(continuation

of undergraduate Thesis from ECTE451)

Welcome to ECTE458!
Congratulations for: Obtaining a mark of 65% or better in ECTE451 Choosing to continue your thesis project As a result, you may be eligible for an Honours degree Assuming you reach the required WAM for the respective Honours levels

What is ECTE458 about?

Continuation of your nal year Thesis project from

ECTE451

Revision of your project proposal and goals Review of your ECTE451 performance and areas of

improvement Implementation of your full Project Plan Critical analysis of your outcomes Presentation of outcomes Reection

ECTE458 Info Booklet

Due for release by end of this week Similar to ECTE451 Info Booklet Read thoroughly and ensure you are aware of all

details Why the delay?

Changes to Posters & Trade Fair this year OH&S considerations due to 1 project over 2 subjects Subject Coordinator has been busy grant applications

Draft Version of booklet is now on eLearning

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ECTE458 Assessment
Final Mark = 0.4 (Supervisor's mark out of 100%) + (plus) 0.25 (Examiner 1 mark out of 100%) + (plus) 0.25 (Examiner 2 mark out of 100%) + (plus) 0.1 (Poster/Seminar/Demo out of 100%) - (minus) Penalty points. Examiners will be two SECTE school academics, who

are NOT the supervisor

ECTE458 contact hours

Other than this lecture, there are NO scheduled

contact hours for the subject

This gives you maximum time to spend on your project You are still expected to meet with your supervisor

regularly and provide them with written fortnightly reports

You will also be required to participate in SECTE Trade Fair with a poster presentation Thesis Seminars in Mon/Tue of Week 14
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Time Management
How much time should I spend on my Thesis project

this session?

ECTE458 is a 12CP subject Double a normal subject 24 hours per week How much time is 24 Hours per week?

Time Management (cont)

Time Management (cont)

Time Management (cont)

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Time Management (cont)

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Time Management (cont)

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Time Management (cont)

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Time Management (cont)

Make sure you sit down and plan when you will t in

your 24 hours a week 1-hour timeslots here and there is inecient 12-hour timeslots are probably unreasonable Discipline is important for time management
No-one to remind you

No immediate consequences (until end of session!) Easy to goof-o

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http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=124
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TIPS - What to do in your rst Supervisor meeJng this session?

Reect on comments from ECTE451. Take your reports and marking sheets with you Discuss areas you performed well Discuss areas you can improve Take ownership of your project (initiative) Discuss your project Specication and Plan Remind your supervisor of topic and goals

Some of you may have had a supervisor change

Are there any changes to the scope of your project?

Have it clear in your mind what you want to get out of the

Supervisor meetings

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TIPS Report FormaNng

Last session, 86 students passed ECTE451 Of those, 12 used the Latex template for their thesis Average overall mark of those 12 students: 75.6% Average overall mark of the 74 other students: 68.9% In fact, 100% of students who used Latex gained entry into

ECTE458 Whilst Latex has a steep initial learning curve it makes editing large documents much easier in the long run There are also plenty of resources
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX

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Updated SpecicaJon and Detailed Project Plan

Due to the subject coordinator by end of Week 3 Discus project scope and goals with Supervisor For many students, this will not be very dierent to

the second session project plan from ECTE451 The focus is on the plan for the ECTE458 session Students with projects requiring dependence on external factors MUST include contingency plans
Eg ordering parts, PCB manufacturing, etc

Fill out cover form on eLearning website.

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Submission of Final Thesis Report

Due on Monday of Week 12 (similar to ECTE451) Body is 50 pages in length this time Should include a summary of work completed in

ECTE451, but the main body of investigative work covered should have been conducted in ECTE458. Two bound copies + 1 CD/DVD copy Additionally, students will be required to pay for binding of their nal, corrected Thesis. This receipt must be submitted at the same time as the reports.
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Final Binding of Thesis Reports

Once you have had your thesis reports returned to you, you are required to make corrections and re-submit your nal version for professional binding. This version is NOT assessed, but stored for posterity Feel free to discuss with your supervisor if you disagree with comments written in your reports One hard-bound copy will be kept at the SECTE oce library for loan to future students You may choose to have your own personal copy professionally-bound. This can be organised/paid for at the same time as the school copy. IMPORTANT: your mark will be withheld until you

have returned the corrected version.

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http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=840 http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=842

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Re-submission of Literature Review

Many students ask if it is acceptable to include the

literature review which was assessed in ECTE451. University Policy:

has been submitted for any other subject at the University or at any other educational institution, except as otherwise permitted. **

11. Students must not submit for assessment work which

Literature Review may be edited as per the

recommendations of ECTE451 Examiners and included in your submission for ECTE458.

** General Course rules under Assessment Responsibilities of Students: http://www.uow.edu.au/about/policy/UOW058680.html 22

Posters at SECTE Trade Fair

ECTE458 students will submit A1-sized printed

posters for assessment and will be expected to attend the SECTE Trade Fair with their poster. Participation in the SECTE Trade Fair is mandatory, as is participation in the Week 14 Seminars & Demonstrations. Failure to participate in either, without due cause, will incur harsh penalty points.
Non-attendance at presentation seminar sessions in

ECTE451 resulted in the application of a total of 53 penalty points (106 half-points) applied to 49 students.
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Some Important Dates

Release of Information Booklet by end of Week 1 Submission of Updated Specication and Detailed

Project Plan Friday of Week 3

Submission of Final Report Monday Week 12 Submission of Poster and Abstract Monday Week 13 SECTE Trade Fair Poster Presentation Friday Week 13 ECTE451/458 Seminars Monday & Tuesday Week 14
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Interested in Research?
The Honours Thesis is an excellent way to experience

research at the base level and with a small project

Some students may be considering undertaking

further research at University either immediately after graduation or a couple of years down the track
Master of Engineering - Research Doctor of Philosophy (aka PhD)

These degrees build on the kind of research done in

ECTE458, with more importance placed on new, novel research with outcomes such as journal papers.
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Why would I do a HDR degree?

Opens up extra opportunities at your current

workplace management roles, etc

Working at the forefront of scientic discovery Travel to conferences to present ndings Getting your hands dirty: engineering design work in

the area of your choosing

Rather than the problem your boss tells you to solve

Intellectual challenge
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Higher Degree Research (HDR)

Cost: no fees for domestic postgraduate HDR students International students can apply for a fee waiver Tax-Free Scholarships/top-ups available 2011 APA/UPA stipend was $22,860 Top-ups may be available in certain disciplines ($5-10K)

Tutoring available for extra money (taxable) Base rate in 2011 of $36.33 per hour Some class types may include paid preparation hours Closing Date for 2012 APA Applications: 17th October
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Best of Luck in ECTE458!

Well, Im sure luck will have little to do with it Good results will come out of sustained, dedicated, hard work Communicate regularly with your supervisor regarding your progress throughout the session When lacking motivation, keep referring to your project

specication what are you trying to achieve in your project?

What do you want to show to your family and friends at the end of

this session? What specically do you want to point at, and say I did that, thats the result of all my hard work this year. ?

This is the culmination of all your hard work, not only this year,

but all four years youve studied towards your degree.

If it helps, just remember it will all be worthwhile when you walk

across the stage to receive your testamur on graduation day!

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