Students

FOSX2000 – The Science Practitioner

2026 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Benjamin Pope
benjamin.pope@mq.edu.au
Lecturer
Kevin Danastas
kevin.danastas@mq.edu.au
Lecturer
Vanessa Pirotta
vanessa.pirotta@mq.edu.au
Kevin Danastas
kevin.danastas@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Enrolment in OUA Bachelor of Science
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

You began your journey in "FOSE1000: Becoming a Scientist" by asking, Who do you want to be, and where do you want to go? In this unit, you’ll take the next step by actively shaping your professional identity as a scientist. 

How do scientists work within teams, across disciplines, and with diverse communities to investigate complex problems that matter? You’ll step into professional roles, plan and deliver a project, and learn how to communicate your strengths and values as a scientist. As you build a portfolio of work and prepare for future employment, you’ll reflect on key questions: What are your superpowers? How can you grow further? What kind of impact do you want to make? 

This is a space to discover, experiment safely, and learn together. Bring your whole self, and let’s keep building the future you want to be part of. 

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: Analyse your personal strengths, values, and development needs in relation to potential scientific career pathways
  • ULO2: Evaluate employment opportunities by interpreting job advertisements and identifying key skills and experiences required. 
  • ULO3: Apply principles of effective teamwork and project planning to co-develop and deliver a multi-disciplinary science-related project in collaboration with others.
  • ULO4: Create professional job application materials, including a targeted CV and personal portfolio, that clearly communicate your capabilities as a scientist.

General Assessment Information

To pass the unit you must pass all three Assessments.

All three assessments are hurdles, and are marked Pass/Fail. In each case a serious attempt will pass, in which a serious attempt is defined as per the marking rubric. 

Students will have the opportunity to receive written or verbal feedback beyond the mark to help develop writing, speaking, and graphical skills and to refine their career plans and preparation. 

Assessment 1 is a written assessment and late submissions are accepted. Assessment 2 is a presentation, and late submissions are very challenging to reschedule; if you are unable to schedule a time, please let a convenor know immediately and we will consider how best to reschedule you individually or with your group.

Assessment 3 is a practice interview, in which you will have a number of timeslots available (including all normal workshop slots and out-of-hours slots) to schedule your interview; if you cannot make these during the week they are scheduled, we also open the same slots during exam week. If this is not possible, please make an appointment by email. This Assessment in particular is designed to be for your benefit - if there is a particular job or degree you are applying for in reality, please let us know and we can adapt the schedule and rubric (within reason) to reflect this and to give you the best possible preparation for your application and interview.

Given these relaxed requirements about late submissions and scheduling, please only submit a special consideration if you require very substantial delays or changes.

All three Assessments will be released at the beginning of semester.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Professional Development Plan 25% Yes 28/08/2026 Individual Yes Open
Science Communication Project 45% Yes Week 10 Individual and Group No Open
Professional Application Practice 30% Yes 30/10/2026 Individual Yes Open

Professional Development Plan

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 28/08/2026
Weighting: 25%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Planning a career in science requires honest reflection on where you are now and where you want to go. You will reflect on your current skills, explore potential career pathways, and develop a plan for your professional development as a scientist. This task builds the self-awareness and career planning skills that underpin your work across the rest of the unit. 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse your personal strengths, values, and development needs in relation to potential scientific career pathways
  • Evaluate employment opportunities by interpreting job advertisements and identifying key skills and experiences required. 

Science Communication Project

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 45%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual and Group
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Effective science communication is a core professional skill for scientists working across research, industry, and public life. Working in teams, you will research a science topic of public significance and communicate your findings to a non-specialist audience in an appropriate and engaging format. This task develops your ability to collaborate across disciplines, synthesise scientific literature, and present complex ideas clearly and compellingly.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply principles of effective teamwork and project planning to co-develop and deliver a multi-disciplinary science-related project in collaboration with others.

Professional Application Practice

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: 30/10/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Competing effectively for science roles and postgraduate research positions requires deliberate practice. You will prepare a professional application in response to a real science job or higher degree advertisement, then complete a practice interview with a member of staff. This task builds the professional writing and self-presentation skills you will need to launch your career as a scientist.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse your personal strengths, values, and development needs in relation to potential scientific career pathways
  • Create professional job application materials, including a targeted CV and personal portfolio, that clearly communicate your capabilities as a scientist.

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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

The Tuesday 11am one-hour "workshop" is a lecture with interactive and discussion components, and will be recorded.

Course staff will be in contact in the first week of semester to arrange a convenient time for external students to have their 2-hour workshop over Zoom.

We will communicate with you via your university email and through announcements on iLearn. Queries to convenors can either be placed on the iLearn discussion board or sent to the unit convenor via the contact email on iLearn

Unit Schedule

Workshops and lectures start in Week 1. The groups for Assessment 2 will be carried throughout the semester as discussion groups: it is important that students attend the workshops especially in Week 1 and 2 to meet their classmates and form groups early.

The Lecture schedule may be subject to change depending on student feedback and lecturer availability, and students should check iLearn regularly for up-to-date information. At the time of writing, Lectures planned in Weeks 2-3 will address the question of what is science, from deep history to the Scientific Revolution to today. In Weeks 4-5 we will discuss science as an industry and finding (and planning) jobs in science, and Weeks 6-8 we will tackle science communication in journalism, as outreach, on social media, and as a career. In the remainder of the semester we will tackle ethics, diversity, art, data visualization, and have guest lectures from professional science communicators.

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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk. 

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 continually improve the way we offer our units. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to the teaching staff directly, or via the FSE Student Experience & Feedback link in 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 teaching staff. As such, minimal change to the delivery of the unit is planned, however we will continue to strive to improve the level of support and the level of student engagement. We will include more oportunities for hands-on activities in this semester.

Unit information based on version 2026.06 of the Handbook