Course profile

Research Thesis (CHEE7380)

Study period
Sem 1 2025
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
Study level
Postgraduate Coursework
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
8
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Chemical Engineering School

Project on a topic relevant to the School's research profile and the student's field of engineering study. Semesters 1 and 2, annually (students completing the 8 unit course in a single semester enrol in CHEE7380). For information about how to find a project and supervisor, and how to enrol in this course, please visit Chem Eng set-up webpage https://chemeng.uq.edu.au/study/how-enrol-your-thesis-or-final-year-project?p=0#0.

This course involves a research project thesis conducted by you under the general guidance of an academic advisor over one semester for CHEE7380 or two semesters for CHEE7381/CHEE7382. This is a research project, which could be experimental or computational. ﾠ

Why do a Research Project/Research Thesis?

Conducting a Research Project/Research Thesis is a fantastic opportunity to pursue a piece of work that is your own. It allows you to go a little bit more in-depth into a topic, helping you stand out in job applications within a competitive market. Students often list their projects on their CVs, which has helped many get the jobs they seek. Several graduate engineers have highlighted how this course actually got them job-ready and into a position where they could deliver to their new employer.

During the course, you will have the opportunity to develop valuable research skills, which may include: reviewing scientific literature, using advanced scientific equipment, and performing experiments and engineering processes.ﾠ

It will also allow you to develop and demonstrate your critical thinking; a key skill requirement in the engineering profession. It provides a great opportunity to demonstrate your job readiness to potential employers.

Students completing an eight-unit project can also claim hours for their Engineering professional practice.

To find a project, please see the project selection guidelines below.

Project selection

You have three options when selecting a project:

  1. Choose from the listed projects on the EAIT Student website and email a potential supervisor. (Note, this is not a complete list of projects available and academics may continue uploading projects)
  2. If none of the listed projects is of interest, then consult School web pages and approach individual academics in research areas you are interested in. Should you be interested in any particular academic's research, you should enquire directly to them if they have a projectﾠor could consider creating or co-creating one.
  3. You may also create your own project, but must approach an academic to supervise you.

For a guide on the research covered by UQ Chemical Engineering, including relevant contacts for particular areas that may interest you, go to the Research Page of the School website.

Another useful source to discover the research at UQ and the School of Chemical Engineering is ﾠUQ Researchers database. This can be searched with keywords of areas of interest, or with a researcher's name to get more information on their research.

It is possible to do projects led out of different Schools at the University with permission from the coordinator.

How to apply

For any project, you must gain permission from the supervising academic and complete an Assignment of Topic Form (available on ChemEng website) - prior to the beginning of semester (submission by email is acceptable). Please include the following information in the email and upload the completed form as attachment in the email to the course coordinator Professor Lianzhou Wang at l.wang@uq.edu.au. Once your form has been approved, the School will provide you with permission to enrol.

·    Student name

·    Student number

·    Name of UQ Academic Supervisor (Cc in your supervisor)

·    Project title

Read the guidelines in this course profile. Note there are several versions of this course:ﾠ

7380 – 8 ﾠunit thesis (Sem 1 only)

7381 – 8ﾠ unit across year (starting Sem 1)

7382 – 8ﾠ unit across year (starting Sem 2)

Confidentiality

If your thesis is to remain confidential for a period of time, include an accompanying ﾠConfidentiality Submission Letter cover page (DOCX, 22.5 KB) in your final report. This letter is normally located in the report immediately after the title page and before the abstract.

If your thesis does not need to remain confidential, use the ﾠNon-Confidential Submission Letter cover page (DOCX, 24.3 KB).

