The Science Teaching and Learning Centre (STLC) administers the Science internship program through the Associate Dean (Education), the Internship Convener (Subdean) and the Executive Officer. The STLC is responsible for:

• liaison with host organisations;
• negotiation of Internship Agreements;
• advertisement and promotion of internships;
• maintenance of the Internship Handbook that details information and  general requirements for internships;
• complete management of internships that are not discipline specific, or where the academic supervisor is not from CoSM;
• student enquiries, student eligibility and approval to enrol;
• approval for students to take a self-sourced internship under the SCNC codes;
• general oversight of the internship program; and
• liaison with School Internship Coordinators

Role of School Internship Coordinator

This role is similar to that of the convener of a research project course or special topics course, and could be combined with those roles. The School Internship Coordinator is responsible for the internship course for individual students undertaking an internship relevant to their discipline. The role includes:

• Acting as a contact point for discipline specific enquiries.
• Assisting students to find an academic supervisor.
• Convening the internship course for individual students[1].
• Providing the student, host and academic supervisor with details specific to the individual internship, including assessment requirements and deadlines.
• Assessment of the student’s performance (organisation of examiners, providing marking criteria to examiners, providing final grade to College Office).
• Promotion of internship opportunities to students.
• Assistance with negotiation of discipline specific Internship Agreements in association with the STLC.
• Liaison with STLC on internship matters.

As with every course available in CoSM these courses have explicit learning outcomes and indicative assessment. It is expected that when the internship project is relevant to a specific discipline, that the School will convene the course for students in the same way as they would for a discipline coded course, and that all University policies, College and School processes will be adhered to, this must include:

• For every 6 units of enrolment, the expectation is that the student would work a minimum of 8-10 hours/week over the course of the semester.
• Course structure, assessment and deadlines defined and communicated to students within the first two weeks of enrolment;
• Enrolment in one of these courses on a single topic over two sequential semesters is also possible with a grade of “KU” awarded at the end of the first semester. However the enrolment pattern, assessment and deadlines must be defined during the first two weeks of the first instance of enrolment.
• Extension and late penalty guidlines must be applied consistently:
  • Extensions of assessment due dates of <= 2 weeks are permitted at the discretion of the convener, on application by the student before the due date. Any extension beyond this period requires the approval of the Associate Dean (Education).
  • Late penalties are equitably applied (5% per working day late).

[1] In accordance with the protocol on Utilisation of SCNC coded courses at: https://stlc.anu.edu.au/about/policies-guidelines/utilisation-scnc-courses-undergraduate-and-postgraduate

Science Internship: SCNC2000, 3000  (6-12 units)

This course provides an opportunity for high-achieving science students to apply and develop professional skills and attributes in an area of their choice. This course offers opportunities to network with professional organisations such as local and national government and industry, and to acquire skills, knowledge and professional attributes which will facilitate future employment and career outcomes. The internship will be under the direct supervision of a workplace professional, with access to an appropriate academic within the ANU College of Science and Medicine. Students are generally expected to have already completed Science courses relevant to their placement topic. The internship is expected to be on a topic of professional interest to the student and the supervising workplace.  

Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed this course should be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability to work under professional supervision, and gain useful background of a professional context and how that workplace operates;
2. Communicate clearly and coherently in a professional context;
3. Analyse and consolidate broad theoretical and/or professional knowledge through research to identify and propose solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence;
4. Exercise critical thinking and judgment in the context of developing advanced professional knowledge; and
5. Conduct a research project under supervision

Indicative Assessment

Internship report

The internship involves the completion of a 5,000 word project report under the direct supervision of the workplace professional, with access to an appropriate academic within CoSM.

Internship reports are stand-alone documents for assessment by academic standards.  The reports are not documents which have been drafted by interns as part of internship work requirements.  However, such documents may be used by interns to compile the assessable research paper.  The paper is jointly marked by the professional supervisor and the course convener in accordance with an assessment scale which will be circulated to interns at the start of the internship period.

Oral presentation

A 15-20 minute presentation to professionals and/or academics describing the internship project and outcomes.

Course reflection

The reflection will evaluate the learning experience of the course, by allowing the intern to reflect regularly on their progress and learning experience.

As an example of how the reflection can be constructed, please see Appendix 1.

Science Internship: SCNC8000  (6-12 units)

This course provides an opportunity for high-achieving graduate science students to apply and develop professional skills and attributes in an area of their choice. This course offers opportunities to network with professional organisations such as local and national government and industry, and to acquire skills, knowledge and professional attributes which will facilitate future employment and career outcomes. The internship will be under the direct supervision of a workplace professional, with access to an appropriate academic within CoSM. Students are generally expected to have already completed Science courses relevant to their placement topic. The internship is expected to be on a topic of professional interest to the student and the supervising workplace.  

Learning Outcomes

Students who have successfully completed this course should be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability to work under professional supervision, and gain useful background of a professional context and how that workplace operates;
2. Communicate complex concepts clearly and coherently in a professional context;
3. Analyse, consolidate and synthesise advanced theoretical and professional knowledge through research to identify and propose solutions to complex problems with intellectual independence;
4. Exercise critical thinking and judgment in the context of developing advanced professional knowledge; and
5. Independently conduct a research project.

Indicative Assessment

Internship report

The internship involves the completion of a 5,000 word project report under the direct supervision of the workplace professional, with access to an appropriate academic within CHM/CoS.

Internship reports are stand-alone documents for assessment by academic standards.  The reports are not documents which have been drafted by interns as part of internship work requirements.  However, such documents may be used by interns to compile the assessable research paper.  The report must critically evaluate relevant literature. The paper is jointly marked by the professional supervisor and the course convener in accordance with an assessment scale which will be circulated to interns at the start of the internship period.

Oral presentation

A 30-40 minute presentation to professionals and/or academics describing the internship project and outcomes.

Course reflection

The reflection will evaluate the learning experience of the course, by allowing the intern to reflect regularly on their progress and learning experience.

As an example of how the reflection can be constructed, please see Appendix 1.

Appendix 1. Reflective journal prompts

Students will respond to prompt questions five times throughout semester, emailing responses to both academic and workplace supervisors.

Initial questions (start of semester)

• Why have you chosen to do an internship and what are you expecting to get out of it?
• How are you expecting this internship to differ from your normal coursework?
• How well do you think your science degree has prepared you for different work environments? Explain your answer.
• What skills do you think you have gained in your science degree that you think will help you with your internship?

Questions (three responses at about fortnightly intervals during semester, eg weeks 4, 7 and 9)

Choose any three and respond to each with a short paragraph (several sentences) each fortnight. They don’t have to be the same questions each time. If you want to make up your own question, that is also fine – for example, if something has come up that you want to reflect on but it isn’t covered by the questions below.