| CODE | SCI3502 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | Professional and Technical Skills for Scientists | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Faculty of Science | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will involve lectures, tutorials, independent study and other forms of work. An important final deliverable is the preparation of a science-based application for a funded project by a group of students working as a team. Each group of students will be guided by an academic member of staff. The deliverables envisaged will be the write up of a scientific report to describe the project and the grant application itself. In this study-unit, students will be provided with an opportunity to acquire a set of skills that should better prepare them for a future professional career. The lectures and final unit deliverables will help to introduce students to professional skills and technical know how ideas and techniques that could assist them in making a financial proposal for a science-based funded project at their place of work. The aim of this unit is to provide students with the skills needed to understand the nature of a scientific proposal and the processes involved to make that proposal effective and achieve funding. The skills acquired at the end of the unit should enable students to work effectively and successfully in industry or in an academic setting, whether as an employee or as an employer. The following are some of the topics that will be presented: - Ability to define and solve problems creatively and with innovative ideas; - Positive thinking, motivation and commitment, team work and management of personnel; - Ability to communicate ideas convincingly and coherently – CV, proposal writing and report writing; - Face to face encounters with scientists who have been successful with funded projects; - Understanding requirements for a project proposal; - Evaluating proposal for potential value; - Market research, feasibility studies; - Preparation of a successful application; - Ability to communicate ideas; and - Safeguarding intellectual property rights. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit aims at: - Fostering in students skills related to interpersonal and team work, cooperation and management that will allow them to enter the world of work; - Providing basic concepts involved in identifying the potential for externally funded opportunities and the preparation of successful project proposals; - Acquiring skills that will allow them to be committed to their work, work on deliverables and finally communicate findings effectively. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Explain the significance/advantages of team work as part of a project team; - Explain the significance/implications of intellectual property rights (IPR) and their safeguarding; - Research/evaluate a particular topic for its funding potential – past, current and future; - Demonstrate basic concepts required to compile a project application as part of an achievable project. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Advertise his/her personal skills effectively when compiling CVs; - Explain the basic requirements for people management and interpersonal relationships at work; - Demonstrate basic skills such as personal awareness, effective written, verbal and visual communication, and time management; - Critically appraise the complexity of preparing an application for funding; - Demonstrate the importance of what it takes to succeed – research, knowing and approaching the right people. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Portughese, T. (2011) People Engagement for Business excellence and Social Well-being , Agenda, Malta. Gajda, R and Tulikangas, R. (2005) Getting the Grant: How Educators Can Write Winning Proposals and Manage Successful Projects. Marshall, P (1997) Research Methods: How to design and conduct a successful project. Krystalina Soash, L. (2010) Writing Tips for Student Projects and New Freelance Writers. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: B.Sc. (Hons.) 1st Year, 2nd Year and 3rd Year Pre-requisite Study-units: SCI3501 |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Ind Study, Group Learning and Tutorials | ||||||||||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Daphne Attard Sebastiano D'Amico Noel Debono Andras Havasi Ruy Lopes Dos Santos David C. Magri Tonio Portughese Russell Smith Elisa Vella Ruth Vella Falzon Gabrielle Zammit Raymond Zammit |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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