Students

PROF1000 – Introduction to Professional Practice

2026 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor
Jennifer Ruskin
jennifer.ruskin@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
628, 4 Eastern Rd
Tuesdays 12-1pm or by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit offers an introduction to professional practice. Students will have opportunities to develop fundamental workplace skills, including communication, teamwork, decision-making, networking and reflective practice. Students will reflect on their personal attributes, values and skills, engage in career planning and goal setting, as well as exploring industries, organisations and/or occupations. The unit is designed to help students begin to develop an understanding of their professional identity and the changing nature of work. The unit will provide a foundation for students to complete a successful practical experience in a workplace as part of their studies.

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: Self-assess personal attributes, values, and professional preparedness skills
  • ULO2: Practice reflection and reflective writing skills
  • ULO3: Investigate possible career paths for graduates in your discipline
  • ULO4: Practice skills for collaborating with a team

General Assessment Information

The task descriptions listed here are summaries. To complete the assessments, you will need to review the full instructions on iLearn. Not attending and participating will have a negative impact on assessment tasks 1 and 3. You must be present, engaged and post to the weekly learning log for assessments 1 and 3. 

Late Submission Penalties  

If you submit your assessment late, 5% of the total possible marks will be deducted for each day (including weekends), up to 7 days. Submissions more than 7 days late will receive a mark of 0.

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 20 hours late, you will lose 1.5 marks and receive 25.5/30.

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.

Extensions  

Automatic short extension: Some assessments are eligible for automatic short extension. You can only apply for an automatic short extension before the due date.

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. Need help? Review the Special Consideration page for further details.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Skills Development: Coursework Portfolio 30% No 23/08/2026 Individual No Open AI
Skills Development: Career Pathway Research 40% No 20/09/2026 Individual No Open AI
Skills Development: Professional Development Facilitation 30% No Submit plan by 18/10/2026; facilitate in weeks 11-13 Group No Observed

Skills Development: Coursework Portfolio

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 17 hours
Due: 23/08/2026
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

The purpose of this assessment is to create a portfolio of your coursework compiled over the session.
 
You will create learning artefacts throughout the session including: personal written reflections, critical reflection on skills development, online learning logs and in-class activities.
 
Skills in focus:  
 
  • Communication
  • Work Readiness
 
Deliverable: A portfolio of learning artefacts and reflections.
Individual assessment. 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Self-assess personal attributes, values, and professional preparedness skills
  • Practice reflection and reflective writing skills
  • Investigate possible career paths for graduates in your discipline
  • Practice skills for collaborating with a team

Skills Development: Career Pathway Research

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: 20/09/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open AI

The purpose of this assessment is to explore and reflect on your future career pathway.
 
You will draw on both primary and secondary sources to  write a 1500-word reflective research report exploring your pre-professional identity, your current thinking around the type of career and organisation that are suitable for you and activities you can undertake to explore your fit with your proposed target career and type of organisation.
 
Skills in focus:
 
  • Work Readiness
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Discipline Knowledge
 
Deliverable: Reflective research report [max. 1,500 words]
Individual assessment
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Self-assess personal attributes, values, and professional preparedness skills
  • Practice reflection and reflective writing skills
  • Investigate possible career paths for graduates in your discipline

Skills Development: Professional Development Facilitation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Submit plan by 18/10/2026; facilitate in weeks 11-13
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Group
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your ability to collaboratively design and deliver a professional skills tutorial that supports the development of your peers through research-informed content and interactive learning.
 
 
Skills in focus: 
 
  • Work Readiness
  • Communication and Collaboration
 
Deliverable: A 40-minute live tutorial delivered to peers, including interactive activities and supporting materials such as slides or handouts etc. 
Group assessment. 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Self-assess personal attributes, values, and professional preparedness skills
  • Practice skills for collaborating with a team

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

This unit is offered in a flipped classroom environment. This means students are expected to review and engage with materials on iLearn each week in advance of the seminar. This enables seminar time to focus on discussion, activities, reflection and workshops. Preparation materials including readings and videos are located in the relevant week on iLearn.

Please refer to iLearn for details for delivery.

Unit Schedule

Week Topic
1 Introduction
2 Organisational structure and culture
3 Reflection and reflective writing
4 Attributes and skills
5 Values
6 Ethics and ethical decision-making
7 Teamwork
8 Sustainability
9 Communication
10 Goal setting
11 Skill seminars
12 Skill seminars
13 Skill seminars

 

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.

Fitness to Practice Requirements

This unit is a Professional Practice unit and is part of a professional course with Fitness to Practice requirements. Please see FTP requirements in the handbook listing for the relevant course:

Actuarial Studies Co-op

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.

Unit information based on version 2026.02 of the Handbook