Students

GMBA8023 – Generate Insights

2026 – Coursera term 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Masoud Afshari Mofrad
masoudafshari.mofrad@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
5
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GMBA or GradCertGlobalBusPrac
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces best practice approaches to handling complex organisational problems with tools and methods that enable the transformation of data into insights. It also focuses on developing theoretical and practical analytical skills, such as research, critical thinking, scanning, pattern recognition and creative problem-solving. You will gain exposure to analysing data sets as well as leveraging statistical methods and visualisation techniques to inform organisational decision making.

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: Apply a range of frameworks, approaches and methods creatively and critically to envision and gain insights into social, environmental and economic megatrends and potential futures.
  • ULO2: Devise socially and environmentally sustainable strategies for organisations to address challenges and opportunities.
  • ULO3: Develop visualisation and storytelling techniques to persuasively and professionally present findings to a professional/expert audience.
  • ULO4: Demonstrate advanced team working and ethical decision making skills and abilities to collaborate with diverse individuals and stakeholders.
  • ULO5: Successfully work in teams to achieve group and organizational objectives

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 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. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:59pm(Sydney time). 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/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to apply for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension
Data analysis 40% No 02/02/2026 Individual No
Data analysis and visualisation 60% No 23/02/2026 Individual No

Data analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 02/02/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension: No

Length: max 1,000 words (excl. references) Format: Data analysis Task: In this assignment, you will be generating insights from a set of data supplied to you. For detailed information and the marking criteria, please refer to the section Course Resources - Assessment Information in your online unit. You will submit your completed task via the Assignment submission link in your online unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply a range of frameworks, approaches and methods creatively and critically to envision and gain insights into social, environmental and economic megatrends and potential futures.
  • Devise socially and environmentally sustainable strategies for organisations to address challenges and opportunities.

Data analysis and visualisation

Assessment Type 1: Media presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 14 hours
Due: 23/02/2026
Weighting: 60%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension: No

Length: Max 10 minutes (~10 slides - 8 slides of visualisation and storytelling + 2 slides of executive summary)

Format: Individual presentation including visualisation of data and executive summary.

Task: In this assignment, you will be working with a set of data to generate insights and create visualisations of that data. You will be creating a presentation of your findings and analysis as well as providing an executive summary based on your findings. You will submit your completed task via the Assignment submission link in your online unit.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply a range of frameworks, approaches and methods creatively and critically to envision and gain insights into social, environmental and economic megatrends and potential futures.
  • Develop visualisation and storytelling techniques to persuasively and professionally present findings to a professional/expert audience.
  • Demonstrate advanced team working and ethical decision making skills and abilities to collaborate with diverse individuals and stakeholders.
  • Successfully work in teams to achieve group and organizational objectives

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

The unit will use Tableau, so it is necessary to have it installed on your devices. Students can have free access to Tableau using their MQ student email address. 

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 since First Published

Date Description
12/01/2026 Hi Abas, I added the late submission penalty statement, which has both the penalty and the exact time of submission. Hope this time everything is fine. Cheers, Masoud

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook