Students undertake a project defined by a partner organisation domestically or internationally with the approval of the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) team, and the Unit Coordinator.
The placement may be an affiliated arrangement where a consultancy or research project is carried out in association with the company and physical location at the company may not be required. Partner organisations may be from a diverse range of industries and sectors, including government departments, private industry and not-for-profit organisations. You will communicate the project findings and outcomes (transferable and technical) in the final major report with a focus specified by the partner organisation in conjunction with you and the requirements of the assessment. The partner organisation provides field supervision, and the faculty provides the academic supervision.
This unit is taught primarily via experiential learning during the work-integrated professional placement. You will also undertake some required online assessment and some optional online Check-ins. There are two online interactive sessions, namely an induction and onboarding session and a self-elected Career Connect session of the students choosing (book here). There is also one Live interactive Zoom presentation forum in Week 13.
Reflection on professional challenges and personal and professional development is important in the unit. This aims to establish in the student a habit of life-long learning, as required in the rapidly changing work environment and for strong career progression.
In the unit, your are expected to complete various assessment tasks (AT1 through to AT4). This includes a work plan and brief (AT1), two short stand-alone reflections on major professional challenges (AT2), an oral presentation on one key change in the student resulting from the placement experience (AT3), and a final major report including analysis and reflection as well as a self and supervisor review (AT4).
The professional experience, reflection tasks and other assessment tasks aim to provide a mixture of theory, self-awareness, and practical experience, which are essential elements of professional development.
The unit features the following teaching and learning approaches:
Experiential learning
Online learning
Professional placement
Work-integrated learning
Reflection (a thread throughout the Masters)
Face to face sessions (two unless undertaking an international placement i.e. Induction via WiL and a self-elected Career Connect module)
Problem-based learning for most placements
Research activities for some placements
Active learning for some placements
Oral presentation
Moodle All assessment information is available on the Moodle page. You should regularly consult the Moodle page for assessment resources and announcements. It is highly recommended that you check the Moodle page at least twice per week.
Online Check-Ins To gain maximum benefit from the unit, you should work through the Check-ins in given weeks (see Moodle). These provide prompts for reflection/journalling, resources, and reminders about upcoming assessment tasks.
Asessments and the Assignment Book All assignment guidelines and marking rubrics, resources, and submission dropboxes can be found under the Assessments tab on the unit Moodle page. The assignment guidelines and rubrics, which are very important to read through, are contained in the Assignment book. Please ensure that you carefully read the relevant chapter of the Assignment book before undertaking each assignment. The assignment book contents, especially the background and marking rubrics, will be very useful for guiding the development of your work. You can navigate between assignments and chapters in the Assignment Book by utilising the panel to the left side of your screen. You can download a PDF copy of the Assignment book using Moodle if this is easier and more convenient for you to read through.
Your personal 12 week program and self-elected assessment due dates: Go to Moodle to set your own personal assessment deadlines based upon the commencement date of your particular placement. You will need to lodge your personal dates in a Google sheet, thereby committing to your personal due dates. Staff will monitor assessment based on these dates. Students in the cohort will submit assessment during different times, based upon when they commenced the placement personally. This self-elected process enables flexibility for students and recognises the variety of different placements being undertaken by students in terms of start dates and duration. You will be able to nominate your due dates upon gaining access to Moodle (see the 'Your Personal Timeline' section on Moodle for more information and to lodge your due dates).
