Unit Information

PRT501 Professional Practice

Credit points: 0 Mode: Internal/External

Assumed It is expected that students Location: Casuarina

knowledge: will have completed at least
the first year of their master
program before undertaking
this work experience.
Pre-requisite(s): Learning Work experience, OLR
method:
Year: 2017

Semester: 2 Unit Rob Wolff

Coordinator:

School: School of Engineering and Telephone: 08 8946 6340

Information Technology
email: robert.wolff@cdu.edu.au

Unit Description

This unit consists of a minimum of 12 weeks of work experience in a field of work related to the area
studied in the Master of Engineering or Master of Information Technology (Software Engineering)
programs (i.e. Chemical, Civil, Electrical and Electronics, Mechanical or Software Engineering).
Work experience would normally be either on site or in an office, under the supervision of an engineer
or IT professional. It is expected that this work will take place during the holiday break between the
first and second years of study in the master program. This unit does not contribute any credit points
toward the completion of the degree, but it is a course requirement that is completed satisfactorily.
This unit is reliant on on-line materials. Students must have access to a reliable high-speed
broadband connection and a scanner.

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Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit a student should be able to:

1. Critically evaluate practical findings from the work place and convey ideas and principles
through written presentations.
2. Critically evaluate the application of engineering or IT practices to the work place.
3. Plan, implement and practice the need for continual learning by engineers or IT professionals.
4. Analyse and apply the professional and ethical responsibilities of engineers or IT
professionals.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

On-the-job work experience.

Participation

There are three workshop sessions for this unit. Students must participate in these training sessions
(participation can be on-line or face-to-face) and complete activities associated with the workshops.
These activities are intended to help students find suitable employment, and include drafting a
resume/cv, preparing a cover letter and practicing interview techniques

In addition, students are required to participate during the placement period is as required by the
industrial experience employer.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment Focus Length Due date Learning

item Outcomes

1–4
CV See details below As required End of Week 7
1–4
Cover Letter See details below One page End of Week 7

1–4
Letter from See details below One page End of Week 2 in
employer Semester 1 following
enrolment in this unit

Work See details below 2000 words End of Week 2 in 1–4

Experience Semester 1 following
Report enrolment in this unit

Assessment Item Details

CV
Due date: End of Week 7
Length: As required
Details: Your CV to a professional standard

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Cover Letter
Due date: End of Week 7
Length: One page
Details: A job application cover letter that responds to a sample job description that is
provided.

Letter from Employer

Due date: After completing work experience; at the latest by the end of Week 2 of Semester 1
following enrolment in this unit.
Length: One page
Details: A letter from the employer to the Unit Coordinator, stating the period of employment
and including a brief summary of the work activities. It may be that the student
drafts this letter for the employer to sign.

Work Experience Report

Due date: After completing work experience; at the latest by the end of Week 2 of Semester
1 following enrolment in this unit
Length: 2000 words
Details: The Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards define the professional
expectations for graduate engineers. This report is therefore a written reflection
addressing a number of these Competencies (outlined below, and described in detail
in “Stage 1 Competencies”, available in Learnline, under Additional Resources).

In particular, Competencies 1.4, 1.5, 2.2 - 2.4, and 3.1 - 3.5 must be addressed in
this report.

Note this report is a reflection of what you have learned in the workplace and how
this relates to becoming a successful engineer. Therefore long descriptions of the
work undertaken are not relevant (must not be included), and it is not appropriate to
reference any third party material (i.e. if references are used, they can only be from
material produced by the employer).

Marking The report will be marked as either pass ungraded (PU) or fail (F), according to
Criteria: the details set out above.

Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies

1. KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASE

1.1. Comprehensive, theory based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical
sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the engineering discipline.
1.2. Conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics, and
computer and information sciences which underpin the engineering discipline.
1.3. In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline.
1.4. Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering
discipline.

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 1.5. Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the engineering
discipline.
1.6. Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable
engineering practice in the specific discipline.

2. ENGINEERING APPLICATION ABILITY

2.1. Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving.
2.2. Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources.
2.3. Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes.
2.4. Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering
projects.

3. PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

3.1. Ethical conduct and professional accountability.
3.2. Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
3.3. Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour.
3.4. Professional use and management of information.
3.5. Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.
3.6. Effective team membership and team leadership

Additional Information

1. While no formal study is required for this unit, and no credit points are awarded on its
completion, this unit is an integral part of both the Bachelor of Engineering Honours and the
Bachelor of Engineering Science, so it must be completed before that award can be
conferred.

2. Students are required to participate in the workshops during Weeks 2, 3 and 4 of the
semester. These sessions will cover résumés, job applications and interview techniques, and
are intended to assist students find suitable work placement. Activities related to the training
sessions must be completed to a satisfactory level in order to progress with the placement.

