ENRP20001 - Engineering Research Project Planning

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit is specifically designed so that students can apply the processes of research investigation through the analysis of, reflection on and critique of, an area of their professional practice. The unit uses a problem-based learning approach within an authentic workplace learning environment. This ensures students are undertaking an investigation that is relevant to the needs of industry. Students will apply an appropriate research methodology that suits their research problem. At the end of this unit, students will have developed a project plan that they will implement in the follow-on unit Engineering Research Project Implementation.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 9
Credit Points 12
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.25
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites Students must have completed a minimum of 36 credit points and approval of the Head Cf course or delegate is required. Students must have a project topic and academic supervisor before they can be enrolled.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Melbourne
Online
Perth
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Report 10%
2. Literature Review or Systematic Review 20%
3. Presentation 20%
4. Portfolio 50%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 85.29% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 70.83% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
It would be good to allow for more discussion with the supervisor.
Recommendation
A weekly 30-minute meeting with the supervisor is the usual practice but students can request a bit longer time with the supervisor if needed depending on the project's complexity.
Action Taken
At the beginning of the term, the supervisors were advised to provide more discussion time on request by the project planning students (if needed). In addition, weekly 30-minute meetings were scheduled regularly.
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
The requirements for the assessments sometimes were unclear in the particular structure of the reports.
Recommendation
A clear assessment criterion has been provided on Moodle under the Assessment blog. It was also discussed clearly in class. Students will be advised to access the recordings and unit resources on weekly basis.
Action Taken
A clear assessment criterion, along with the report template, has been provided on Moodle. Those are also discussed in class.
Source: Unit evaluation
Feedback
The students with experimental activity in the project would have a weekly meeting with lab staff.
Recommendation
It would be challenging for lab staff to schedule a weekly meeting with every student. However, students and supervisors will be advised to organise a special arrangement with relevant lab staff to discuss the laboratory activities pertinent to the project.
Action Taken
All students were advised to submit their lab activity request form by week four and to organise a meeting with lab staff and supervisor for their experimental plan.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
Class schedule clashes with internship hours
Recommendation
The Unit Coordinator should collaborate with the administration team to schedule the classes after hours, taking into account the requirements of internship students and working professionals in the industry.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: SUTE
Feedback
The updated assessment criteria and templates
Recommendation
The Unit Coordinator should inform the supervisor and reviewers of the updated assessment criteria and templates to ensure consistency.
Action Taken
Nil.
Source: Class room feedback
Feedback
Students struggle to manage time for both internship and research projects
Recommendation
Students should be encouraged to discuss thesis requirements with internship providers to request flexibility.
Action Taken
Nil.
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Identify a suitable problem related to the study discipline
  2. Develop a research question including identifying key words
  3. Conduct an indepth review of related literature
  4. Select an appropriate research methodology to investigate the problem
  5. Regularly communicate professionally with all stakeholders in formal and informal reports
  6. Professionally present the project plan in a seminar and defend the methodology adopted.

The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:
Intermediate
2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources. (LO: 4I )
3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability. (LO: 3I )
Advanced
1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline. (LO: 1A 4A )
1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline. (LO: 1A 2A 3A )
1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline. (LO: 2A 4A )
1.6 Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the specific discipline. (LO: 4A )
2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving. (LO: 4A )
2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects. (LO: 1A 2A 3A 4A )
3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains. (LO: 5A 6A )
3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour. (LO: 4A )
3.4 Professional use and management of information. (LO: 3A )
3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct. (LO: 6A )

Note: LO refers to the Learning Outcome number(s) which link to the competency and the levels: N – Introductory, I – Intermediate and A - Advanced.
Refer to the Engineering Postgraduate Units Moodle site for further information on the Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers and course level mapping information

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Report • •
2 - Literature Review or Systematic Review •
3 - Presentation • •
4 - Portfolio • • • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 - Knowledge • • • • • •
2 - Communication • • • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • •
4 - Research • • • • •
5 - Self-management • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Advanced Level
• Professional Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Report • • • •
2 - Literature Review or Systematic Review • • •
3 - Presentation • • • • •
4 - Portfolio • • • • •