Food & Fibre Case Studies III (AGRC3000)

Description

You will be asked to prepare a maximum 1,500-word project proposal (excluding references, tables, figures and appendix). The assessment is designed to ensure that your group has an appropriate and reasonable plan and workload for the Semester and that your group’s planned work can meet the client organisation's expectations and academic requirements. 

Specific requirements

• You should have at least two meetings with your client organisation prior to submitting your group project plan (i) in Week 2 to clarify the client's issues that they request you to address in your group project, and (ii) in Week 4 to seek feedback on your draft group proposal. 
• Your proposal must include the following sections:

1. Project background
2. Project objectives
3. Methodology (including how you will collect the information, what information you will compile, and how you will analyse the information)
4. A Gantt chart outlining your group project plan (i.e. who will do what by when to achieve the desired final objectives)
5. A group charter. Please see the Library website

• Given the nature and duration of the course, the client organisations are advised to direct students to use publicly accessible (e.g., no log-in required and should be accessible without accepting the terms and conditions), non-confidential and non-sensitive data and information only.
• You must cite all ideas in your group work that are not your own. Please use the APA 7th style and see the UQ library site and staff for details and assistance: https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/apa7
• An effectively developed plan will allow students to use their agreed plan each week to monitor progress, guide corrective action, and discuss progress with the course coordinator and client at regular meetings.
• Students are expected to have commenced their project well before submitting this plan. The submission date has been deliberately set in week 6 to allow students sufficient time to demonstrate their progress in a well-thought-out and documented plan.
• You might be asked by your client to deliver a separate presentation on the proposal to their organisation. You should respond to this request positively. Your overall engagement with the client will be considered in assessment marking.
• You will have opportunities to consult with the course coordinator at all stages of your project development by email/in-person consultation.
• You must submit your project proposal to the assignment dropbox on the Blackboard course site on or before the due date.
• This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Description

You will deliver a maximum 10-minute group presentation. This mimics the professional context in which you deliver the main outputs from your project to the relevant audience, e.g., managers, colleagues, and clients. You will be assessed on the quality of information you produce from your project and your ability to effectively communicate results concisely and coherently. All client organisations will be invited to attend the presentations. Therefore, your presentations should contain non-confidential, non-sensitive information. Your ability to respond to questions will also be assessed subject to time availability. 

Specific requirements

• All group members must speak during the presentation. 
• Internal students are required to deliver their group presentations in person.
• The teaching staff will assess your submission with input from the client. Students may not receive the same mark for the group assessment. 
• Your presentation will be recorded for your client organisation's reference and marking purposes. 
• Given the time limit, you might not be able to present all information from your report. This is a good exercise for prioritising content and presenting it efficiently. 
• All tables and diagrams in your slides must have titles and be numbered and annotated accordingly. Sources of data must be included under each table. You must cite all ideas in your presentation slides that are not your own. Please use the APA 7th style. https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/apa7
• You might be asked by your client to deliver a separate presentation on your final report to their organisation. You should respond to this request positively. Your overall engagement with the client will be considered in assessment marking.
• You will have opportunities to consult with the course coordinator and mentor at all project development stages by email/in-person consultation.
• This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Description

You will be asked to submit the final version of your group’s final project report. The length and format of your group report are to be discussed with your client. A limit of 4,000 words is for guidance only. The group project report should demonstrate your deep understanding of agribusiness problems raised by the client and your ability to develop and present well-researched, practical and appropriate solutions to their problems.

Specific requirements

• Only one report is required to be submitted for each group.
• The teaching staff will assess the report with input from the client and peer members of each group, which means that students may not receive the same mark for the group assessment. 
• There is no specific template for the project report. You are given the flexibility to structure your project report in consultation with your client organisation. However, the expectation is that your project report should include the following sections: 
• Executive summary - a one-page summary of the research and findings
• Introduction - background to the study, the problem that was addressed, information about the industry and client
• Literature review - provide evidence of having conducted a review of relevant literature and use it to contribute to the value of the project to the client.
• Methodology - provide details of the methods employed supported by references from the literature.
• Results - convey findings in a concise manner that the client easily understands.
• Discussion and recommendations - Extend discussion on interpreting your findings by providing linkages to the secondary data. Formulate practical suggestions for your client based on your results and supported by the evidence of the research and literature where possible.
• Limitations - identify any research limitations and suggest how these might be overcome in future research activities.
• Future research - suggest what future research could be considered by the client
• The length and format of your group report are to be discussed with your client. A limit of 4,000 words is for guidance only. No penalties will be assigned if you exceed or write shorter than this word limit. However, please keep in mind that brevity and clarity are always preferred.
• All tables and diagrams must have titles and be numbered and annotated accordingly. Sources of data must be included under each table.
• You must cite all ideas in your presentation slides that are not your own. Assessment items should use the APA 7th style. Please see the UQ library site and staff for details and assistance: https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/apa7.
• You must carefully consult with your client organisation regarding the confidentiality of information in your project report. It would be best to consider different ways to synthesise and use de-identified data to produce a high-quality report while maintaining your client's confidential data and information.
• You will have opportunities to consult with the course coordinator and mentor at all project development stages by email/in-person consultation.
• In addition to submitting your report to the Blackboard site, your final project report must be emailed to the client or as the course coordinator advises. You should thank your client for the opportunity. There is no requirement to submit a printed final report to your client. Additionally, you might be asked by your client to deliver a separate presentation on your final report to their organisation. You should respond to this request positively. Your overall engagement with the client will be considered in assessment marking.  
• This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Description

This assessment consists of two components: (i) Peer evaluation (5%); and (ii) Personal reflection (5%).

Specific requirements

• Peer evaluation - Complete "the peer evaluation" form (accessible from the Blackboard site). Note that while this component is to be submitted before or on the due date, you must keep records of weekly group activities throughout the semester, including each member's participation and discussion topics. The peer evaluation will influence the final mark awarded to each team member for the group's final report. If the peer assessment result indicates that a team member has not done their fair share of the work, their group final report’s marks may be adjusted downward based on peer assessment results. Your mark for this component will also be subject to your mentor’s assessment of your attendance and participation in group meetings, including those with the client throughout the semester.
• Personal reflection – You should prepare 2-3 A4 pages of personal reflections. There is no specific template for this component. However, you must include the following aspects in your self-reflection:
• Your contribution to the group's final report by mentioning specific sections or topics you’re in charge of and tasks such as data analyses, editing, formatting, moderating meetings, etc.). Dot points are acceptable.
• The skills you applied during this project and the skills you began to develop during the project;
• Lessons learnt from a personal perspective, including identification of strengths and areas in need of improvement;
• Reflect on your overall experience and discuss how this might inform you when strategising your future professional development and career pathway.  
• This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.