Students

COMP8860 – Industry Based Internship B

2026 – 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, Lecturer
Yuankai Qi
yuankai.qi@mq.edu.au
Amin Beheshti
amin.beheshti@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
20
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(Admission to MInfoTechNetworking or MInfoSysMgmt or MInfoTechCyberSec and 60cp at 8000 level) and WAM>=75
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The industry-based internship unit helps students gain experience in industry. Students work with both industry and academic supervisors to complete a major IT project or a few smaller IT 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 part-time over the course of a semester.

Learning in this unit enhances student understanding of global challenges identified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) Decent Work and Economic Growth; Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

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 an IT environment.
  • ULO2: Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the internship.
  • ULO3: Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to workplace tasks.
  • ULO4: Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cultural issues in the workplace when dealing with people of different backgrounds.

General Assessment Information

The unit is assessed through 3 components: mid-term Report, final Report, and final Presentation. The unit does not have hurdle assessments.

This unit CANNOT be taken by itself and should be combined with COMP8851 to form a full-time internship (40 Credit Points).

In particular, for a full-time internship, the students will be required to enrol in COMP8860 + COMP8851 units in 1 semester. 

In the full-time internship unit (40 Credit points), the student works 5 days/per week at the workplace. This is the only difference between the full-time and part-time internship units in terms of learning outcomes. This would naturally affect the length of the reports submitted and the projects completed within the internship duration.

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 

The submission time for all uploaded assessments is 11:55 pm.

  • A 1-hour grace period will be provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

  • 5% penalty per day: If you submit your assessment late, 5% of the total possible marks will be deducted for each day (including weekends), up to 7 days.

    • Example 1 (out of 100): If you score 85/100 but submit 20 hours late, you will lose 5 marks and receive 80/100.

    • Example 2 (out of 30): If you score 27/30 but submit 1 day late, you will lose 1.5 marks and receive 25.5/30.

  • After 7 days: Submissions more than 7 days late will receive a mark of 0.

  • Extensions:

    • Special Consideration: If you need more time due to serious issues and for any assessments that are not eligible for Short Extension, you must 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 Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Mid-semester report 40% No 01/05/2026 Individual Yes Open
Final presentation 10% No Week 12 Friday, 11:55 pm Individual No Observed
Internship report 50% No 05/06/2026 Individual Yes Open

Mid-semester report

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 01/05/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

A report on the progress of the internship including reflection on professional practice, learning and ethical conduct.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in an IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the internship.
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to workplace tasks.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cultural issues in the workplace when dealing with people of different backgrounds.

Final presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 12 Friday, 11:55 pm
Weighting: 10%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

A presentation to the class at the end of the session (preferably with the sponsor present) covering the internship work experience.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in an IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the internship.
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to workplace tasks.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cultural issues in the workplace when dealing with people of different backgrounds.

Internship report

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 05/06/2026
Weighting: 50%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open

A report from the sponsor evaluating the performance of the student in the workplace.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Evaluate ethical issues related to working in an IT environment.
  • Critically evaluate the experience gained while undertaking the internship.
  • Apply lessons learned from previous units of study to workplace tasks.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of cross-cultural issues in the workplace when dealing with people of different backgrounds.

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

For details of days, times and rooms, consult the timetables webpage (https://publish.mq.edu.au/).

Report submissions and presentations have to be submitted on iLearn.

Presentations are held in Week 12, and the schedule will be announced on iLearn.

Week 1 classes

Internship: We have already organized the internship workshop. You can access the workshop Recording HERE. During week 1, the company must sign the internship form, and you will start your internship (in Person) in the company. 

Methods of Communication

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

Unit Schedule

Monday to Friday are typically spent at the workplace.

Students must schedule a meeting with the course convenor and attend the weekly consultation sessions to report on the progress of the internship.

Week 12 presentations are compulsory for the students.

There is no final examination, but you are expected to submit Internship reports (midterm and final reports). If you apply for Disruption to Study for your final report, you must be available for weeks 8 and 12.  If you are not available at that time, there is no guarantee that additional examination time will be offered. Specific examination dates and times will be determined at a later date.

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/

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 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.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
12/02/2026 Hi there, I added details of the late penalty as suggested. Thanks, Yuankai

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook