Course coordinator
Please email me if you require an in-person or Zoom consultation.�
Through a project focused on a major strategic issue, this course integrates material drawn from discipline based courses and utilises the knowledge and skills developed through Food and Fibre Case Studies I and II. Students in this course complete a semester-long research assignment for a 'client' firm or organisation which is linked to agricultural, pastoral or horticultural industries. This is the capstone course of the Agribusiness degree program.
This course will be last offered in external mode in 2024.
Being one of the core courses in the University of Queensland (UQ)’s Bachelor of Agribusiness program, this course serves as a ‘capstone course’ providing opportunities for you to apply key conceptual frameworks, analytical tools, and knowledge of food and agribusiness that you have acquired throughout your agribusiness study into a realistic consultancy-type project. It has a strong emphasis on developing your ability to workᅠautonomously and as a team. At the start of the Semester, you will be asked to state your preferred clients from a list of client organisations and, then,ᅠbe allocated to a project and a group.ᅠYour group will get support from a mentor and have regular meetings.ᅠ
ᅠ
It is assumed that students have learned and will continue to develop during this course the following: market research design and delivery; common agribusiness techniques; professional communication with clients; professional team working;ᅠreport writing and presentation;ᅠand project management and problem-solving skills.
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
AGRC2000
BAgribus or BAgribus dual degree students
This course is jointly-taught with:
As detailed above.
Please email me if you require an in-person or Zoom consultation.�
Given that this is a four-unit course, you should allocate approximately 20 hours per week to this course. You will have scheduled lecture hours, weekly group meetings with your mentor, additional group meetings with your group members, and regular contact with your client. In-person attendanceᅠand participation are essential for internal studentsᅠand will be recorded and considered for assessment marking. External students are also expected to communicate regularly with clients, group members and teaching staff.
As a ‘capstone course’, this course aims to provide you with an opportunity to apply key conceptual frameworks, analytical tools, and knowledge of food and agribusiness that you have acquired throughout your agribusiness study into a realistic consultancy-type project. It has a strong emphasis on developing your ability to work autonomously and as a team.
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Critically analyse an agribusiness-related problem using an appropriate method
LO2.
Work collaboratively with a client to develop a detailed plan to solve a specific agribusiness problem
LO3.
Work collaboratively in a group and with the mentor to conduct research and analyse results
LO4.
Document the results of research and analysis into a professional report
LO5.
Articulate the results of research and analysis to different audiences and to an agribusiness client
Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
---|---|---|---|
Project |
Group project proposal
|
20% |
22/08/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard |
Presentation |
Final presentation
|
20% |
17/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard |
Project |
Group final report
|
50% |
24/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard |
Reflection |
Peer evaluation and reflection
|
10% |
24/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
22/08/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard
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
ONE electronic copy of the assignment must be submitted through the Turnitin link on the course Blackboard website by the assessment due date.
You should also keep an electronic copy of every piece of assessment you submit.
Legal Declaration:
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
17/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard
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
Regardless of your presentation time, you must submit your presentation slides in a PDF file to the assignment dropbox on the Blackboard course site on or before the due date.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
24/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard
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
Students must submit their individual report using the link on the Blackboard site.
Legal Declaration
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
24/10/2024 3:00 pm
Turnitin submission via Blackboard
Description
This assessment consists of two components: (i) Peer evaluation (5%); and (ii) Personal reflection (5%).
Specific requirements
Students must submit their individual report using the link on the Blackboard site.
Legal Declaration
By submitting your work via this website, you formally declare that (1) it is your own original work, and no part of the work has been copied from any other source or person except where due acknowledgement is made; (2) no part of the work has been previously submitted for assessment in this or any other institution; and (3) you have read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Policy (http://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.60.04-student-integrity-and-misconduct) and understand its implications.
You may be able to apply for an extension.
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
Grade | Description |
---|---|
1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 0 - 34% |
2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: 35 - 46% |
3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: A cumulative score of 47% - 49% for all assessment items. Or, a cumulative score of 50% or more AND not ALL assessment items submitted. |
4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: A cumulative score of 50% - 64% for all assessment items. |
5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: A cumulative score of 65% - 74% for all assessment items. |
6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: A cumulative score of 75% - 84% for all assessment items. |
7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: A cumulative score of 85% - 100% for all assessment items. |
Assessment marks will be determinedᅠby the teaching staff with input from the agribusiness ‘client’.ᅠ
Course grading hurdle note:
Every assessmentᅠitem must be submitted to pass the course. If a student obtains an overall percentage greater than the cut-offs set to achieve a 4 or higher for the course based on marks from a combination of progressive assessment and the student does NOT submit all assessment items, they are unable to achieve a grade higher than a 3 (failing grade) for the course.
