Course Coordinator:Dilber Kurtboke (ikurtbok@usc.edu.au) School:School of Science, Technology and Engineering
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 usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
In this course you learn the essential microbiological processes that play significant roles in the current and future global food and pharmaceutical industries. You learn how to implement relevant microbiological safety, preservation and quality assurance strategies to prevent food spoilage and food-borne infections. Laboratory practicals are designed to complement your learning. The course also addresses ethical and professional issues related to both industries. Gain of laboratory skills is an essential component of the course as well as understanding the theory behind each experiment.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Blended learning | |||
Learning materials – Asynchronous learning material | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Laboratory 1 – Laboratory sessions every fortnight | 3hrs | Week 3 | 6 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Tutorial (online) | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
Tutorial/Workshop 2 – Tutorial (face to face) | 1hr | Week 1 | 13 times |
The Big Picture; Pharmaceutical and Food Microbiology and current issues related to these industries
Food borne diseases and Food handling and safety
Principals and industrial aspects of food and pharmaceutical fermentation
Fermentation related to beverage industry
Fermentation related to dairy and meat industry
Exotic foods and microbial biomass as food source
Principals and stages of pharmaceutical fermentation and microbial products
Advanced laboratory skills, ethics, communication and professionalism
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 | Describe and apply theoretical and practical knowledge of:fermentative production of beverages and food; pharmaceutical industry related strategies used to discover new drugs or produce the known ones effectively current issues related to food borne diseases and food safety |
Knowledgeable Empowered |
2 | Interpret and analyse data and other information related to food fermentation and spoilage as well as testing of pharmaceutical/health compounds of microbial origin |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
3 | Act professionally by demonstrating graduate level laboratory skills and biosafety adhering to ethical codes of conduct in data collection and analysis |
Knowledgeable Empowered Ethical |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
MBT263 or LFS261
Not applicable
Not applicable
Competent laboratory skills and scientific report writing
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
A formative exam will take place in week 4 covering the first 3 weeks of the learning materials of the course, this early assessment item will prepare students to the mid-term exam. In addition, in weeks 5-7 of the semester students will be provided additional information on the laboratory report writing.
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 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 0% | 1 hour |
Week 4 | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 2 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 20% | 2 hour |
Week 7 | Online Submission |
All | 3 | Practical / Laboratory Skills | Individual | 50% | a] 5x30min online quiz with 20 multiple choice questions per each practical b] Report, up to 3000 words |
Throughout teaching period (refer to Format) | Online Submission |
All | 4 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 30% | 2 hours |
Exam Period | Online Test (Quiz) |
All - Assessment Task 1:Early Assessment Quiz | |
Goal: | This is an important quiz that allows you to consider how you are managing the foundational theoretical knowledge and progress in the course and will help you in being successful for the mid-term exam. |
Product: | Quiz/zes |
Format: | Online exam related to the contents of the learning materials from weeks 1 to 3 and composed of multiple choice (40%), fill in the blanks (30%) and short essay questions (30%). |
Criteria: |
|
All - Assessment Task 2:Mid-term exam | |
Goal: | You will demonstrate your knowledge of principles and strategies covered in the learning material of the weeks 1 to 6. In particular, you will apply pharmaceutical and food microbiology knowledge to practical issues encountered in food industry. |
Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled |
Format: | Online exam related to the contents of the learning materials from weeks 1 to 6 and composed of multiple choice (40%), fill in the blanks (30%) and short essay questions (30%). |
Criteria: |
|
All - Assessment Task 3:Laboratory Portfolio | |
Goal: | This assessment has been designed for you to specifically develop your competencies in the laboratory - which is an essential skill for Biomed students and for many other disciplines under general science umbrella including microbiology and biotechnology. At the end of the course you should have graduate level competence that is essential for gaining employment. |
Product: | Practical / Laboratory Skills |
Format: | Laboratory quizzes: 30 min online exam after completion of each practical composed of 20 MC questions. Only students who actively participated in the laboratory activity can take these quizzes (20%). Laboratory report: Individual report (up to 3000 words) from practical number #1 (Probiotics and microbiology of milk and dairy products) that adheres to the given report structure (rubric) to be provided by the Course-Coordinator (30%). Submission will be online with plagiarism check report included. Submit: Quizzes, weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Report, week 11. |
Criteria: |
|
All - Assessment Task 4:Final Exam | |
Goal: | Describe and apply theoretical and practical knowledge of: fermentative production of food; pharmaceutical industry related strategies used to discover new drugs or produce the known ones effectively covering the material from weeks 7 to 13 |
Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled |
Format: | Online exam related to the contents of the learning materials from weeks 7 to 13 and composed of multiple choice (40%), fill in the blanks (30%) and short essay questions (30%). |
Criteria: |
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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.
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
Required | Bibek Ray,Arun Bhunia | 0 | Fundamental Food Microbiology | Latest edition | CRC Press |
Recommended | James G. Cappuccino, Chad Welsh | 0 | Microbiology | Latest Edition | Pearson Education Ltd. |
Recommended | Michael J. Waites,Neil L. Morgan,John S. Rockey,Gary Higton | 0 | Industrial Microbiology | Latest Ed | Wiley-Blackwell |
Protective clothing for laboratory and strict adherence to the laboratory safety guidelines. Students fail to adhere the code or do not present a hard copy of their online laboratory safety quiz results in the first laboratory practical will not be admitted to the laboratory.
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: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Late submission of assessment tasks may be penalised at the following maximum rate (the rates are cumulative): - 5% (of the assessment task's identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - 10% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the third day - 20% (of the assessment task's identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. - A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted after seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension you must contact your course coordinator to negotiate an outcome.
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