Overview
A professional internship or work placement provides you with experience in a professional environment relevant to your chosen discipline. The process of combining theoretical knowledge with practical experience will assist you in understanding the relevance of material presented during discipline studies and further expand your professional knowledge and work-readiness with practical experience. Following a detailed application and selection process in the Term prior to BUSN20020, once you are placed with a host organisation, you will be engaged in work-integrated learning (WIL) while being supported by the School. You will be required to document and reflect on your work placement experiences to assess professional growth, recognise and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and develop an action plan for future professional development. You will also undertake an applied research project focusing on a particular workplace issue from your internship host organisation. This unit involves a company placement organised and coordinated by Australian Internships Pty. Ltd., an external company contracted by CQU to manage this aspect of the Internship course for postgraduate Business students. Because of the involvement of the external company, this unit is only available to full-time on-campus international students based on the Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane campuses. This unit involves some on-campus classes as well as an intensive placement in a host organisation. The unit assessment centres upon an applied research project on a particular aspect of your host organisation’s operations.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Pre-requisites: Successful completion of BUSN20017 Effective Business Communications and BUSN20016 Research in Business; and No Failures on the student’s Academic Record*, and Must be on track to complete all units (other than BUSN20020) of their course prior to final Term of enrolment. BUSN20020 must be the only unit undertaken in the final Term of enrolment. *Note: Students who have only 1 or 2 Fail results, but have maintained a GPA of 5.0 or above, can apply to the School for an exemption from this pre-requisite. Enrolment in this unit is subject to your successful application through the Postgraduate Business Internship Moodle site early in the term prior to your final term of enrolment. This process will involve lodging a formal application on the Postgraduate Business Internship Moodle site, an examination of your academic record, then interviews with external organisations including possible host organisations. A placement is not guaranteed, but students will be notified of their success or otherwise in plenty of time to enrol in other electives in their final term. Once accepted for placement in a host organisation, students will follow normal office hours for four days per week over 10 consecutive weeks for the work placement component of BUSN20020. In addition to being successfully placed in a host organisation through the Internship Application process (see the Postgraduate Business Internship Moodle site), consent from the School is required for enrolment in this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 12-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Individual discussions with Sydney campus students in BUSN20020.
Discussion forum for the Applied research project topics for students to discuss common or overlapping issues regarding their project topic.
Will be incorporated in T1 2017.
- Apply conceptual and discipline-based knowledge to a professional work role context.
- Analyse a workplace problem and apply research skills to generate solutions to the problem.
- Develop communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace.
- Demonstrate the ability to work professionally and ethically with colleagues in the organisation, clients and other stakeholders.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||
2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||
3 - Written Assessment - 50% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Knowledge | ||||
2 - Communication | ||||
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
4 - Research | ||||
5 - Self-management | ||||
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
7 - Leadership | ||||
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures |
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||
2 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% | ||||||||
3 - Written Assessment - 50% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
r.chapman@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Friday: On-campus - Meet with project adviser regarding your applied research and other assessments.
Chapter
No textbook for this unit.
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Friday: On-campus - Meet with project adviser regarding your applied research and other assessments.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 1 of Portfolio - Project proposal (20% weighting) - due on Friday
Project Proposal Due: Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Friday: On-campus - Meet with project adviser regarding your applied research and other assessments.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday:At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 2 of Portfolio - Progress Review, Reflective Learning and Poster (30%weighting) - due on Friday
Progress Review, Reflective Learning and Poster Due: Week 8 Friday (5 May 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Monday - Thursday: At your host organisation.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working on Final Project report.
Friday: On-campus - Meet with project adviser regarding your applied research and other assessments.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working on Final Project report.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Working on Final Project report.
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 3 of portfolio - Major Report (50%weighting) due on Friday.
Final Project Report and Presentation Due: Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
For Term 1 2017, all students will be attending their host organisation Monday through Thursday each week, from the first day of T1, through to Week 9 (including the vacation week - April 10 to 13).
ALL students must attend an on-campus workshop from 10.00am to 12noon on Friday of Week 1 (March 10) and also the Fridays of Week 4 (March 31), Week 7 (April 28) and Week 10 (May 19). These two hour workshops will be used to provide advice and feedback regarding the assessment items required for this unit.
1 Written Assessment
BUSN20020 Business Internship - Assessment Structure
BUSN20020 Business Internship is a 12 credit point unit that will primarily involve the industry placement as organised by Australian Internships (AI). Thus feedback from the relevant AI course supervisor, and the workplace supervisor will form part of the assessment for this unit. However, this will be part of a portfolio of work you will need to submit throughout your internship. There are three main components to the assessment portfolio: 1) an applied research project proposal; 2) your progress assessments from your host company and Australian Internships, plus your own reflective learning from the internship and a poster; and 3) your final report from the applied research project looking at an important aspect of your host company’s operation.
Assignment 1 – Project Proposal – 20%
Due Date: 5.00pm Friday Week 5 of Term (1000 - 1500 words)
While your day-to-day work in your host company might be mainly task-related this is your chance to show your company the benefits of bringing in a university postgraduate. Your project should focus on the discipline of your enrolled course and should look at a problem or issue of relevance to your host company. The purpose of this proposal is to integrate the academic content of your course into a practical problem/issue in your host company and “sell” it to your supervisors/advisors– both in the company and in the University. As such, the proposal should convince both audiences of the importance and relevance of the project, while also assuring them that you can successfully complete the project with suitable outcomes and within the given timeframe.
The proposal should therefore outline the following: background to and rationale for the project (i.e., why is it important to the host organisation?); the objectives of the project; the proposed underlying academic theory/literature to be used to inform the project (should involve a minimum of 10 academic references); a time plan for completion of the project; and an indication of the information you will have to gather from the organisation to complete the project (this should include appreciation of potential ethical and access issues, depending on what kind of information you may need to gather).
