70712 PROJECT

Year	No.	Offer	Mode	Description			Cred. Pts
98	70712 	S12 	X 	PROJECT                   	2.00

Contents


STAFFING:

Examiner: N. HANCOCK
Moderator: D. DOWLING

CO-REQUISITE(S)

70061+70062


RATIONALE:

Individual project work is a central part of engineering and surveying practice. However the project instruction and experience acquired by this unit is entirely an educational exercise and carries a strict limitations on its use as indicated below. The Council of the University of Southern Queensland, its Faculty of Engineering and Surveying, and the staff of the University of Southern Queensland, do not accept any responsibility for the material associated with or contained in this Project. Any person or agency making use of all or any part of the hardware, software or documentation resulting from work undertaken as part of this unit do so entirely at their own risk, and not at the risk of the Council of the University of Southern Queensland, its Faculty of Engineering and Surveying or the staff of the University of Southern Queensland.


SYNOPSIS:

The project is intended to apply the student's total formal knowledge to a real problem at the appropriate professional level. In this sense it will develop and test the ability to define and analyse the problem, to develop solutions to the problem, to make the necessary decisions, convert ideas into useful outcomes and to cope with the unexpected problems encountered in testing and evaluation. All of this must be accomplished against a tight timescale within resource limitations and with due regard for safety, social and ethical considerations. In short, the project is a good test of overall ability in engineering or surveying.


OBJECTIVES:

On successful completion of this unit students will be able
to:

  1. To develop the student's self confidence in handling technical
    problems and/or situations in engineering or surveying.
  2. To develop in the student those attitudes and personal skills
    necessary to "get the job done" within specified time and
    resource constraints which includes documentation to an
    appropriate professional standard.
  3. To demonstrate the integration of all sections of the
    student's formal education and bring them to bear on a
    substantial task.
  4. To provide the student's with opportunities to innovate by
    means of original design, analytical, experimental or research
    work and hence to demonstrate an ability contribute to the
    disciplines of engineering and surveying at a high level.
  5. To provide experience in the presentation of technical work in
    the form of an academic dissertation.

TOPICS:

 Description                                                    Weighting(%)
  1. PROJECT WORK 100.00 in which students will tackle an individual, generally open-ended task which will encompass a range of engineering skills appropriate to the student's major study. These will include some (and often many) of the following: . planning and management . research . investigation . feasibility assessment . experimental work and trialling . fieldwork . data analysis . design . prototype construction and testing . simulation and modelling . financial analysis The work will be undertaken with the guidance of a supervisor or supervisors, at least one of whom will be appointed from the academic staff of the Faculty. Sponsors and supervisors external to the Faculty may also be involved.


RECOMMENDED REFERENCE MATERIALS:

The project will require full use of the resources of the Library
including literature searches, research papers, journals and trade
literature files.


STUDENT WORKLOAD REQUIREMENTS:

	ACTIVITY				HOURS
Project Work                                  	230
Report Writing                                	60
Assessments                                   	2
Supervisor Consultation                       	18

ASSESSMENT DETAILS:

No  *F/S Marks     Due        Description                              Wtg(%)    LBL WWW
1   S              PASSIM    PROJECT APPRECIATION                                Y   N
2   S              24/07/98  PROGRESS ASSESSMENT                                 Y   N
3   F              16/10/98  DRAFT DISSERTATION                                  Y   N
4   S              05/11/98  PROJECT PERFORMANCE                       100.00    N   N

*F=Formative, S=Summative

OTHER REQUIREMENTS:

