PROJECT PLANNING Professional Skills For Biotechno

PROJECT PLANNING Professional Skills For Biotechnology ASSESSMENT BTEC9006 Professional Skills for Biotechnology ASSESSMENT Assignment 1: Literature review For this Assignment, you will each write an individual Literature Review on one of the areas in Biotechnology, listed below. Choose a specific topic and present it as a problem that has to be solved. The Literature Review should explain the major challenge, and how it has been tackled: • Drug Discovery and Development: Viral Diseases, Antibiotic resistance • Fermentation Technology: Recombinant Protein Production, Vaccines • Reproductive Technologies: enhancing ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) • Stem cells and Gene therapy: Therapies for genetic disorders • Plant protection: GM crops, biocontrol agents: • Biofuels: Enhancing lipid production in plants; microalgal biofuels • Environmental: Bioremediation, Precious metal recovery • Food: New marine sources of protein and nutraceuticals In order to do this you will learn how to search the scientific literature for research articles. The first task is to write down your research strategy and find 2 closely related scientific papers (not by the same authors or research groups) and the post your strategy as well as a. the link URL or b. post the pdf of the article, on your personal Discussion Board/Log Book on FLO, before 9 am August 8. The second task is to write a summary of the two papers on ONE A4 page with a margin of no less than 2.5 cm on all sides of the page, with no smaller than a Times New Roman 12pt font. Do not include tables, figures or references. Be careful about Plagiarism. This is to be handed in at the start of the August 10 lecture/tutorial For this Literature Review Assignment you will need to submit a written document consisting of up to 2000 words on one of the topics on the List above, with the References done in EndNote (the Word Count does not include the Reference List). The reference style should be using the Harvard System- see the References Section later in this Handbook. Some useful websites: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/literature_review.html http://www.ehow.com/how_2337321_write-scientific-literature-review.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature_review How this assignment will be assessed This assignment will be marked individually based on the following criteria: The main feature of the assessment will be on your Critical Analysis of the Literature. 1) Introduction: provide sufficient background information to introduce the significance of the topic and explain the problem to be solved. Include information about recent international progress in the field of the research. 2) Approach and Methodology: provide sufficient detail describing how the problem has been or could be solved with appropriate citations (use peer-reviewed journal articles only) 3) Summary: give an overall summary of the innovation that has been introduced and the new knowledge generated. 4) References: Quality of references and correct use of Harvard referencing system NOTE: Exceeding the word limit will reduce your overall mark. Be careful Assignment 2 and 3: These two assignments are linked as they will cover (in Assignment 2): the Research and Development component and (in Assignment 3) the Commercialisation of the Project . Teams will be assigned by the Topic Coordinator by mid-August. You will meet as a team to decide on a Project from of the subject areas listed in Assignment 1 above. Your choice of product or process is very important as you not only have to explain the Science and Technology but how you can set up a company to develop a comprehensive program to take the product or service to market. Assignment 2: Research Planning The team will identify ONE Product or Service that can be commercialized. In this part the Research and Development has to be described as a scientific paper. This group report should not exceed 6 pages, not including the References (in Endnote). 1.1 The problem: describe the issues and significance 1.2 The solution: what is the product or service and how it works. Describe the science and technology. How long will it take to prove concept? 1.3 Intellectual property – why is your solution novel/unique/special and what are the patent claims? 1.4 Large scale Production –see below References 1.4.1 Describe the production process. Discuss scale-up. Do many small units make up a big capacity? What is the rationale for scaling up in biotechnology and where is the line between commerce and science? 1.4.2 Describe the supply, storage, pre-production, production, quality control, distribution. 1.4.3 What products are produced at each stage? 1.4.4 How can so many activities be made more efficient? 1.4.5 What are the costs? 1.4.6 How many people will be involved in the production activities. Assignment 3: Project Planning –Commercial Viability Assessment In this part of the project you will consider commercialization of the product or service, and will carry out a Commercial Viability Assessment. Your choice of product or process is very important as you have to explain how you can set up a company to develop a comprehensive program to take the product or service to market. For example you should protect the invention through patents or other forms of intellectual property (IP) protection. You also have to deal with basic issues such as personnel requirements, regulatory requirements for products or processes, quality control etc. Members of the team are advised to undertake specific tasks and roles. Typically, the team would consist of people being responsible for the following: • Team coordinator • Sales and Marketing • Financial Issues • Research and Development • Manufacturing and Production • Intellectual property and Regulatory affairs The Group Report is to be submitted as a bound document, NOT exceeding 10 pages, and covers the following: Please submit 2 copies of your Report 1. Executive Summary This is a 1 page summary of the Commercial Projct. It should explain the technology, its value proposition and how this will provide the basis for entry into the market. Include a summary of market information, production issues and where the finances will come from and the potential return on investment. 2. Legal issues – ownership- Describe what is required to set up a company. IP costs 3. The Value Proposition: what is the competitive advantage of your solution? 4. Market Analysis/Marketing Strategy 4.1 Industry background and overview 4.2 Market research Major customer groups. Regulatory restrictions (if any). Barriers to entry and exit. Outlook for the future. 4.3 Outline of the marketing strategy 4.4 Marketing feasibility – costs, product acceptance, promotion, sales force 5. Organisation and Human Resources In this section you will describe the number of people and their skills that are required to run your company. You can get information from Biotech company websites and salary costs from job ads and University websites. 5.1 Organisation and management Categories and functions 5.2 Salaries and Overhead costs 5.3 Cost estimates 6. Competition, Risk Analysis and Contingency Plans 6.1 Competitor Analysis 6.2 SWOT analysis 6.3 Contingency planning 7. Financial analysis, Investment and Return on Investment I’m aware that you don’t have the required background for this and we have not taught you these concepts. Therefore, what we want you to present is a series of questions related to these items to indicate the kind of information you will need in order to successfully run your company and deliver your product to the market 7.1 Key assumptions. Analysis of cost estimates Income, Expenses, Operational costs. 7.2 Investment proposalProjected use of funds;Projected return on investment 8 References Include all references, including websites in an Appendix. Assignment 4: Seminar Presentation As you will present the information as a group, but each person will present on a different area than they researched, which will be selected randomly by the lecturer. In addition, the presentation should begin with 1-2 introduction slides and end with 1-2 summary slides; the students in the group can decide how to divide this part up. The presentation has a time limit with a 5 minute limit for each individual presentation, and should cover: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Content: Overview The Problem (What problem do you solve?; For whom?) The Solution (Why is your solution better?) Technology (How do you supply the solution?) Opportunity/Market Competitive Landscape Unique Competitive Advantage (including a SWOT Analysis and Management of Risks) Market Strategy Financial Roadmap (The costs of setting up and running the business, including forecasts) The Ask (what do you want? What do you want it for? How much will I get in return?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You will be assessed on  Clarity of Presentation: Quality and Information on slides  Knowledge of the whole subject area and your contribution area  Presentation Style: Voice projection, Audience engagement;  Keeping to time limit  Ability to answer Questions Assignment 5: Written Log book instructions Open your Personal Log Book in the Discussion Section of FLO: Personal contribution to the group activity and self reflection will be assessed via the student’s written Log Book. Presentation of the information in the Portfolio (10) • Organisation – is it well-laid out and easy to read? • Aims/Strategies/Results sections Content (20) • Level of information on tasks – is it easy to see what was actually done? • Are Websites listed from websearching? • Records of group meetings? Can we follow the whole procedure? Level of Complexity of tasks completed, contribution to group (40) • Websearching • Other forms of information gathering • Integrating, collating and writing up new information, producing sections of the business plan • Administrative – production of the business plan other than content Eg. formatting, printing, binding, bibliography, abbreviation list Self Reflection (30) • Record of team interactions developing teamwork skills • Reflections on developing research skills • Assessment of fulfillment of learning objectives • Conclusions on personal outcomes and growth Improving Group Performance- Self and Peer Assessment Individual Performance Multiplier: One of the major issues with team work is that Students (and Staff) are generally not happy to reward team members who do not contribute to the successful performance of the team. There are exceptions, though very rare, when some groups are willing to “carry” a hitch-hiker. To facilitate equitable