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Course profile

Science Industry Placement (SCIE3050)

Study period
Sem 2 2024
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person

Course overview

Study period
Semester 2, 2024 (24/06/2024 - 17/08/2024)
Study level
Undergraduate
Location
St Lucia
Attendance mode
In Person
Units
2
Administrative campus
St Lucia
Coordinating unit
Mathematics & Physics School

The Science Industry Placement course enables students to acquire practical skills and experience in an authentic work environment. Through the completion of 120 hours of placement in a science-related workplace, students will gain an understanding of the real world application of their learning. They will also learn about the nature of careers in science, identify possible career pathways, and reflect on their own professional skills and personal development.

Course Quota: 40 students

Further information about enrolling in a placement course can be found here: https://science.uq.edu.au/placements

All enquiries for this course should be addressed to the Faculty of Science (enquire@science.uq.edu.au) .

The Faculty of Science is committed to preparingᅠits students for success in a wide range of professional scenarios,ᅠensuring its graduates have practical experience in the application of theoretical concepts and knowledge. This course is designed to provide students with an opportunity toᅠexperience work integrated learningᅠand to further their professional skills training in authentic scientific environments.ᅠThe ScienceᅠIndustry Placementᅠoffers students in all Science disciplinesᅠthe opportunity to 'work' in their chosen field,ᅠacquainting themselvesᅠwith the real world conditions and activities of their industry before graduating. Student placements promote the employability of UQ graduates to industry, enhancing students' prospects of employment at the end of their studies.

The course requires students to spendᅠa minimum of 120 hours (recommended maximum 160 hours) of placement in a science-related workplace.ᅠIn addition to the workplaceᅠrequirements, students will attend compulsory employability workshops before and after the placement, learning the importance of self-reflection in their personal and professional development, and improving their ability toᅠarticulate their skills and experience to potential employers.

Students are responsible for securing a suitable work placement related to their studies. Resume and cover letter workshops are available through the Student Employability Centre,ᅠto assist students inᅠpreparing applicationᅠdocuments. Students can self-source a placement, butᅠthe Faculty of Science will also provide host suggestions for the student (see next paragraph).ᅠ

Self-sourced placements areᅠsubject to Faculty of Science approval.ᅠIt is not possible to apply for credit for this course using past work in industryᅠi.e., the placement must be a new placement, for the semester/teaching period enrolled.ᅠ

The workplace hours required for theᅠplacement may be undertaken full-time in a block of at leastᅠthree weeks, or part-time up until the end of the inter-semester breakᅠ(see Section 4. Learning Activities for date range). Students will negotiate a work schedule with their placement provider to accommodate both student commitments and provider expectations. The schedule must allow for students to attend compulsory workshops, andᅠshould provide flexibility to ensure the student can comfortably achieve the course requirements during the semester/teaching period of enrolment.

Course requirements

Assumed background

Students wishing to undertake SCIE3050 should have successfully completed a minimum of 24 units towards their current program, including a minimum of 8 units of level 2 or higher courses, by the end of the previous semester.

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

Successful completion of a minimum of 24 units towards current program, including a minimum of 8 units of level 2 or higher courses by the end of the previous semester.

Restrictions

Permission of the Associate Dean (Academic).
Students must secure a suitable placement in a science-related workplace.
Quota of 40 places by expression of interest. Expected GPA cut-off of 5.0.

Course contact

Timetable

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

Additional timetable information

Compulsory workshops are timetabled in SI-net. Pre-placement orientation workshop isᅠheld on the last day of Semester 1 classes, theᅠSaturday of Teaching Week 13.ᅠPost-placement workshops are held in Week 1 of Semester 2, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Confirmed dates for Teaching Period 5 2024ᅠ(see timetable in SI-net for room allocations):

  • Saturday 25 May 2024, 9am - 1pm
  • Wednesday 24ᅠJuly 2024, 5pm - 9pm
  • Thursdayᅠ25ᅠJuly 2024, 5pm - 8pm

To assist students with identifying potential host organisations and preparing application documents, resources are available on the Science Placements Blackboard site. Visit the Faculty of Science website for more information.

Aims and outcomes

To provide students with practical workplace experience in an organisation related to their field of study, and to use reflective practice to translate experiences into employability development.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

LO1.

Demonstrate an improved understanding of career opportunities within the field of study

LO2.

Demonstrate an ability to relate theoretical knowledge to practice

LO3.

Demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate your knowledge and skills in the process of applying them in a professional work environment

LO4.

Demonstrate an ability to comprehend and integrate with accepted workplace practices and policies as they relate to the field of study

Assessment

Assessment summary

Category Assessment task Weight Due date
Portfolio Learning Contract and Risk Assessment
Pass/Fail

One week after placement commences.

Reflection Reflective Practice
  • Identity Verified
Pass/Fail

Progressive reflections due during placement.

Final reflection due after post-placement workshop.

Placement Placement Supervisor Report
Pass/Fail. Student must achieve at least 8/20 for a Pass.

