Students

COMP8851 – Major Project

2024 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Amin Beheshti
amin.beheshti@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Convenor (Internal Project)
Abhaya Nayak
abhaya.nayak@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Lecturer
Peter Busch
peter.busch@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Lecturer
Yan Li
y.li@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Lecturer
Hassan Asghar
hassan.asghar@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Lecturer
Priyanka Rana
priyanka.rana@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(Admission to MDataSc and 40cp at 8000 level) or ((Admission to MInfoTechNetworking or MInfoSysMgmt or MInfoTechCyberSec or MInfoTechIoT or MInfoTechAI) and 60cp at 8000 level)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides the option of either an industry-based internship or an internally supervised research project as a major project experience for students in the Masters program.

An internally supervised project may comprise literature research, a case study, a software project development, or a project sponsored by the candidate's employer. Candidates are expected to demonstrate initiative and independence in researching, executing and documenting an involved information and communications technology project as well as its ethical implications.

The industry-based internship helps students gain experience in industry. Students work with both industry and academic supervisors to complete a major project or a few smaller projects in situ. Project topics will be agreed between the university, the student and the industry partner. Candidates may complete the project work at the industry partner's location or their own place of employment, subject to University approval. Assessment will be based on a combination of written reports and presentations. This unit provides an opportunity for students to complete an internship working part-time over the course of a semester.

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: Evaluate ethical issues related to working in a IT environment.
  • ULO2: Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the project
  • ULO3: Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to project tasks.
  • ULO4: Explore career alternatives prior to graduation.

General Assessment Information

This unit has two streams of students: Internal Project Stream and Internship Stream. The unit is assessed through 4 components: Mid-term Report(s) & their Presentation, and final Report & Presentation. The assessments for the two streams relevantly vary when it comes to details.

Marking Criteria and Report Templates (for Internship) for both the streams can be found on iLearn.

Requirements to Pass this Unit

The unit does not have hurdle assessments. To pass this unit you must:

  • Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%.

In this unit, late submissions will be accepted as follows:

  • All assessment tasks: YES, Standard Late Penalty applies 

Late Assessment Submission Penalty 

In this unit, No late submissions will be accepted unless a Special Consideration is Submitted before the assessment submission deadline and Granted.

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to apply for Special Consideration.  

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short-term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable, and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Final Project Report 50% No Week 13
Final presentation 10% No Week 12
Mid-semester presentation 10% No Week 6
Mid-term report 30% No Week 7

Final Project Report

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 50%

 

A report on the final outcomes of the project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in a IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the project
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to project tasks.
  • Explore career alternatives prior to graduation.

Final presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 12
Weighting: 10%

 

A presentation to the class at the end of the semester covering the final project outcomes.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in a IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the project
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to project tasks.
  • Explore career alternatives prior to graduation.

Mid-semester presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 10%

 

Presentation to the class on the industry-based internship or an internally supervised research project, so far.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in a IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the project
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to project tasks.
  • Explore career alternatives prior to graduation.

Mid-term report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 7
Weighting: 30%

 

A report describing, in a systematic manner the progress made in the project.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in a IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the project
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to project tasks.
  • Explore career alternatives prior to graduation.

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  (20 Credit Points) combines the Internal Project as well as the Internship unit.

For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

Presentation schedules will be announced on ilearn.

Report submissions and presentations have to be submitted on ilearn.

Details about internship, can be found HERE. Information on internal projects will be made available on the iLearn site.

Week 1 classes

Internship: We have already organized the internship workshop. You can access the workshop Recording HERE. During week 1, you will submit your "Internship Proposal" on iLearn, and the Unit Convener will organize a meeting with you and the company supervisor to commence the project.

Internal Project: The unit convener (Internal Project) will present the available projects during the first lecture on week 1. You will choose your project and a lecturer from the teaching team will be assigned to you as your supervisor. Please check the day/time of the lecture on the timetables "https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2024/".

Methods of Communication

Internship: There will be a weekly consultation for projects. The information will be available on iLearn.

Internal Project: There will be a weekly lecture to help students with their projects. Please check the day/time of the lecture on the timetables "https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2024/".

COVID Information

For the latest information on the University’s response to COVID-19, please refer to the Coronavirus infection page on the Macquarie website: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs. Remember to check this page regularly if the information and requirements change during the semester. If there are any changes to this unit in relation to COVID-19, these will be communicated via iLearn.

Unit Schedule

For details of days, times and rooms consult the timetables webpage.

There is no final examination but you are expected to submit a number of reports and attend all the presentations.  If you are not available at that time, there is no guarantee an additional examination time will be offered. 

There are no hurdles in this unit.

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 connect.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 the Service Connect Portal, 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

We value student feedback to be able to improve the way we offer our units continually. As such, we encourage students to provide constructive feedback to the teaching staff directly via student surveys or the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link on the iLearn page. Student feedback from the previous offering of this unit was very positive overall, with students pleased with the clarity around assessment requirements and the level of support from the teaching staff. As such, no change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and student engagement.

Unit information based on version 2024.01R of the Handbook