Professional Practice 2 (Science) (11720.1)

Please note these are the 2026 details for this unit
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Professional Practice 2 (Science)
Available teaching periods Delivery mode Location
View teaching periods Placement
 Bruce, Canberra
EFTSL Credit points Faculty
0.125 3 Faculty Of Science And Technology
Discipline Study level HECS Bands
Academic Program Area - Science Level 3 - Undergraduate Advanced Unit Band 2 2021 (Commenced After 1 Jan 2021)
Band 3 2021 (Commenced Before 1 Jan 2021)
In this unit, students will have the opportunity to work with academics and/or industry partners to apply and integrate their disciplinary skills and knowledge in a real-word research or professional context, developing key employability skills and experience in a scientific discipline area of interest. Authentic learning experiences will include industry placements, placements involving research projects and/or simulated workplace experiences. The work integrated learning experience will involve the student undertaking either an approved professional placement or research placement under limited supervision of a UC academic, for no less than 15 x 7.5 hour days (or part time equivalent). Through the placement, students will practice the principles of culturally inclusive collaborations to achieve effective and innovative outcomes.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1. Develop a range of transferable employability skills necessary to meet the work standards expected in scientific professions;
2. Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with academics and/or industry partners;
3. Critically reflect on the operating environment of the placement, including professional ethics and responsibility and regulatory framework where applicable and how this experience relates to their individual career aspirations;
4. Acquire, discriminate and apply advanced disciplinary knowledge and skills in real-world contexts, while adhering to relevant standards and requirements; and
5. Practice the principles of collaboration with peers and colleagues which emphasise the importance of contributions and perspectives across different cultures to achieve effective and innovative outcomes in either a research or professional context.


Graduate attributes

1. UC graduates are professional - communicate effectively
1. UC graduates are professional - display initiative and drive, and use their organisation skills to plan and manage their workload
1. UC graduates are professional - employ up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills
1. UC graduates are professional - take pride in their professional and personal integrity
2. UC graduates are global citizens - behave ethically and sustainably in their professional and personal lives
2. UC graduates are global citizens - communicate effectively in diverse cultural and social settings
2. UC graduates are global citizens - think globally about issues in their profession
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - adapt to complexity, ambiguity and change by being flexible and keen to engage with new ideas
3. UC graduates are lifelong learners - reflect on their own practice, updating and adapting their knowledge and skills for continual professional and academic development
1. UC graduates are professional - work collaboratively as part of a team, negotiate, and resolve conflict


Prerequisites

Must have completed 24 credit points including 11719 Professional Practice 1 (Science) AND permission required from the unit convener based on written agreement on activities, supervision and outputs.

Corequisites

None.

Incompatible units

None.

Equivalent units

None.

Assumed knowledge

None.
Availability for enrolment in 2026 is subject to change and may not be confirmed until closer to the teaching start date.
Year Location Teaching period Teaching start date Delivery mode Unit convener
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 03 February 2025 Placement Dr Dianne Gleeson
2025 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 28 July 2025 Placement Dr Dianne Gleeson
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 1 16 February 2026 Placement Dr Dianne Gleeson
2026 Bruce, Canberra Semester 2 10 August 2026 Placement Dr Dianne Gleeson
The information provided should be used as a guide only. Timetables may not be finalised until week 2 of the teaching period and are subject to change. Search for the unit timetable.

Required texts

Documented in consultation with the supervisor and recorded in the internship/research project proposal.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

All assessment items must be uploaded to Canvas. Further details on the oral presentation will be provided on Canvas in a timely manner. Supervisor reports must also be emailed to PP2S@canberra.edu.au by the due date.

Students will be asked to confirm the below online declaration at the point of submission.

I certify that:

• The attached assignment is my own work and no part of this work has been written for me by any other person except where such collaboration has been authorised by the lecturer/s concerned;

• Material drawn from other sources has been fully acknowledged as to author/creator, source and other bibliographic details according to unit-specific requirements for referencing; and

• No part of this work has been submitted for assessment in any other unit in this or another Faculty except where authorised by the lecturer/s concerned. 

Responsibility for understanding

If there is any doubt with regard to the requirements of any particular assignment or assessment procedure, the onus for clarifying the issue rests with the student who should contact the unit Convener or supervisor. Further, it is the responsibility of students to ensure that they are correctly enrolled in the unit and that the supervisor and Student Administration have their correct contact details.

Special assessment requirements

This is a unit that students may want to reference in employment, scholarship, and post-graduate applications. Consequently, students may want to aim for the highest mark that they can achieve.

For Research stream students, the project Proposal, together with evidence that the student has negotiated an agreement from an academic staff member in their discipline area to supervise the project, is essential. Failure to submit the proposal on time, or (after revision if necessary) by the due date to a standard acceptable to the staff member prepared to certify willingness to be a supervisor and to undertake an appropriate risk assessment will preclude involvement in the project.