For any queries, please contact:

Course Coordinator: Professor Lianzhou Wang (l.wang@uq.edu.au)

Chemical Engineering Enquiries: studentenquiries@chemeng.uq.edu.au

Assessment

At the end of the year, the student will submit a project report in the form of a thesis that will be read and assessed by the supervisor and a nominated examiner. A short seminar abstract (for publicising presentation) and an oral presentation of about 15 min (~10 min presentation and 5 min questions) will also be required that will be assessed. For more specific details, please refer to the assessment section of each course.ﾠ

All students are expected to provide an electronic version of their thesis report.ﾠ

Intellectual Property:

Intellectual Property created by students during the period of enrolment in the thesis course will be treated in accordance with the 4.30.01 Intellectual Property Policy.ﾠ The main clause is: Students other than HDR candidates

The University does not assert ownership of IP created by students other than HDR candidates. However, it is acknowledged that some students (in particular honours students or postgraduate coursework students with a research component) may collaborate with external entities on research projects. If there is potential for IP to be created, the University expects students to assign IP that the student may create to the University before project commencement. If the project does result in the creation of IP, students other than HDR candidates will be treated as HDR candidates per the Intellectual Property Procedures.ﾠ

However,ﾠit is suggested that you discuss IP with your advisor and assign any IP associated with the research projects/thesis to the university to be consistent withﾠHDR students, as outlined here: ﾠhttps://study.uq.edu.au/admissions/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/intellectual-property.

Course requirements

Assumed background

This depends upon the specific topic chosen, but in general one should have undertaken the normal chemical engineering course work for the first six semesters.

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

ENGG7340 and ENGG7280 and ENGG7241 and ENGG7341 and CHEE7381 and CHEE7382 and CHEE7340

Restrictions

Permission of Head of School

Course contact

Course staff

Lecturer

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

The contact hours need to be arranged between the students and their thesis supervisors. The students are strongly advised to have regular meetings with their supervisors to enable them to monitor, critique and advise on the students’ progress. The expectation is that students meet with their supervisors regularly and that typically students spend about 10 hours per week (per 2-unit) working on the project. The supervisors often co-supervise students with their postdoctoral researchers and Higher Degree Research students who can work more closely with students in the laboratory and provide advice and guidance in a timely manner.ﾠ However, it is recommended that students arrange to meet with their thesis supervisors at least fortnightly.ﾠ

Lecture/workshop: There will be a lecture/workshop in the first/second week of the semester to go through: expectations of course, OHS, research methodology, report writing, presentation skills, etc. as well as highlighting the value of scientific research from an academic and industry perspective. There will be a second lecture/workshop in Week 8 or 9 in the semester focusing on thesis writing, presentation skill and assessment.

Seminar Day: Presentations will be held during exam period and students will be required to attend and ask questions during the entire session (up to 4 hours) in which they present.

Aims and outcomes

Aims and outcomes

This course aims to stretch and develop student's problem solving and creative thinking abilities by exposing them to an open-ended research oriented problem. It also provides an opportunity for the motivated student to further enhance these skills in a situation where self-motivation is an added requirement.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Personal management: Manage priorities and make decisions/judgements in handling open ended problems.

LO2.

Written and verbal technical communication skills: Communicate effectively through written reports as well as through verbal presentation the results of a project.

LO3.

Problem solving: Exercising critical thinking in solving a research problem.

LO4.

Scientific method: Adopt the scientific method (review, hypothesis, test, evaluation) in solving open ended problems.

Course overview
Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Project Project Execution 15%

Throughout Semester submission not required
Performance OHS PASS/FAIL

5/03/2025 4:00 pm
Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Thesis Seminar Abstract and Thesis Report 70%

Seminar Abstract PASS/FAIL 20/05/2025 4:00 pm

Thesis Report 70% 9/06/2025 4:00 pm
Examination Exam During Exam Period (School) 15%

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Assessment details

Project Execution

Mode
Activity/ Performance
Category
Project
Weight
15%
Due date

Throughout Semester submission not required

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Arrange regular planned meetings with supervisor (e.g. weekly meetings to discuss progress). To assist you in undertaking the thesis you should have regular, scheduled meetings with your supervisor. These meetings will provide you with advice and feedback on your progress. To efficiently use the time during the meetings, it`s highly recommended that the students bring an agenda with specific questions of the project, take notes and develop clear actions lists for project execution. 

