Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Alison Rodger
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Credit points |
Credit points
10
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
Admission to MRes and 40cp at 7000 level
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit is designed to provide hands-on experience by direct interface with molecular science underway in the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences. Students will participate in the programs of two distinct research groups over the semester and navigate typical situations encountered as members of a scientific research team. They will engage in a range of pertinent laboratory activities, receive preparative training in advanced molecular techniques from research scientists, and attend team meetings at which experimental data are reviewed and research planning is encountered.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Late Assessment Submission Penalty
Assessment submission dates for MOLS7910 will be Fridays of weeks 7 (Experience A) and 13 (Experience B) but alternative dates may be negotiated with the Unit Convenor and the relevant Research Experience Supervisor. Once a date has been agreed standard late penalties apply.
From 1 July 2022, Students enrolled in Session based units with written assessments will have the following university standard late penalty applied. Please see https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/assessments for more information.
Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
---|---|---|---|
Supervisor B Report | 20% | No | Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Laboratory notebook B | 15% | No | Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Supervisor A report | 20% | No | Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Research presentation A | 15% | No | Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Research presentation B | 15% | No | Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Laboratory notebook A | 15% | No | Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor |
Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 20%
As for A, your supervisor will report on your laboratory experience
Assessment Type 1: Lab book
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 15%
As for A, you will maintain a certified record of your laboratory activities
Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 0 hours
Due: Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 20%
Your supervisor will report on your laboratory performance, technical competencies and degree of research engagement. Factors such as attention to detail, ability to learn new methods, and your contribution to experimental interpretation will be assessed.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 15%
During your last week of placement, you will give a short presentation at a research team meeting outlining the experiments in which you were involved and some background literature. You will receive constructive feedback on your results or understanding. By attending group meetings throughout your research team visit, you will be exposed to examples of short presentations by other student researchers.
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: Week 13 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 15%
As for A, during the last week of placement, you will give a short presentation at a research team meeting
Assessment Type 1: Lab book
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: Week 7 or by arrangement with Unit convenor and supervisor
Weighting: 15%
A notebook will be provided for the recording of your laboratory activities in a style appropriate to the relevant research discipline. A laboratory notebook forms the primary source of new experimental information and contributes to formal records maintained by a research team Your lab notebook must be written up as experiments are set-up and progress, alongside your observations or insights. Each task and observation must be clearly dated, and reflection noted on the experimental result. The level of description should be sufficient to allow experiments to be replicated by another worker. The names and storage location of all data files and samples related to each experiment must be identified clearly. Your notebook must be certified on a weekly basis by your supervisor or a senior researcher in your team.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
This unit is designed to provide hands-on experience by direct interface with molecular science research underway at Macquarie. Students will participate in the programs of two distinct research groups over the semester and navigate typical situations encountered as members of a scientific research team. They will engage in a range of inductions and training, pertinent laboratory activities, receive preparative training in advanced molecular techniques from research scientists, and attend team meetings at which experimental data are reviewed and research planning is encountered.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this unit is that you are required to manage your own work programme. Everyone will have a different programme to achieve the unit goals. When you embark on a research project you will be doing something no-one has done before. This unit is an opportunity to develop those skills within a supported framework. It is up to you to understand what is required and then design your own work programme to deliver the unit learning outcomes and assessment tasks. You must be in regular communication with the Unit Convenor as well as your supervisors – it is up to you to make sure the information flows. You will have to work with a variety of different people whose goals are often quite different from your own. So, you will need to devise a unique solution to ensure that they get what they want while giving you what you need. The Unit Convenor will not set this up for you but will support you to do it for yourself. For better or worse, high quality research in Molecular Science is as much about people management as about creative innovative scientific endeavor.
Off-shore students
Off-shore students must email the convenor as soon as possible to discuss study options.
Week 1: After the introductory unit meeting, you will arrange to meet with at least four selected Project leaders to discuss projects underway in their teams. You will be guided by the published Research booklet of the Molecular Sciences research groups to be aware of all projects on offer.
Week 2: During the scheduled MOLS7910 class, you will receive a general orientation and Safety outline from key staff.
By end of Week 2 you must nominate (to the Unit convenor) 4 groups in which you are interested to take placements (by email). Two of these will be assigned to you as your LabA and LabB experiences according to availability.
During the two 5 week-sessions of laboratory work, you are expected to be present in the participating laboratory for 14 hours per week, as best fits your and your supervisor's schedules. During this time, you will “shadow” a researcher and you will write up a laboratory notebook.
Additional review sessions will be arranged to discuss learning outcomes.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct
Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au
At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.
The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources.
Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:
Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.
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Unit information based on version 2022.02 of the Handbook