This proposal should have a focus on an issue of some value/importance to your host organisation. This might include, but is not limited to, the following issues:
- Competitor analysis with understanding of relative positioning
- Customer segmentation and needs analysis
- Analysis of the strategic environment
- Analysis of production facilities for possible layout improvement;
- Selected process investigations with a view to possible improvement recommendations
- (You are encouraged to select other topics if these are of value to your host organisation. Please discuss your ideas with your internship and University supervisors/advisors.)
- The proposal is typically written a few weeks into the placement, where you can reflect on your activities in light of the theoretical aspects of your course covered in previous units. You should meet with your academic advisor around Week 3 or 4 to get feedback on your proposal ideas, which will depend on the nature of your work placement.
Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Friday April 7 at 5.00pm.
Assessment feedback and marks will be returned to students within 2 weeks of submission.
See the Moodle site for individual rubrics for the three assessment pieces.
- Apply conceptual and discipline-based knowledge to a professional work role context.
- Analyse a workplace problem and apply research skills to generate solutions to the problem.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
2 Practical and Written Assessment
Assignment 2 – Progress Review, Reflective Learning and Poster – 30%
Due Date: 5.00pm Friday Week 8 of Term (Reflective Essay: 1000 - 1500 words)
This assessment component will require submission of three separate documents:
i. The weekly journal statement that is signed by the employer and submitted to AI each week will form this component of the assessment. – to ensure compliance by the student and the company (as per AI requirements). Each student must have a workplace mentor or supervisor and that person is responsible for their weekly work and their weekly sign-off. Comments by the AI supervisor and the workplace supervisor will form part of the assessment for this component. Students should ensure their company supervisor is completing the progress reports as required by Australian Internships. The BUSN20020 Unit Coordinator will receive these reports directly from Australian Internships.(5%)
ii. A Reflective Report on the Learning from the Internship to date (1,000 – 1,500 words) – this will be an essay in the student’s own words outlining their personal learning and professional development from the internship to date (15%).
iii. A poster providing an overview of the student’s placement and portraying the benefits of the internship. Students should produce an A3 sized poster with attractive layout including at least the following (10%):
- A picture of the student in their internship role
- An explanation of the student’s background and what s/he has been doing on the internship placement
- Up to three bullet points outlining the best things about the internship to date.
Week 8 Friday (5 May 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Friday May 5 at 5.00pm.
Assessment feedback and marks will be returned to students within 2 weeks of submission.
See the BUSN20020 Moodle site for Marking Rubrics for all Assignments
- Apply conceptual and discipline-based knowledge to a professional work role context.
- Analyse a workplace problem and apply research skills to generate solutions to the problem.
- Develop communication and interpersonal skills in the workplace.
- Demonstrate the ability to work professionally and ethically with colleagues in the organisation, clients and other stakeholders.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Research
- Self-management
- Ethical and Professional Responsibility
- Leadership
3 Written Assessment
Assignment 3 – Major Report – 50%
Due Date: 5.00pm Friday of Week 12 (3000 - 4000 words in total)
All students are required to complete a 3 – 4,000 word report (or equivalent) that connects academic theory to the activities undertaken in the internship. This will focus on the applied project that was the subject of proposal in Assignment 1. It is the intention of the project report, that the student reviews the information collected regarding the company problem or issue, considers this information in light of relevant academic theory, and provides recommendations to the organisation based on this review. It is the aim of this process that the student can demonstrate to the host organisation, how their academic knowledge can add value to the organisation.
The experience of each student will be different because of the variety of organisations Australian Internships work with, the variety of roles undertaken by the student, and the range of different Business courses involved in the internship activity. It is important, therefore, that the project is discussed and clearly scoped in conjunction with your Academic Advisor.
It is expected that a range of academic references will be used to provide a theoretical underpinning to activities that are conducted in the Placement. Thus, the report will include and build on much of the literature review incorporated in Assignment 1, and a minimum of 15 academic references (including those from Assignment 1) are expected in your final report.
Below are the components that will be used to assess the project report:
- Relevance to your CQU studies to date – you will need to apply relevant academic theory to your internship project. Identify and critique the organisation’s activities in terms of the academic theory and make recommendations where relevant.
- Closing the Loop on the Proposal - Given the objectives you set in the proposal, how well did you achieve what you set out to do? If you had to take a different direction from that covered in the proposal, why, and did you still manage to deliver value?
- Academic Research, Referencing and Report Layout – You will need to undertake appropriate research which includes the identification of the problem or issue, outlining the research questions to examine, review of relevant literature, and use of appropriate research method(s),. Use this ‘new’ knowledge you have gained to show how the organisation could improve its operations. Make reference to relevant theory in the report, and ensure the report includes correct citation and referencing using the APA method.
- Recommendations for Management – You will need to describe the industry in which your placement firm operates and think strategically to make recommendations on how the organisation can improve, using the knowledge you have gained in both your time there AND from your Literature Review.
- Oral Presentation of the Results – The results of the report will be presented by the student to relevant academics, industry supervisors and fellow students as part of a Presentation Day organised in Week 13 of the Term.
Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Friday June 2 at 5.00pm.
Assessment feedback and marks will be returned to students within 3 weeks of submission, unless delayed by School grading requirements.
See the BUSN20020 Moodle site for full Marking Rubrics for all Assignments.
- Apply conceptual and discipline-based knowledge to a professional work role context.
- Analyse a workplace problem and apply research skills to generate solutions to the problem.
- Knowledge
- Communication
- Cognitive, technical and creative skills
- Research
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.