The assessment by your supervisor will partly be based on your progress through the year as monitored through these meetings. Lack of communication with your supervisor may lead to a low mark regardless of the quality of the Final Report submission.

Make sure your peruse the marking sheet early in the project so you know what you are being assessed against.

The following is a suggested guide to this assessment:

1. Self Appraisal - It is encouraged that students make a 'self-assessment' at the end of term, using the same marking sheet, and provide this to their supervisor. 

2. The student and supervisor discuss the students self-appraisal and overall progress, and consider ways-of-working in the next term. 

3. The supervisor submits their own assessment to the course coordinator (usually during the 2nd week of exam period).

I encourage this process to be followed and that the final assessment is discussed with the student, but this is at the supervisors' discretion. 

The Project Execution will be graded by the supervisors, evaluating the following aspects:

  1. The ability of student to start the project
  2. The ability of student to plan and manage the project
  3. The ability to analyse and interpret results
  4. The quality of the outcomes

Submission guidelines

Supervisor to Course Coordinator.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

OHS

Mode
Activity/ Performance
Category
Performance
Weight
PASS/FAIL
Due date

5/03/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L04

Task description

The student and supervisor must complete relevant safety forms from their school, center or institute in which the laboratory is located. These must be signed and returned to OHS@chemeng.uq.edu.au before any laboratory work is carried out. 

For students working in the School of Chemical Engineering, everyone needs to complete:

If a student is performing any sort of laboratory work, they must undergo a Laboratory Specific Safety Induction and also need to complete the following:

Submission guidelines

Online submission on UQSafe.

Deferral or extension

You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.

Seminar Abstract and Thesis Report

Mode
Written
Category
Paper/ Report/ Annotation, Thesis
Weight
70%
Due date

Seminar Abstract PASS/FAIL 20/05/2025 4:00 pm

Thesis Report 70% 9/06/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

Seminar Abstract Due 20/05/2025 4:00 pm Weight description: PASS/FAIL

An abstract (see attached template on Blackboard Learning Management System) is to be submitted electronically via turnitin link on blackboard for assessment and preparation of booklet/notice advertising the seminars to the department. The abstract must be no more than 200 words.

Abstracts must be of an acceptable standard. If it is not of acceptable standard, the course co-ordinator will notify you following submission requesting changes. Changes must be made within 5 days.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.


Thesis Report Due 9/06/2025 4:00 pm Weight: 70%

Final report describing work conducted during the semester and results obtained.

The Final Report is the main assessment component in this course. The contents will depend on the Thesis Topic. It is important that both the breadth and the depth of the Thesis study are presented in the Final Report.

See guidelines on Learn.UQ for general format and the submission guidelines. There is no page limit. As a guide, the number of pages (excluding the Appendices) is expected to be in the range 20-30.

Students must pass their lab books or a scanned copy to their supervisor to support their thesis and project execution.

Students are required to submit the following:

  • One (1) electronic version submitted via Turnitin on the relevant course Learn.UQ site.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

Submission guidelines

Electronic version to Turnitin on Blackboard.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The Seminar abstract is required to prepare the formal program for the seminar, so it must be submitted prior to the event. Therefore, the maximum possible extension length is 7 days.

Extensions for the Thesis report are capped at 28 days to ensure alignment with the overall course timeline and to maintain fairness for all students. This limit also ensures timely assessment and feedback, which are critical for meeting subsequent academic or graduation deadlines.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Assessments must be submitted on or before the due date. Late submissions of the Thesis Report will only be accepted if approval for late submission has been obtained prior to the due date.

Penalties Apply for Late Submission

Refer PPL Assessment Procedure Section 3 Part C (48)

A Student Access Plan (SAP) can only be used for a first extension. Extensions based on an SAP may be granted for up to seven (7) days, or the maximum number of days specified in the Course Instance (CI), if it is less than seven (7) days. Any further extensions will require additional supporting documentation, such as a medical certificate.