1    The  following  requirements constitute the  regulations  of  the
     unit.
1    ENROLMENT
1.1  A  student  will not normally be permitted to commence a  project
     until he/she is in the final two (2) semesters of the course.
1.2  Prior  completion  of unit 70061 Professional Practice  1  (which
     encompasses project commencement) is expected.
1.3  Simultaneous  enrolment  in unit 70062  Professional  Practice  2
     (which encompasses project communication, including seminars)  is
     expected.
2    TOPICS AND SUPERVISORS
2.1  Both  project  topics and supervisors will be  allocated  by  the
     examiner  on  the  advice  of  one  of  the  assistant  examiners
     depending  on  the student's major study, staff availability  for
     supervision and, where practicable, student preferences.
2.2  It  is  the  responsibility of the student  to  maintain  regular
     communication  with  the  supervisor,  normally  weekly,  or   as
     indicated  by  the  supervisor and to keep  whatever  records  of
     progress the supervisor may require (eg. a log book).
3    PROJECT SPECIFICATION
3.1  An  individual  project specification will be  developed  by  the
     student  and supervisor for each project endorsed by the  student
     and lodged with the examiner.
3.2  A revised project specification will be written during the course
     of  the  project  if  the  work diverges significantly  from  the
     original project conception.
3.3  The  project  specification  will  be  used  for  management  and
     assessment purposes throughout the duration of the project.
4    PROGRESS ASSESSMENT
4.1  A   mid  unit  progress  assessment  will  be  conducted  by  the
     supervisor  and  may  comprise:  -  an  interview,  and/or  -   a
     demonstration, and/or - a written report at the discretion of the
     supervisor. The result of the assessment will be lodged with  the
     examiner.
4.2  Where  a  student has failed to maintain a satisfactory  rate  of
     progress he/she will receive a written notification.
4.3  Where unsatisfactory progress is the result of factors beyond the
     control of the student this shall be recorded.
5    DEADLINES
5.1  The  deadline  for  receipt of the dissertation  is  4.00  pm  on
     THURSDAY as indicated in the assessment details section  of  this
     unit specification.
5.2  The  Examiner  may  grant  an  extension  of  this  deadline   in
     exceptional  circumstances, such as prolonged illness.  Only  the
     Examiner  may  grant  an  extension.  Application  for  such   an
     extension  must  be  made  in  writing  to  the  Examiner,  fully
     justified, and be endorsed by the supervisor.
5.3  Any  student unable to submit by this deadline must state briefly
     in  a letter to the Examiner why he/she should not be graded F at
     this  time. If the reasons given are considered satisfactory then
     an IM grade will be awarded at this time.
5.4  Projects graded IM for any reason will normally be eligible for a
     C grade only.
5.5  The  FINAL DEADLINE for project submission is 31 January  of  the
     following  year.  Projects not submitted by this  final  deadline
     will  be  automatically graded Fail and the student will normally
     be required to undertake a NEW project in the following year.
6    SUBMISSION
6.1  The "Project Appreciation" (Assignment 1) must be submitted at an
     early stage in the work of the project.
6.2  If  a satisfactory "Project Appreciation" (Assignment 1) has  not
     been received the dissertation will not be accepted.
6.3  At least three identical copies of the project dissertation shall
     be submitted in the format set out in the Introductory Booklet of
     the  unit.  A  dissertation which does not  meet  the  obligatory
     requirements of this format will not be accepted.
6.4  Submission at the due date (set out above) may take the form  of:
     EITHER  the  three identical bound copies; OR a complete  unbound
     copy  for  assessment purposes PLUS an official binder's  receipt
     for at least two copies.
6.5  At  least two bound copies must be received by the Faculty before
     a passing grade is confirmed.
7    ASSESSMENT
7.1  Assessment of the project and project dissertation shall be  with
     respect   to   the  final  version  of  the  individual   project
     specification and will take into account the degree of difficulty
     of the work.
7.2  Project  assessment  may also involve demonstration  of  hardware
     constructed,  software written and/or inspection of fieldwork  as
     appropriate.
7.3  At  least  two  members  of  academic  staff  shall  perform  the
     assessment, one of whom will normally be the supervisor.
7.4  A  minimum  standard of communication skills must be demonstrated
     in order for a passing grade to be achieved.
7.5  Following  detailed assessment by two or more academic staff  the
     grade   recommended   will  remain  provisional   until   various
     moderation procedures have been conducted by the Examiner.
8    This  is a COMMUNICATION BENCHMARK unit and a major component  of
     the   assessment  of  this  unit  will  be  associated  with  the
     demonstration of communication skills.
9    The   Faculty  of  Engineering  and  Surveying  will  NOT  accept
     submission  of  hand written or typed assignments  by  facsimile,
     email  or computer diskette. Students in remote locations who  do
     not  have regular access to postal services may be given  special
     consideration.
10   In  case  of any dispute that cannot be resolved by the Assistant
     Examiners,  Examiner or Moderator, the Dean's decision  shall  be
     final.

This information is accurate as at 04/11/98