabeth Specialist Hospital Organization Chart.

3^rd Slide

Introduction to Widal test.
Aim of Widal test i.e. why it’s being performed on patients.
Principle behind the test i.e. the agglutination reaction between the antibodies in the patient’s serum and the Widal antigens.

4^th Slide

Diagram of materials used in performing Widal test:

Patients serum in a clean test tube.
Needle and syringe.
Rocking tile.
Pasteur pipette.
Applicator stick.
Widal antigens kit.
Tissue paper.

5^th Slide

Test Procedure

6^th Slide

Observation

7^th Slide

Result Interpretation

8^th Slide

Precautions and Conclusion

On the presentation day, I answered all the questions which were asked by my departmental lecturers.

The questions were:

What is the difference between serum and plasma?
How is plasma gotten?
What kind of infection is typhoid?
What is the difference between typhoid and typhoid fever?
Mode of typhoid transmission?
Why is it called Widal test?
Principle of Widal test?
Interpretation of Widal test results?

Some of my course mates presented on blood group, urinalysis, genotype, HIV, FBS/RBS, VDRL, ESR, PCV, FOB, paracetamol, table water production, yeast analysis in bread making, Guinness drink, coca cola, bilirubin, and creatinine test.

We all did well. It was a success!

The presentation day is usually fun.

We can’t come and kill ourselves.

No matter what happens on your presentation day, it won’t stop you from sleeping, eating, believing and working hard.

All things will surely pass away!

But you’ll still have to try and be bold.

Look into the eyes of your supervisors and lecturers when answering questions.

Don’t be shy or afraid. Be composed.

You have to note that any answers you give to a particular question(s) may lead to another one that could be hard.

When answering questions, don’t try to form i-too-know (except if you actually know), if not you may be bombarded with further harder questions.

During your SIWES defence, expect questions about your work experience, what you learned, the tasks you did, problems you faced, and how you solved them.

Your lecturers may also ask about your technical skills, how your work helped the company, your professionalism, and your future plans.

Common questions you may be asked by your lecturers during your presentation include:

Where did you do your SIWES, and why did you pick that company?
What were your main duties during the training?
What tools or machines did you use, and how did you operate them?
What project were you given at your workplace, and what was your role in completing it?
What new skills did you learn?
What challenges did you face in your work, and how did you solve them?
What areas do you still want to improve based on this training?
How will this experience help your future career?
How is your workplace related to your course of study?
How did your project help the company?
How did you work with your colleagues and supervisors? What new skills did you learn?
How did you fix any problems you faced while working?
How did you behave at work, and how did you remain professional?
How did what you learned in school help you in your training?
How did this training improve your knowledge of your field?
After graduation, how do you plan to use this experience for your job or career?