ᅠ
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Please note the following when writing your assignments
You must not re-use past work from previous assessments in your assignments.
TurnItIn assignments
Assignments that are required to be submitted through TurnItIn, mustᅠonlyᅠbe uploaded to the assessment specific Turnitin link on the relevant course Blackboard site.ᅠIf you submit any version of your assessment item to any alternative Turnitin link, this is considered cheating and you will be held liable for this action.
Results
Unless specifically indicated by the course coordinator, every attempt will be made to have the results for progressive assessment available within 3 weeks of submission. For items of assessment submitted in the last 2 weeks of the semester, the results will not be available until grades release day. Results and feedback availability will be advised to you by email or announced via the course Blackboard site.ᅠᅠᅠ
Feedback
Feedback on the course is more or less continuous through the interactions among the group, the course coordinator and the client.
Course Guidelines
Past students have enrolled in this course whilst managing full or part-time employment.ᅠ This limits the commitment that can be made to the course, and may interfere with project outcomes and may impact the group assessment.ᅠStudents are encouraged to discuss their time conflicts with group members to ensure work is allocated fairly.ᅠ
Re-mark Applications – refer to theᅠUniversity's Re-mark Policyᅠto check your eligibility
Before applying for a remark, students should consider the following:
Remark applicationsᅠwill notᅠbe considered without first having contacted your course Co-ordinator.ᅠ
Deferredᅠassessment
There is no final exam in this course, therefore a deferred exam is not available.
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Please note that considering the possible two ‘streams’ of projects that an agribusiness project might have e.g. agricultural science and business, two textbooks byᅠ Zikmund et al (2019) and Sahu (2013) are recommended depending on your focus area. Please carefully check access to library resources before you decide to purchase the required/recommended textbook/reading.
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
---|---|---|
Week 1 (22 Jul - 28 Jul) |
Lecture |
W1: Course introduction (workshop) Workshop on the course plan, group allocation, assessments and available resources/support. |
Week 2 (29 Jul - 04 Aug) |
Not Timetabled |
Client meeting #1: Inception meeting Introduction, clarify topics and methods, and nature of engagement |
Lecture |
W2: Working in a team (workshop) Workshop on the group charter, working in a team effectively, peer evaluation, and engagement with the client |
|
Week 3 (05 Aug - 11 Aug) |
Lecture |
W3: The project plan (workshop) Workshop on the project plan, ethics, literature review, collecting information and analytical methods |
Week 4 (12 Aug - 18 Aug) |
Not Timetabled |
Client Meeting #2: Feedback on the draft proposal Feedback on the first draft proposal |
Lecture |
W4: Finalising the project plan and responding to feedback (workshop) Workshop on reviewing your draft proposal, how to present to your client, and how to respond to feedback and provide feedback to others |
|
Week 5 (19 Aug - 25 Aug) |
Lecture |
W5: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
Week 6 (26 Aug - 01 Sep) |
Not Timetabled |
Client Meeting #3: Group proposal presentation Feedback on the group proposal presentation |
Lecture |
W6: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
|
Week 7 (02 Sep - 08 Sep) |
Lecture |
W7: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
Week 8 (09 Sep - 15 Sep) |
Lecture |
W8: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff and the client to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
Week 9 (16 Sep - 22 Sep) |
Not Timetabled |
Client Meeting #4: Progress update Reporting progress and receiving feedback |
Lecture |
W9: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff and the client to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
|
Week 10 (30 Sep - 06 Oct) |
Lecture |
W10: Preparing the report & presentation (workshop) Workshop on reviewing the group report and preparing for the group presentation |
Week 11 (07 Oct - 13 Oct) |
Not Timetabled |
Client Meeting #5: Feedback on the draft report and the presentation Receiving feedback on the draft report and final presentation |
Lecture |
W11: Students work on the project Students should allocate adequate time to work independently and in a group and meet with the teaching staff and the client to discuss progress during the scheduled learning hours. |
|
Week 12 (14 Oct - 20 Oct) |
Lecture |
W12: Final group presentations |
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.