Outline

Overview

This interdisciplinary unit provides students with the opportunity to address complex problems identified by industry, community, and government organisations, and gain valuable experience in working across disciplinary boundaries. In collaboration with a major industry partner and an academic lead, students integrate their academic skills and knowledge by working in teams with students from a range of disciplinary backgrounds. This experience allows students to research, analyse and present solutions to a real-world problem, and to build on their interpersonal and transferable skills by engaging with and learning from industry experts and presenting their ideas and solutions to the industry partner.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Science Faculty
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	96 credit points
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	HSBH3026
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Michael Wheatland, michael.wheatland@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Participation	Attendance Attendance	0%	Ongoing	NA
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Individual Statement One Written task	0%	Week 02 Due date: 05 Mar 2023 at 23:59	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Group Plan Research plan	20%	Week 05 Due date: 26 Mar 2023 at 23:59	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Individual Statement Two written task	20%	Week 10 Due date: 01 May 2023 at 23:59	500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Group Presentation Oral presentation inclusive of 300-word or equivalent Executive Summary	20%	Week 12 Due date: 19 May 2023 at 23:59	≤10 minutes
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Group Project Report Report	40%	Week 13 Due date: 28 May 2023 at 23:59	4000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Group work survey Questionnaire	0%	Week 13 Due date: 28 May 2023 at 23:59	NA
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Group plan aims to articulate the issues the group will address and develop a project plan.
Individual statement aims to analyse and reflect on students’ own and other members’ ways of contributing to their work on this project.
Group report aims to conduct in depth analysis/es and research, discuss the results, and provide recommendations or solutions to the issues outlined in the group plan.
Group presentation including Executive Summary aims to present students’ work and findings to the project partner.
Group work survey aims to evaluate student’s contributions relative to the contributions of other team members.
Attendance aims to ensure active participation by all team members for the project work.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas and the Project Outline.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity	Learning outcomes
Ongoing	Will be provided on Canvas	Project (39 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend a minimum of 90 per cent of timetabled activities for this unit of study. Failure to meet the attendance requirement may impact on your overall mark in this unit, as it will inform the Relative Performance Factor that is applied to assessments. Should you not be able to attend, a special consideration application may be lodged.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate critical awareness of, and apply, disciplinary knowledge and skills to address complex real-world problems
LO2. Assess and integrate diverse stakeholder perspectives to generate insights into complex problems
LO3. Purposefully select and apply complex problem-solving approaches and methods
LO4. Communicate effectively and persuasively in professional settings using relevant media
LO5. Demonstrate professionalism (proficiency, adaptivity, and proactivity) in collaborative project work

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Additional information

ICPU website information: https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/industry-and-community-projects.html
Simple extensions: Students need to request simple extensions via https://www.sydney.edu.au/students/simple-extensions.html
Academic appeals: Students should follow the following appeal process in this unit of study:
- Students contact their Project Supervisor to discuss their concerns regarding the academic decision and receive a better understanding of why the decision was made.
- If students are unhappy with that decision, they contact the Associate Director Interdisciplinary Teaching (DVC-Education (EEE), Dr Elisabeth Valiente-Riedl, elisabeth.valiente-riedl@sydney.edu.au, to raise their concerns.
- If students’ concerns are not resolved, they may contact their faculty or school and follow the appeals process specific to their faculty or school. (https://sydney.edu.au/students/academic-appeals/resolution.html#faculty).
Student partner contact: Partner engagement is managed by the Project Supervisor in conjunction with the EEE team. Student contact with the partner is to be facilitated by the Project Supervisor at all times. Students must not contact a partner directly without prior permission from their Project Supervisor.
Student research – ethics approval: There may be some scope for students to undertake small, negligible-risk primary research in their projects, such as carefully constructed surveys or questionnaires. If students are thinking about conducting primary research as part of their project work, they must discuss this with their Project Supervisor early in the program.
Legal obligations: The University and project partners have mutually agreed to keep each other's information confidential.
Deed Poll requirements: Students registered for a project will need to upload a signed and witnessed Deed Poll to Canvas. This is a compulsory requirement for all students enrolled in this unit. Students must consider the acknowledgments in the deed carefully before submission. Students will be granted access to Canvas the week before teaching starts for their enrolled session and will need to submit the Deed Poll by or on the first day of class.
Use of student work for education purposes: A copy of students’ presentation and/or final report may be provided to the partner on some projects. Students can ask the Project Supervisor for further details. Submitted assignments may be used to evaluate assessment models and course design in accordance with the University’s Coursework Policy 2014. De-identified assignments may also be shared with future students as examples of completed work, or as a basis for developing past students’ work in future iterations of projects.

More information can be found on Canvas.

Science student portal

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

SCPU3001: Science Interdisciplinary Project

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Remote

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect