FOOD5410 - Industry Practicum

SESSION 1, 2006

• Course staff
  
  
• General course information
  
  
  • Outline
  • Course objectives
  • Requisite knowledge and relationships to other courses
  • Target students and career prospects
  • Structure
  
  
  
• Assessment
  
  
  • Weighting of assessment tasks
  • Details of tasks
    • Thesis-style report
    • Reflective diary
    • Report on induction/orientation activities
    • Seminar
  
  
  
• Lecture and laboratory program
  
  
• Resources
  
  
  • Texts
  • Other materials
    
    
• Course administration
  
  
  • Attendance
  • Late submission
  • Plagiarism

Course staff

A/Professor Cox is the convenor for the course, though each student will have at least one specific academic supervisor as well as one or more industry supervisors.

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General course information

Outline

This course provides an alternative, for one semester, to the normal Year 4 stream of formal coursework and project in Program 3060. The aim of the course is to allow students to familiarise themselves with a relevant external organisation, such as a food company, and to conduct within that organisation a structured research project and other activities.

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Objectives

Upon satisfactory completion of this course, students should have:

• gained an understanding of various facets of the operation of a food company or other food-related organisation
• be capable of liaising with personnel in a variety of positions in a food or allied organisation

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Requisite knowledge and relationships to other courses

FOOD5410 is undertaken as the major component of the Industry Practicum stream ("Stream B") in Program 3060. It serves as a capstone course, as a student will have to employ a range of technical concepts and transferable or generic skills in order to complete the course successfully. Thus, a student must have completed all Year 3 requirements of program 3060 to be eligible for enrolment in this course.

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Target students and career prospects

As this course is completed through close association with a food company or another organisation relevant to food science and technology, the potential exists for ongoing employment with that organisation. The knowledge, skills and experience gained through completion of this course serve as excellent preparation for employment in the food or allied industries.

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Structure

The course consists of a placement for a full semester with an external organisation. During that time, the student will undertake a structured project that can be documented in a thesis style report and summarised and communicated through a seminar presentation. The student will also undertake a program of activities designed to familiarise them with various parts of the company (that may include any or all of research and development, production, finance/accounting, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and control, sales, marketing, human resources). The exact program of activities to be undertaken will be negotiated between academic and industry partners and, to ensure consistency within the course, must have the general approval by the course convenor.

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Assessment

Weighting of assessment tasks

To pass the course, students MUST pass all of these assessment tasks.

Details of assessment tasks

Thesis

A thesis-style report on the project must be produced and submitted in accordance with the requirements for the course FOOD1400 Project.

Reflective diary of activities

The student will maintain, on a daily basis, a diary of activities, covering engagement in both the project and other activities throughout the company. The diary should not only report the activities themselves (e.g. A progress report was presented to a management team), but reflections on that activity that describe the experience or feelings relating to the activity (e.g. "this activity was well received by the managers") and/or how knowledge and skills gained during the degree assisted or fitted with the activities (e.g. "this enabled me to practice my oral communication and graphics presentation skills").

Report on induction/orientation activities

This report should document, in a concise and structured fashion, the activities undertaken during the Practicum, other than those activities relating directly to the project (which are documented in the thesis-style report).

Seminar

Each student must present a seminar during an appropriate seminar session conducted by the Food Science and Technology group within the School. This may be at the same time as other Year 4 students or during the graduate seminar program, for example. The same seminar should be delivered to members of the host organisation, either before or after presentation at UNSW. Typically, this seminar should be designed for a 30-minute presentation, and should cover aspects of the research project as well as the broader activities experienced during the Practicum.

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Texts and reference materials

There are no textbooks for this course. Research and review articles will be required reading as part of the execution of the project, and potentially required during induction activities throughout the organisation.

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Lecture and Laboratory Program

There is no program of formal lecture or laboratory sessions associated with this course. The program of activities is to be negotiated between the academic and industry supervisors, ensuring that the aims and objectives of the course are met. It is recognised that this program is dynamic, and may be modified over time.

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Course administration

Attendance and absence

The policies of Food Science and Technology on attendance at classes, absences, and failure to submit assessment tasks reflect the policies provided in the UNSW Student Guide 2006 and on-line through the A-Z Guide at myUNSW. While there are no formal classes for this course, students are expected to attend their workplace on a full-time basis, fulfilling a commitment to the course equivalent to the time commitment of students undertaking a program of full-time on-campus study. Attendance will be discussed with the industry partner and students not meeting a satisfactory record of attendance may not be assessed for the course. As with other courses, consideration of non-attendance and/or non-completion of assessment tasks will be given to students who experience genuine and properly documented cases of hardship, such as recent bereavement or serious illness. The process by which consideration is granted is documented in the UNSW Student Guide 2006 and on-line. This procedure must be followed.

Submission of assignments

Assessment tasks must be submitted or completed by the due date, unless another date is negotiated with the convenor of the course. The written assessment tasks, in their final form, must be submitted through the Food Science and Technology Office, Level 3, Applied Science Building.

Academic misconduct (plagiarism)

Refer to the UNSW Student Guide 2005 for University policies on academic misconduct, including plagiarism. If you do not understand these policies, consult with the course coordinator/s. It is particularly important that due acknowledgement is given to the work of others in written material, such as the thesis-style report.

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