Course Title: Intensive Work Integrated Learning Interdisciplinary Projects (Vietnam)
Part A: Course Overview
Course Title: Intensive Work Integrated Learning Interdisciplinary Projects (Vietnam)
Credit Points: 24
Course Code |
Campus |
Career |
School |
Learning Mode |
Teaching Period(s) |
SOCU2255 |
City Campus |
Undergraduate |
365H Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng |
Face-to-Face or Workplace |
|
SOCU2263 |
City Campus |
Postgraduate |
365H Global Studies, Soc Sci & Plng |
Face-to-Face |
Course Coordinator: Dr Peter Phipps
Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 2039
Course Coordinator Email:peter.phipps@rmit.edu.au
Course Coordinator Location: Building 37 Level 5, Melbourne City Campus
Course Coordinator Availability: by appointment
Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities
Undergraduate Students: You will have successfully completed a minimum of one year full-time study or equivalent of approved program.
Postgraduate Students: You will have successfully completed a minimum of one year full-time study or equivalent of your approved postgraduate program, or you will be able to demonstrate significant work experience relevant to this field of study.
Students from both RMIT Melbourne and RMIT Vietnam are eligible to participate. If you are a student from a university other than RMIT, you are able to participate in this course with prior approval by the course coordinator. All students will need to submit a written application and attend an interview process prior to being selected to participate in the course.
Note that a quota applies.
Course Description
Learn by doing – in an International context
The integration of work based learning and academic learning, commonly referred to as Work Integrated learning (WIL), will allow you to solve authentic industry problems or address real issues faced in organisations.
Working as a member of an interdisciplinary team you are required to research, create and present a comprehensive response to complex issues facing a Vietnam-based organisation. If you are undertaking this course as a postgraduate student you will likely be involved in the project as a project leader.
You will be required to utilise both your specific discipline knowledge and your personal qualities to contribute productively to the team’s objective of identifying and articulating realistic and attainable solutions to the “problem” identified by the project partner.
Prior to the two-week intensive component of this project in Vietnam, you are required to undertake preparatory work in your country of study (Australia or Vietnam). This preparatory work will include such areas as cultural communication; working in teams; project management; as well as reflections and evaluation on your individual strengths and areas needing development.
Guided by academic staff and supported by industry experts, your team will be self-directed and self-motivated. You are expected to function at a professional level, with guidance and support, and to produce professional outcomes.
This is a challenging, rich and rewarding experience that offers you the opportunity to:
- work in a interdisciplinary team
- work in a cross-cultural team
- work on a real-life project
- undertake intensive learning on a professional and personal level, preparing you for life beyond university
Because we are working with real-life organisations in a developing country, the actual requirements of the project at the implementation phase may vary from those presented to you when you originally applied for entry into this course. Therefore, you need to be of an adaptable and flexible temperament, accepting that in real-life situations projects can change
Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development
On successful completion of this course you will be able to:
- Demonstrate a strong sense of cultural and professional identity
- Demonstrate your ability to successfully apply your discipline-specific skills and knowledge in an authentic problem-based work situation
- Work effectively within an interdisciplinary team and be able to formulate and articulate those strategies
- Produce practical outputs within the constraints of time and resources
- Synthesise a range of different views and information into a coherent set of recommendations in response to an authentic work project
- Exhibit cross-cultural sensitivity and be able to articulate the complexities and challenges of working in an international context
- Critique and evaluate your skills of leadership and capacity to work productively within a group context
- Contribute to the preparation of a Professional standard report that successfully meets the needs of industry clients
Overview of Learning Activities
You will be working in interdisciplinary project teams with students from a wide range of discipline areas to complete an industry project. Working collectively, you will identify and articulate possible solutions to a range of issues confronting a Vietnam-based organisation.
The learning activities will include:
- Theoretical input: You will participate in lectures/ seminars/ and workshops, be provided with a list of prescribed readings, and be expected to source your own readings. You will be expected to contribute to discussions and debates in the seminars/workshops, coming from a position informed by your readings and research.
- Practical input: You will engage in a professional manner with experts and professionals in the field, as well as from the participating organisation. This course will provide you and your class with the opportunity to receive industry feedback on your learning activities or assessment tasks.
- Application: You will work in interdisciplinary project teams to research the issues identified by the organisation and present recommendations for realistic solutions to address these issues. At the conclusion of the time together in Vietnam, the project team will present their findings and recommendations to the project partner in a formal oral presentation. The final report will be compiled and submitted after having received feedback from the project partner on the recommendations.
Note: To complete this course you will be required to travel to Vietnam for a specified period.
Overview of Learning Resources
You will use the Blackboard course shell (within MyRMIT), set up with a number of communication strategies, to communicate across Melbourne and Vietnam. Utilisation of wikis and blogs, within MyRMIT, will be essential to prepare and research in preparation to the project implementation within Vietnam. This tool will also assist with the writing of the final report. Required and suggested reading lists will be available at the beginning of the course. (These texts are readily available within RMIT Library resources or online.)
Overview of Assessment
This course requires intensive evaluation of your performance in team-based professional activities at both an individual and group level. If undertaking this course at postgraduate level, you will be required to demonstrate higher levels of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation through the course assessment tasks.
Individual assessments may include:
- An individual learning contract
- An individual self-evaluation
- Peer evaluation
Group assessments may include:
- Compilation of a detailed project plan (presented to an academic panel)
- Compilation and presentation of preliminary recommendations to an Industry panel
- Compilation of a detailed and comprehensive, professional standard, final report for the Project Partner