Course Coordinator:Lochlan Fennell (lfennell@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Biomedicine
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
BIM304 is an advanced research-oriented course providing students with advanced laboratory skills relevant to contemporary biomedical research. Students undertake two laboratory-based projects centred around one of four themes: molecular biology, immune-laboratory methods, cell biology or metabolism. Students will gain experience with high-end research techniques, and develop research skills including experimental design, statistical analysis and scientific communication. BIM304 is ideal for students with a foundation in biomedical science, and an interest in pursuing further research studies.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Course and project orientation sessions | 3hrs | Week 1 | 3 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 2 – Student project presentations | 3hrs | Week 12 | 2 times |
| Laboratory 1 – Lab project 1 and 2 | 8hrs | Week 3 | 8 times |
300 Level (Graduate)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
| 1 | Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of advanced research techniques used in biomedical science. |
Knowledgeable Applying technologies |
| 2 | Apply skills to carry out experiments and troubleshoot problems in a research setting, including relevant risk management and ethical considerations. |
Empowered Problem solving |
| 3 | Competently analyse and interpret experimental data using statistical tools and software and present findings in a clear and concise manner. |
Creative and critical thinker Applying technologies |
| 4 | Effectively communicate research findings through a written report and an oral presentation, adhering to scientific standards and conventions. |
Creative and critical thinker Communication |
| 5 | Demonstrate collaborative skills by working in teams to plan and execute research projects, fostering an environment of cooperation and shared knowledge. |
Engaged Collaboration |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
BIM207 and enrolled in SC355 or SC357. Completion of at least 144 units of study with a GPA > 4.5.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
Students will receive formative feedback on laboratory notebook maintenance during week 1 and 2 workshops, with additional feedback in weeks 4-6.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Artefact - Professional | Individual | 20% | Varies, approximately 500-700 words per project. |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 2 | Report | Individual | 40% | 2500 words |
Week 7 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 3 | Oral | Individual | 40% | 15 minutes, plus 5 minutes questions. |
Week 12 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check and in class |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Laboratory notebook | |||||||
| Goal: | To develop skills in the documentation of research experiments, maintaining clear and accurate records in compliance with Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) requirements. |
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| Product: | Artefact - Professional | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Submission of lab notebooks to teaching team in weeks 4, 6, 9 and 11. Formative feedback will be provided on the weeks 4 and 6 submissions to inform future submissions. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Organisation |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Project 1 Lab Report | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To develop your skills in data analysis, interpretation and scientific communication, completing a lab report based on your first project. |
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| Product: | Report | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | Students will prepare a scientific report, adopting the formatting requirements of a selected peer-review journal. Further guidelines and rubrics will be available on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Organisation, Information literacy |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Project 2 Oral Presentation | ||||||||||||||||
| Goal: | To develop your skills in data analysis, interpretation and scientific communication, completing an oral presentation based on your second project. You will learn about engaging with the scientific community by attending all presentations in a conference style setting. |
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| Product: | Oral | |||||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | PowerPoint slides submitted via Canvas, and accompanying oral presentation. You will be allocated to present in one of the two scheduled sessions, but will be required to attend both sessions at your campus of study. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving, Information literacy |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Students will be required to complete all relevant laboratory inductions before commencing lab work. Students must adhere to PPE and safety requirements relevant to their laboratory of attendance. Some laboratory locations may have additional requirements such as proof of vaccination.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
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