The unit convenor reserves the right to question students on any of their submitted work for moderation and academic integrity purposes, which may result in an adjustment to the marks awarded for a specific task.

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessments will usually only be offered to students who have failed a single unit in their final semester with a final mark between 45-49% and the unit is required for course completion.

Students must apply academic integrity in their learning and research activities at UC. This includes submitting authentic and original work for assessments and properly acknowledging any sources used.

Academic integrity involves the ethical, honest and responsible use, creation and sharing of information. It is critical to the quality of higher education. Our academic integrity values are honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage.

UC students have to complete the Academic Integrity Module annually to learn about academic integrity and to understand the consequences of academic integrity breaches (or academic misconduct).

UC uses various strategies and systems, including detection software, to identify potential breaches of academic integrity. Suspected breaches may be investigated, and action can be taken when misconduct is found to have occurred.

Information is provided in the Academic Integrity Policy, Academic Integrity Procedure, and University of Canberra (Student Conduct) Rules 2023. For further advice, visit Study Skills.

Learner engagement

The work-integrated learning experience will involve the student undertaking either an approved professional internship or research project under limited supervision of a UC academic, for no less than 15 x 7.5 hour days (or part-time equivalent, such as for part-time 30 x 3.25 hour days). In this unit, these hours include time spent in consultation with your supervisor and undertaking internship, laboratory, or field research. Be aware that internship/research time is not predictable however, students cannot exceed 112.5 hours of internship or research activities. Therefore, students should negotiate this with their supervisors at the start of the internship/research project to avoid activities beyond the allocated 112.5 hours. There is a 2 hour introductory workshop and a full day student seminar that you are expected to attend. The remaining unit hours (30.5) should be used for completing assessment tasks.

Participation requirements

Successful completion of the professional experience internship/research project is critical to succeed in the whole unit. Students must make themselves familiar with the processes and policies of professional experience.

Your participation in this unit will be determined in consultation with your internship/research supervisor and documented in the Internship/Research Report. This unit consists of an individual internship/research project and the onus is on the student to ensure that the internship/research is undertaken. Should you experience problems with undertaking the activities required to pass this unit, please contact the unit convener immediately.

Required IT skills

This unit may require specialist IT skills as discussed with your Internship/Research supervisor and the Unit Convener.

In-unit costs

This unit may require additional costs as negotiated with your Internship/Reserch supervisor and the Unit Convener.

Work placement, internships or practicums

A work-integrated learning experience is a required element of the unit to pass. 

This unit involves work-integrated learning: Internship/Simulation/WIL Fieldwork/WIL Project. Students must adhere to University policy during WIL activities, including the Student Conduct Rules 2018, the WIL Policy and WIL Procedure, and the Assessment Policy and Assessment Procedure.

This unit has pre-placement requirements. Students are required to complete details in InPlace, refer to inplace.canberra.edu.au. If you have any queries related to InPlace please contact placement@canberra.edu.au.

Additional information

This unit involves working in a professional research environment and therefore, additional student responsibilities are required in addition to those described in section 6. Work-place learning requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Client /patient confidentiality must always be maintained, including for assessment items such as reports or essays. The professional nature of this unit also requires 100% participation in all activities specified in the internship agreement plan/Project Proposal for the successful completion of this unit. If attendance requirements cannot be satisfied, it is recommended that you meet with your Course Convener to schedule this unit for a future teaching period.

Some projects will require additional student responsibilities depending on their projects. Students must confirm with their supervisors if any of the following are required:

  • Police Record Check: Please refer to the Police Check Policy in the Professional Practice for Medical Science Handbook for further information. Please check with your supervisor if this is required and organise for a check to be done.
  • Immunisation Policy: The ACT Department of Health and Community Care recommends that all students are immunised according to the National Health and Medical Research Council Schedule. Please refer to the Immunisation Policy in the Professional Practice for Medical Science Handbook for further information.
  • Client/patient confidentiality: Projects involving research or data collected from human subjects require strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Please refer to the appropriate UC policies on human ethics. Students should note that if approval is required from the UC Human Ethics committee, this needs to be organised well in advance as the committee only meets a few times per year.
  • Human ethics approval: Projects involving research or data collected from humans requires strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Please refer to the appropriate UC policies on human ethics.  Students should note that if approval is required from the UC Human Ethics committee, this needs to be organised in advance as the committee only meets a few times per year.
  • Animal ethics approval: Projects involving research or data collected from vertebrates require strict adherence to professional practice principles and ethics. Please refer to the appropriate UC policies on animal ethics.  Students should note that if approval is required from the UC Animal Ethics committee, this needs to be organised well in advance as the committee only meets a few times per year.
  • Health and Safety Training: Internships or Projects require completing health and safety training as prescribed by the relevant institution.
  • Specific PPE and Dress code: Please note that some of the internships may require a specific PPE/dress code that must be adhered to.

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