Before end of placement

Presentation Placement Showcase Presentation
  • In-person
Pass/Fail

22/07/2024 5:00 pm

Must be submitted at least 48 hours before the first post-placement workshop

Assessment details

Learning Contract and Risk Assessment

Mode
Written
Category
Portfolio
Weight
Pass/Fail
Due date

One week after placement commences.

Other conditions
Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L04

Task description

Learning Contract to be negotiated with Placement Supervisor during first week of placement.

Risk Assessment to be undertaken to identify hazards associated with placement activities.

Templates available on Blackboard under Learning Resources.

Students will advise their due date (based on placement start date) via InPlace.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

Submit via ePortfolio link in Blackboard

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

Reflective Practice

  • Identity Verified
Mode
Oral, Written
Category
Reflection
Weight
Pass/Fail
Due date

Progressive reflections due during placement.

Final reflection due after post-placement workshop.

Other conditions
Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03

Task description

You will submit four reflections for this assessment item:

  • three (3) progressive reflections to be submitted during your placement, evenly spaced over the 120 hours; and
  • one (1) final video reflection submitted after the post-placement workshops.

Progressive reflections

Using the SEAL template in the ePortfolio, you will periodically reflect on events and activities that occur during your placement. Training on using the SEAL template will be given in the orientation workshop.

  • Reflective Practice 1 is for situations that occur in the first block of 40 hours of placement.
  • Reflective Practice 2 is for situations that occur in the second block of 40 hours of placement.
  • Reflective Practice 3 is for situations that occur in the final block of 40 hours of placement.

E.g. If your placement period is six weeks, you will submit your first progressive reflection after two weeks of placement are completed, your second reflection after four weeks, and your third upon completion of the placement. Students will calculate their own schedule for submitting progressive Reflective Practice assessments and enter the details on InPlace. Reflective Practice 3 must be submitted in time for marking/feedback to occur in preparation for the post-placement workshops.

Final reflection

You will prepare a 3-5 minute video, speaking to camera, for your final reflection, drawing on previous reflective practice and workshop outcomes.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

Submit via ePortfolio link in Blackboard.

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

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.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 10% will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point your submission will receive a mark of zero (0) unless an extension has been approved.

In most instances one or more hurdles will apply to your assessment item so you will need to submit it to fulfil the requirements of the course regardless of how late it is and the mark you are likely to be awarded.

Placement Supervisor Report

Mode
Written
Category
Placement
Weight
Pass/Fail. Student must achieve at least 8/20 for a Pass.
Due date

Before end of placement

Other conditions
Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L03, L04

Task description

Prior to completion of your placement, UQ will send a request via email to your placement supervisor to complete an assessment on your performance in the workplace. Supervisors will submit this report directly to UQ as per instructions in the email. Supervisors will be encouraged to use the report as an opportunity to conduct a formal feedback session with you. The feedback will be released to students following review by UQ. A copy of the report your supervisors will complete will be available on the Curse Blackboard site.

Submission guidelines

Placement supervisor to submit report directly to UQ.

Deferral or extension

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

Placement Showcase Presentation

  • In-person
Mode
Oral
Category
Presentation
Weight
Pass/Fail
Due date

22/07/2024 5:00 pm

Must be submitted at least 48 hours before the first post-placement workshop

Other conditions
Work integrated learning.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes
L01, L02, L03

Task description

Students will deliver a three-minute-thesis style presentation, using a single Powerpoint slide, to share details of their experience with the rest of the cohort.

Submit your single presentation slide as a Powerpoint file via the Presentation submission link on ePortfolio (via Blackboard) by the due date listed here.

All students will deliver their presentation during the post-placement presentation seminar (see timetable in SI-net for details).

The presentation should be written for a general audience (i.e. not too technical) and convey details of the activities undertaken during placement without breaching any confidentiality restrictions of the host organisation.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides emerging tools that may support students in completing this assessment task. Students may appropriately use AI in completing this assessment task. Students must clearly reference any use of AI in each instance. A failure to reference generative AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

Submission guidelines

Submit via ePortfolio link on Blackboard

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Applications for Extensions

Information on applying for an extension can be found here: my.UQ Applying for an extension.

Extension applications must be received by the assessment due date and time.

A maximum of two applications may be submitted for any one assessment item, unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated. If you are unable to provide approved documentation to support your application by the due date and time, you must still submit your application by the deadline but with an attached Word document that outlines why you cannot provide the approved documentation by the deadline. You will then need to acquire and upload the approved documentation to your request within 24 hours. Please note: When an extension request has been submitted and is pending, students are expected to continue to work on the assessment item, with the aim of submitting by the requested due date and time.

Prolonged Absence

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester.

Extensions with Student Access Plans (SAP)

For extensions up to 7 days, your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, extension requests longer than 7 days (for any one assessment item) will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g. a medical certificate.