Exam During Exam Period (School)

Mode
Oral
Category
Examination
Weight
15%
Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03, L04

Task description

The report of the work and results will be orally presented. There will be about 15-20 minutes per speaker, and students should aim to do a ~10 min presentation and there will be at least 5 min for questions. Exact timings will depend on the number of students enrolled and a program will be emailed at least a week prior to the seminar day. Students are expected to attend the entire morning or afternoon sessions in which they present and ask questions. The session may last for up to 3 hours. Students should arrive 15 minutes earlier than the session start time to load up their presentation from memory stick and check it.  

Location of seminars and session schedule will be advertised to students towards the end of semester. 

Typical marking considerations are in the guidelines on Blackboard Learning Management System. Students will be assessed by both their peers and academics who are present at the seminars, provided there are no conflicts of interest.

For CHEE4026, the seminar 1 is expected to focus on goals, scope, literature review, preliminary experiments/outcomes, and a research plan for future work they will undertake in next semester.

The seminars will be in person. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Translation (MT) are emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI and/or MT in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI or MT in each instance.

Exam details

Planning time no planning time minutes
Duration 180 minutes
Calculator options

No calculators permitted
Open/closed book Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted
Exam platform Other
Invigilation

Invigilated in person

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

Assessments must be submitted on or before the due date. Late submissions of assessment items will only be accepted if approval for late submission has been obtained prior to the due date.

Penalties Apply for Late Submission

Refer PPL Assessment Procedure Section 3 Part C (48)

A Student Access Plan (SAP) can only be used for a first extension. Extensions based on an SAP may be granted for up to seven (7) days, or the maximum number of days specified in the Course Instance (CI), if it is less than seven (7) days. Any further extensions will require additional supporting documentation, such as a medical certificate.

Course grading

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: 1-19%. Fail: Falls short of satisfying basic requirements for a pass, and failure to submit all assignments.
2 (Fail)

Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes.

Course grade description: 20-44%. Fail: Falls short of satisfying basic requirements for a pass.
3 (Marginal Fail)

Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes

Course grade description: 45-49%. Fail: Falls short of satisfying all basic requirements for a pass.
4 (Pass)

Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Course grade description: 50-64%. Pass: Satisfies all the basic learning requirements for the course, such as knowledge of fundamental concepts and performance of basic skills; demonstrates sufficient quality of performance to be considered satisfactory in the course.
5 (Credit)

Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes.

Course grade description: 65-74%. Credit: Demonstrates ability to apply and use fundamental concepts of the subject, going beyond mere replication of content knowledge to show understanding of key ideas, awareness of their relevance, some use of analytical skills and some originality and insight.
6 (Distinction)

Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes.

Course grade description: 75-84%. Distinction: Demonstrates awareness and understanding of deeper and subtler aspects of the subject, such as ability to identify critical issues, ability to solve non-routine problems, ability to invent and apply new ideas to new situations.
7 (High Distinction)

Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes.

Course grade description: 85-100%. High distinction: Demonstrates imagination, originality, based on proficiency in all learning objectives for the course.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Aims and outcomes
Learning resources

Learning resources

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.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

Assessment
Learning activities

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Filter activity type by

Please select
Clear filters
Learning period Activity type Topic
Lecture

Course introduction, Guidelines, Research Methods

A lecture will be provided on the course introduction, guidelines, research methods, report writing and presentation.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04
Lecture

Report writing, presentation and assessment

A lecture will be provided on report writing, presentation and assessment.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04
Learning resources
Policies and procedures

Policies and procedures

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.

School guidelines

Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course:

  • Safety Induction for Practicals

Course guidelines

Anyone undertaking courses with a practical component must complete the UQ Undergraduate Student Laboratory Safety Induction and pass the associated assessment.

Specific instructions, usage guidelines and rules for each of the undergraduate laboratories will be delivered as part of each course.

In some cases, students may be required to attend a specific face-to-face laboratory induction/training session.

Learning activities