participation in Group/Team work and completion of team-assigned tasks in a timely manner a Self and Peer assessment system will be used. This will help the whole team to identify and deal with non-performing group members, in a timely fashion. Details of the Self and Peer assessment system are presented in a separate entry on the FLO site. We live in the hope that inter-group relations are constructive and well balanced, and that the group can function well without our intervention. However, when necessary, we are prepared to act as arbitrators to restore healthy group function. We will take all available information into consideration and expect to employ the ‘pendulum’ method of arbitration where we come down in favour of the views of one party or the other ============================================================================ Referencing There are many variations of the Harvard referencing style. This handout has been modified to match the current requirements for Biotechnology written work at Flinders University as on 28 May 2008. The following is a summary of the referencing format required – see FLO or the Student learning Centre for further detail. There are 2 parts to the Harvard referencing system: 1. The in-text reference 2. The reference list 1. The In-text Referencing – as requested for Biotechnology theses Please note that the comma before the year in in-text referencing is optional. In-text referencing is based on the authors’ surnames, the year of publication of the discussion or idea you are referring to. Smith (2005) argues that ‘the relative seriousness of the two kinds of errors differs from situation to situation’. It has been argued that ‘the relative seriousness of the two kinds of errors differs from situation to situation' (Smith, 2005). If you paraphrase material (express someone else’s ideas in your own words) you must make it clear that you are referring to someone else's work: A recent study (Jones & Chan, 2002) has shown... When the authors' names are incorporated within the text, you must write the word ‘and’ instead of the symbol &: Jones and Chan (2002) have shown that… For Works with three or more authors, include only the surname of the first author and the abbreviation et al. (meaning 'and the others'). In the following example, the citation refers to work done by Lim, Smith, Brown and Nguyen: A recent study (Lim et al., 2006) has shown... For two or more authors with the same surname, distinguish between them by using the authors' initials or full names: A recent study by CL Jones (2005) has shown ... but A Jones (2006) has suggested... For secondary references (when one author discusses another author’s work), both sources must be acknowledged in your in-text reference. However, only the book or article you actually used (the secondary reference) should appear in your reference list. In the example below, Marini is the primary reference and Jones is the secondary reference: Marini (Jones, 2005) states… Marini's study in 2003 (cited in Jones, 2005) states... Jones (2005), in reporting Marini's study of 2003, states... The process was shown to be more complex than at first thought (Marini, 2003 cited in Jones, 2005). 2. The Reference List The reference list is placed at the end of the assignment. It is arranged in alphabetical order of authors' surnames and chronologically for each author, with the items marked below with an asterisk (*) being essential. When using the Harvard system for books, the following information is required in this order: author's surname & initials * year of publication * title of publication (in italics) * title of series (if applicable) volume number or number of volumes (if applicable) edition (if applicable) editor, reviser, compiler or translator (if other than the author) * publisher * place of publication * page numbers (when applicable, e.g. for a chapter in a book) Book Angelil-Carter, S 2000, Stolen language? Plagiarism in writing, Longman, London. Chapter in an edited book Fox R 2000, ‘Online technologies changing university practices’, in A Herrmann & M Kulski (eds), Futures in university teaching, Centre for Educational Advancement, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, pp. 235-243. When referencing material from journals (periodicals) the following order is required: author's surname & initials * year of publication * title of article (in inverted commas) * title of journal or periodical (in italics)* title of series (if applicable) place of publication ( if needed to distinguish between different periodicals with the same title volume number * issue number (if applicable) month (if applicable) – not required for Biotechnology Theses page number or numbers * Example as requested for Biotechnology written work: Campbell, M 2003, ‘Dorothy Smith and knowing the world we live in’, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 30: 3-22. When referencing World Wide Web pages, the following order is required: author – the person or organisation responsible for the page site date (either the date it was last updated, a copyright date or n.d. (no date), if date not available) name and place of sponsor of website the date you viewed the site the web address Flinders University n.d., Flinders University homepage, viewed 14 December 2006, . For further examples, see FLO or the Student Learning Centre.