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.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item, then 10% of the maximum possible mark for the assessment item (assessment ‘marked from’ value) will be deducted as a late penalty for every day (or part day) late after the due date. For example, if you submit your assignment 1 hour late, you will be penalised 10%; if your assignment is 24.5 hours late, you will be penalised 20% (because it is late by one 24-hour period plus part of another 24-hour period). 10% will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point your submission will receive a mark of zero (0) unless an extension has been approved.

In most instances one or more hurdles will apply to your assessment item so you will need to submit it to fulfil the requirements of the course regardless of how late it is and the mark you are likely to be awarded.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Pass/Fails Description
P

Course grade description: P is a passing grade. To pass this course, a student must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Complete and submit ALL assessment items; 2. Be awarded a Pass for each of the four (4) Pass/Fail assessment items; 3. Full attendance and participation in all timetabled workshops; and 4. Full attendance and participation at placement for a minimum of 120 hours.

F

Course grade description: N is a failing grade. A student who does not meet all of the criteria to be awarded a P will be awarded an N. Refer to Section 3, Part H of the PPL - Assessment Procedures. 124 Grade descriptors for non-graded pass and fail Non-graded fail (N) - Insufficient evidence of competency in meeting course learning outcomes.

Additional course grading information

If a grade of P or N is awarded and it is necessary to calculate a student’s GPA:

  1. a course in which P is awarded must be excluded from the calculation; and
  2. N must be regarded as a grade of 2.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Additional assessment information

Assessment Submission

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the on time, correct and complete submission of all assessment items.

Please ensure you receive and save the submission confirmation for all submitted items, you may be asked to produce this as evidence of your submission.

Turnitin

By submitting work through Turnitin you are deemed to have accepted the following declaration “I certify that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted, either previously or concurrently, in whole or in part, to this University or any other educational institution, for marking or assessment”.

All students must ensure they receive their Turnitin receipt on submission of any assessments. A valid Turnitin receipt will be the only evidence accepted if one or more of your submissions are missing. Without evidence, the assessment will receive the standard late penalty, or after seven days, will receive zero. In the case of a Blackboard outage, please contact the Course Coordinator as soon as possible to confirm the outage with ITS.

Assessment/Attendance

Please notify your Course Coordinator as soon as you become aware of any issue that may affect your ability to meet the assessment/attendance requirements of the course. The my.UQ website and the Electronic Course Profile (ECP) for your course also provide information about your course requirements, the rules associated with your courses and services offered by the University.

A note for repeating students in this course

Any student who enrols in a course must not be given exemption or partial credit from their previous attempt(s) for any individual piece of assessment. Instead, the student must successfully complete all of the learning activities and assessment items within the study period of enrolment (PPL Assessment - Procedures Section: Assessment integrity).

If the same assessment item is set from one year to the next, repeating students are allowed to submit the same work they submitted in previous attempts at the course. Where possible SCMB recommends that you use the feedback you received in your last attempt to improve parts of the item where you lost marks. Resubmission of an altered or unaltered assessment item by a repeating student (where the same assessment has been set) will not be considered as self-plagiarism.

Important Note

Turnitin is to be used for assignments/laboratory reports to check for plagiarism. Penalties can be severe for plagiarism.

The University has adopted the following definition of plagiarism: Plagiarism is the act of misrepresenting as one's own original work the ideas, interpretations, words or creative works of another either intentionally or unintentionally. These include published and unpublished documents, designs, music, sounds, images, photographs, computer codes and ideas gained through working in a group. These ideas, interpretations, words or works may be found in print and/or electronic media.

Students are encouraged to read the UQ Academic Integrity and Plagiarism policy.

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

Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.

Additional learning resources information

When applying for a placement opportunity, the UQ Student Employability Centre canᅠprovide assistance in the preparation of aᅠcover letterᅠandᅠresume. Aᅠlist of workshopsᅠoffered by UQ Careers is also available on StudentHub.

Students are encouraged to provide potential host placement organisations with a copy of the latest Student Activities Insurance letterᅠ(login required),ᅠwhich outlines the University's insurance coverage for students undertaking APPROVED course placements.

Blackboard

Additional supplementary material may be posted on the Blackboard sire for the course at learn.uq.edu.au.

Please check the Announcements section of the Blackboard sire regularly for information updates.

Learning activities

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

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Learning period Activity type Topic
Multiple weeks
Placement

Placement

Students will undertake a minimum of 120 hours (maximum 160 hours) placement in an approved workplace between these dates. Note: if placement dates clash with workshop dates, students must seek 'time off' from their placement to attend compulsory workshops.

Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04

Workshop

Pre-placement Workshop

Compulsory orientation workshop for all course participants. See timetable in SI-net for details. This workshop is in-person and will not be offered by Zoom.

Learning outcomes: L04

Workshop

Post-placement Workshops

Compulsory workshops for all course participants. Students will deliver a presentation, engage in discussion with peers, practice self-reflection, undertake self-assessment of employability literacies, and participate in mock interviews. See timetable in SI-net for details. These workshops are in person and will not be offered by Zoom.

Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03

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.