Course Title: Mathematics and Statistics in Industry 1

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Mathematics and Statistics in Industry 1

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

MATH2195

City Campus

Undergraduate

145H Mathematical & Geospatial Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 2 2010,
Sem 2 2011,
Sem 2 2012,
Sem 2 2013,
Sem 2 2014,
Sem 2 2015

Course Coordinator: Dr Lynne McArthur / Dr Ian Grundy

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3122 / 9925 3220

Course Coordinator Email: lynne.mcarthur@rmit.edu.au / ian.grundy@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 8.9.39 / 8.9.27


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

None


Course Description

This course provides an opportunity for students to experience aspects of life in the workplace through activities in which feedback from clients and others from industry and community is integral to the experience and central to the assessment.

Mathematics and Statistics in Industry 1 consists of four parts:

  • Group dynamics classes: give an understanding of the factors that determine the dynamics of a group, what can go wrong, and what can be done about it.
  • Group project: small groups work on tightly scoped industry projects and briefly present their finding to their peers and industry contacts, receiving feedback.
  • An exploration of the job market: students will research current job opportunities for graduates and guest lecturers from industry will talk about the roles of mathematicians and statisticians in their industries.
  • CV writing: students will develop their CVs and have them assessed in all or part by a careers expert.
     


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

On successful completion of this course, you will

  • Have an awareness and some practical experience of the dynamics of small teams
  • Have experience of presenting information in an easily understood form to a lay audience
  • Be able to describe the opportunities for employment and the many roles of mathematicians and statisticians in the workplace.
  • Have produced and received feedback on your CV.
  • Be able to locate and use data and information and evaluate its quality through practical experience with a relevant industry project.
  • Have an appreciation of ethical considerations in the practice of mathematics and statistics through your exposure to a relevant industry project and feedback from industry contacts
  • Have increased your technical knowledge and problem solving ability through exposure to an tightly scoped problem from industry


This course contributes to the development of the following Program Learning Outcomes:


Personal and professional awareness

  • The ability to contextualise outputs where data are drawn from diverse and evolving social, political and cultural dimensions
  • The ability to reflect on experience and improve your own future practice
  • The ability to apply the principles of lifelong learning to any new challenge.

Knowledge and technical competence

  • The ability to use the appropriate and relevant, fundamental and applied mathematical and statistical knowledge, methodologies and modern computational tools

Problem-solving

  • The ability to bring together and flexibly apply knowledge to characterise, analyse and solve a wide range of problems
  • An understanding of the balance between the complexity / accuracy of the mathematical / statistical models used and the timeliness of the delivery of the solution.

Teamwork and project management

  • The ability to contribute to professional work settings through effective participation in teams and organisation of project tasks
  • The ability to constructively engage with other team members and resolve conflict.

Communication

  • The ability to communicate both technical and non-technical material in a range of forms (written, electronic, graphic, oral) and to tailor the style and means of communication to different audiences. Of particular interest is the ability to explain technical material, without unnecessary jargon, to lay persons such as the general public or line managers.

Information literacy

  • The ability to locate and use data and information and evaluate its quality with respect to its authority and relevance.

Ethics

  • The ability to discuss the ethical considerations that inform judgments and decisions in academic and professional settings.
     


Overview of Learning Activities

You will attend lectures and participate in group projects and individual assignments (such as researching the job market and creating a personal CV).


Overview of Learning Resources

Blackboard will be used to give access to information, discussion forums and course materials.


Overview of Assessment

The course will be assessed through a combination of project work and assignment work as listed above, by an appropriate mix of academic and industry examiners.