Students

MQBS8090 – Business Internship

2022 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Lecturer
Lisa Rohanek
lisa.rohanek@mq.edu.au
E4A, 2.08
Wed and Thurs 10-12pm
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Permission by special approval
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit gives students workplace experience and professional development skills to position them to better succeed in securing employment and manage their future careers. Students undertake a placement in an organisation under the guidance of a workplace mentor/supervisor and with the support of professional and academic University staff. The unit links the workplace experience to academic theory and research to maximise the benefits of both. Assessment tasks are integrated with a range of individual and interactive learning activities. Students will gain experience of the Australian workplace environment and the ability to self-manage future professional development of generic skills and specialist knowledge. The unit contributes to the development of graduate capabilities in critical, analytical and integrative thinking and professional and personal judgement and initiative.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

  • ULO1: Develop professional skills in the workplace.
  • ULO2: Manage personal contribution to an organisation.
  • ULO3: Evaluate the application of academic learning in the workplace.
  • ULO4: Manage professional learning through reflective practice and the application of research.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless an application for Special Consideration 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. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests, exams, performance assessments, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Learning Contract 30% No Due four weeks after internship start date
Portfolio of development 40% No Fri 30 September, 11:59pm
Placement evaluation 30% No Fri 21 October, 11:59pm

Learning Contract

Assessment Type 1: Work-integrated task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Due four weeks after internship start date
Weighting: 30%

 

This assessment is worth 30% in total. You will create a learning contract for your internship or project, identifying appropriate learning objectives in consultation with your supervisor. Objectives should be linked to graduate capabilities and developed with reference to assigned readings and relevant organisational and professional standards. A template for this task, a reading list, and links to a range of professional standards are provided on iLearn.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Develop professional skills in the workplace.

Portfolio of development

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Fri 30 September, 11:59pm
Weighting: 40%

 

This assessment is worth 40% in total. It is a portfolio of work reflecting on professional skills and employability skills development. Students will build a portfolio of evidence considering their learning contract, their professional skills and evidence that reflects on their development.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Manage personal contribution to an organisation.

Placement evaluation

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Fri 21 October, 11:59pm
Weighting: 30%

 

This task includes your supervisor’s evaluation (10%) and a 1500-1800 word critical reflection (20%). In order to complete the unit, you will need to submit the placement evaluation form which includes the supervisor’s placement evaluation marking guide. Your supervisor has agreed to complete this evaluation as part of their agreement to host your internship or project. You will need to provide your supervisor with a copy of the placement evaluation form, giving your supervisor enough time to complete their evaluation. During your internship or project your supervisor will assess your performance using the supervisor’s placement evaluation marking guide included in the placement evaluation form. If your performance is rated unsatisfactory at any time during your internship or project, you will be invited to a meeting to discuss your performance. You may be given an opportunity to improve your performance or the internship or project may be discontinued. In this case, you may be required to complete the remainder of your placement hours within the Macquarie Business School. In these cases, MQBS will identify a project, an appropriate supervisor and specify the number of hours required to meet the learning outcomes of this unit. If your supervisor gives a fail for your placement evaluation at the end of session, penalties may be applied to Task 3. In the critical reflection you will critically reflect on your progress towards achieving learning objectives identified in Task 1, with reference to your internship or project experience and assigned readings, incorporating any feedback from your supervisor and/or feedback on Task 1.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Develop professional skills in the workplace.
  • Evaluate the application of academic learning in the workplace.
  • Manage professional learning through reflective practice and the application of research.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

This unit is workplace based. You are to focus on your internship experience. The assessments are designed to integrate your internship experience and embed the graduate capabilities. 

Consultation is readily available along with some scheduled workshops outlined on iLearn. While attendance is encouraged it is not compulsory. Any session will be recorded and made available to students after the session. Consultation is not recorded as it allows you the opportunity to discuss things critical to your experience and assessments. 

No resources are provided for this unit. Any readings will be available on iLearn and the assessment tasks will be explained and outlined for you. Your internship placement is the priority for this unit and you are expected to put your effort into the internship experience. 

Resources will be available online to support you in a number of skills to improve your employability. You can work through this resources at your own time. 

Unit Schedule

Week

Date

Topic

Activity 

1

25 July 2022

Welcome

Review iLearn content and assessments

Complete the readings on reflection 

2

1 Aug 2022

Teamwork

Form into professional community teams

Reading and activities on teamwork

Reflect on how you perform in a team – what are your strengths? What are some areas you need to develop?

Get some friends and play the escape room then discuss how your team performed.

Review video on assessment 1 – start building the learning contracts – provide an example!

3

8 Aug 2022

Ethical Networking

Read the learning on Ethical Networking and reflect on the following. Post your thoughts in the discussion board 

What is ethical networking? Why do we need to worry about it? What are ethics? Can you think of any unethical networking practices? How can you network with your new work colleagues? What are ways you can build connections and future-proof your profile? What are your thoughts on LinkedIn requests? 

4

15 Aug 2022

Workplace Values

 

Assessment 1 Learning Contract Due (4 weeks after start of internship) 

Review the content on workplace values

What are workplace values? Does your workplace have values that you need to abide by? Integrity. Value agility, value respect? What would they be? If your workplace doesn’t have values – can you write some for the business? What would they be and why? Why do those values matter to you? Post on the pallet some values that you can see in businesses

5

22 Aug 2022

Communication

Review the content on the communication

Communication digitally and the difference between in person. Challenges of online meetings – how to communicate the non-verbal? How can you improve communication? Complete the activity on communication to see how you can improve your communication

6

29 Aug 2022

Self Efficacy

Complete the readings on self-efficacy. 

What does it mean to you? What do you think of your ability to be self-efficacious? How can you improve this skill? Complete the quiz on self-efficacy and reflect on your results 

7

5 Sep 2022

Professionalism

Professionalism is in the eyes of the receiver. What are examples of professionalism and what are not? What do you think is appropriate in the workplace? Social media? Phones? Track pants? Joggers? 

RECESS

8

19 Sep 2022

Problem Solving

Complete the readings on problem-solving and the activity to look at workplace problems. What is your approach to problem-solving? 

9

26 Sep 2022

Thinking for Self

 

Assessment 2 Due, Friday 30 Sept 11:59pm

Complete the reading on thinking for self. How can you balance doing what your supervisor wants while also thinking for yourself and generating your own ideas?

10

3 Oct 2022

Attention to Detail

Complete the activities and readings on attention to detail. 

Reflect on whether you are a details person or a bigger picture worker? Is it ok to not be good at everything? Do you have to be good at everything? 

11

10 Oct 2022

Persistence

Complete the reading on persistence. How can you stick things out? Come up with some strategies for persisting in challenging times at work. 

12

17 Oct 2022

Reflective Practice

 

Assessment 3 Due, Fri 21 Oct 2022 11:59pm

This unit has talked about reflection a lot. The process of reflecting in action is to teach you to continually reflect on what you are doing and where you are heading. Your final assessment is heavily focused on reflection. 

13

24 Oct 2022

Ongoing Professional Development 

 

Policies and Procedures

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.

Student Code of Conduct

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

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

Academic Integrity

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.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

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. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes from Previous Offering

Peer networking is incorporated for professional communities to form among students

Assessment 1 due four weeks after internship commencement regardless of start date

Changes since First Published

Date Description
29/06/2022 Updated late assessment policy in line with the University update