3. Industrial experience is usually completed after the workshops, during the long break between
Semester 2 of one year and Semester 1 of the following year (i.e. from December to
February) after the semester in which enrolment for this unit takes place.

4. Each student is expected to arrange their own industrial experience. However, a list of
employers who may be able to place students for this experience is available at:
http://www.cdu.edu.au/engit/Work-Placements. The Unit Coordinator will supply a
reference if required.

5. The work experience (employer and type of work) must be approved by the Unit Coordinator
before work commences.

6. Work experience should generally be full time, but students can apply to the Unit Coordinator
for part time work to be considered. In all cases, work must total 12 weeks (full time
equivalent) and be related to the stream of engineering being studied.

7. Students who successfully complete the assessment items related to the workshops (CV and
cover letter) will be awarded an interim grade of PO (placement ongoing) at the end of the

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School of Engineering and IT Faculty of Engineering, Health, Science and Environment
 semester, which will be converted to a final grade of PU (pass ungraded) or F depending on
the remainder of the assessment items (the written report and the letter from the employer)
being successfully completed by the due date.

8. Submissions for assessment items must be made via Learnline (under “Submit Here” in the
Assessment section) in PDF format by the due date. Submissions in any other format will not
receive any feedback, and they may not be able to be marked

Additional Assessment Information

For additional assessment information about:

 Assessment rules
 Plagiarism
 Referencing requirements
 Extensions and late submission
 Scaling
 Grading
 Special exams and special consideration

Please refer to http://www.cdu.edu.au/engit/assessInfo

Resources
 Unit Coordinator

 Work practices, instructions, procedures and manuals used by the employer.

Required textbook(s)

No textbook is required for this unit.

Additional Resources

Portions of each workshop will be video recorded. These recordings will be made available to
students via Learnline (under the Workshop Resources section) as soon as possible after the
workshop.

Learnline

The School of Engineering and IT has implemented a consistent approach for the use of Learnline for
all units delivered through the School.

Learnline will be used to provide all students (both internal and external) access to:

 regular important announcements about the unit

 the unit outline, weekly content topics, including introductory notes, audio-visual resources, and
other relevant study materials, readings and assessment items
 a communication point for web conferencing and asynchronous discussion forums for student
interaction with other students and lecturers
 feedback from tasks and grades for assessable work

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For Internal students, Learnline resources for the unit will supplement lectures and tutorial sessions.

For External students, Learnline will be used to provide all of the resources required for completion of
the unit.

Where relevant, all students will be expected to access unit assessments and make assignment
submissions through Learnline. Assessment feedback will also be provided through Learnline.

Learning Schedule

There are three workshop sessions (Weeks 2, 3 and 4) for this unit in which to learn and practise
skills in writing résumés and job applications. In addition, students are expected to attend their work
experience as required by the work experience employer.

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CDU Graduate attributes

CDU graduate attributes refer to those skills, qualities and understandings that should be acquired by
students during their time at the University regardless of their discipline of study. (See
http://www.cdu.edu.au/graduateattributes ).
In this Unit, the following graduate attributes are developed:

Learning
Attribute Description
outcomes

Can identify, retrieve, evaluate and use relevant information and

Acquisition 1-5
current technologies to advance learning and execute work tasks.

Is an efficient and innovative project planner and problem solver, 1-5

capable of applying logical and critical thinking to problems across
Application
a range of disciplinary settings and has self-management skills
that contribute to personal satisfaction and growth.

Can conceive of imaginative and innovative responses to future 1-6

Creativity
orientated challenges and research.

Has an understanding of the broad theoretical and technical 1-5

Knowledge
concepts related to their discipline area, with relevant connections
base
to industry, professional, and regional and indigenous knowledge.

Demonstrates oral, written, and effective listening skills as well as 6

Communication numerical, technical and graphic communication skills in a cross
generational environment.

Has a capacity for and understanding of collaboration and co- 1-6

operation within agreed frameworks, including the demands of
Team work
inter-generational tolerance, mutual respect for others, conflict
resolution and the negotiation of productive outcomes.

Is able to apply equity values, and has a sense of social 1-5

Social
responsibility, sustainability, and sensitivity to other peoples,
responsibility
cultures and the environment.

Can function effectively and constructively in an inter-cultural or 1-6

Flexibility
global environment and in a variety of complex situations.

Can exercise initiative and responsibility, taking action and Not addressed
Leadership engaging others to make a positive difference for the common in this Unit
good.

Engineers Australia Graduate Attributes

University education provides the learning base upon which competence for a professional
engineering career is built. It is important that the education provides the graduate with generic
attributes as outlined by Engineers Australia.
Details of the Engineers Australia graduate attributes addressed in this unit can be found at:

http://media.online.cdu.edu.au/engit/ga/prt501.pdf

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