FDSC40120 Project

Academic Year 2020/2021

This module will allow the students to use the learning outcomes from a variety of modules in their degree programme to perform an individual project. Students will be provided with a list of project titles, each with an accompanying brief description. Each student will be required to choose a project and, in conjunction with an academic staff member, a research methodology will be devised to meet the project objective(s). The students will subsequently conduct the necessary practical work (which may be desk or lab-based), evaluate the findings obtained from the study, prepare a written report and an oral presentation. The project will run throughout the 1st and 2nd Semester. This module will contribute to the development of the following COMPETENCIES that are CORE to your development as a professional in Food Science.
Food Chemistry and analysis
• Understanding the structure and properties of food components, including water, carbohydrates, protein, lipids, other nutrients and food additives
• Knowledge of the chemistry of changes occurring during processing, storage and utilization
• Knowledge of the principles, methods, and techniques of qualitative and quantitative physical, chemical, and biological analyses of food and food ingredients.

Food processing and engineering
• Knowledge of the principles and current practices of processing techniques and the effects of processing parameters on product quality.

Applied food science
• Knowledge of the principles of food science in practical, real world situations and problems.
• Knowledge of the principles to food science applications.
• Knowledge of food science to control and assure the quality of food products.
• Knowledge of the basic principles of sensory analysis.


Success skills
• Demonstration of the use and practice of different levels of oral and written communication skills. This includes such skills as writing technical reports, letters and memos; communicating technical information to a non-technical audience; and making formal and informal presentations.
• Ability to develop a process for solving and preventing reoccurrences of ill-defined problems; know how to use library and internet resources to search for quality information, and solve a problem; and make thoughtful recommendations.
• Application of critical thinking skills to new situations.
• Commitment to the highest standards of professional integrity and ethical values.
• Dealing with individual and/or group conflict.
• Independently researching scientific and non-scientific information and competently use library resources.
• Managing time effectively.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module students should be able to: Select and appraise the relevant literature to determine the latest knowledge developments in the subject area of the project; Manage, organise and plan their time to successfully perform the project tasks; Generate and clearly present the results/outcomes of the study; Assess and evaluate data to provide clear evidence and support conclusions; Select and present the key findings using Powerpoint slideshows; Communicate in verbal and written terms the meaning of their results and make interpretations and inferences from the findings:

Indicative Module Content:

Much of the learning in the module is acquired via interactions with project supervisors, post docs and post graduate students involved in the assigned project. However students also attend a series of lectures on topics which underpin all project. A tentative schedule for these is given below:


Week
2 Tue 12:00 50mins 1.01 AG Introductory Session
3 Tue 12:00 50mins 1.01 AG Referencing and supporting material
4 Tue 12:00 50mins 1.01 AG Formatting and Citing
6 Tue 12:00 50mins 1.01 Critical analysis of data
6 Thu 14:00 50mins LG-08A AG Lab Notebook and project write-up
7 Thu 14:00 50mins LG-08A AG Oral Presentation Guidelines
8 Thu 14:00 50mins LG-08A AG Oral Presentation – Q & A

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

1

Specified Learning Activities

124

Autonomous Student Learning

125

Total

250

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
At the start of the year, students are assigned a project based on their preferences from a list of projects provided by staff members in the Food Science department. The allocation is designed to give the student a project as high up their preference list as possible (based on lotteries when more than 1 student has indicated a preference for a project). However, students do not always get their 1 st preference and in some cases, students are assigned projects randomly. The student will then meet their assigned supervisor to discuss the project and arrange regular meetings. At the end of the semester, the student must produce a report written in the format of a peer-reviewed journal chosen by their supervisor. This report is corrected by the student's supervisor and second corrector from the Food Science Department. Also at the end of the semester students must present their work (in the form of a 15-minute oral presentation with questions at the end) to other members of the class and staff in the Food Science Department. Staff members assign marks to the presentation which is worth 15% of their final mark. The final component of the mark is called the supervisor's mark which is based on the supervisor's assessment of the student's commitment to the project, level of engagement and critical thinking displayed. This is worth 45% of the final mark. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Recommended prior learning: BSEN30010 - Bioprocess Eng Principles, FDSC30020 - Food Analysis I, FDSC30030 - Food Analysis II, FDSC30040 - Food Chemistry I, FDSC30050 - Food Chemistry II , FDSC30070 - Product Development, INDM30010 - Food Microbiology


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Pre-requisite:
BSEN30010 - Bioprocess Eng Principles, ENVB30110 - Food Microbiology, FDSC30020 - Food Analysis I, FDSC30030 - Food Analysis II, FDSC30040 - Food Chemistry I, FDSC30050 - Food Chemistry II, FDSC30070 - Product Development, FDSC30190 - Product Development

Additional Information:
Pre-requisites: one of FDSC30070 or FDSC30190 plus all other listed modules


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Project: This component of the mark is called the supervisors mark which is based on the supervisors assessment of the students commitment to the project, level of engagement and critical thinking display Varies over the Trimester n/a Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

45

Lab Report: At the end of semester the student must produce a report on lab work written in the format of a peer reviewed journal chosen by their supervisor Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

40

Presentation: At the end of semester 2 students must present their work (in the form of a 15 minute oral presentation with questions at the end) to other members of the class and staff in the Food Science Dept. Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded No

15


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
Repeat Within Two Trimesters
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback arises primarily via the interaction between the student and his assigned supervisor as well as any post graduate and post doctoral students involved in the project. Students also submit 1 st drafts of their project reports to the supervisors which is returned with corrections within 1 week. Students will also receive feedback on the content and delivery of their oral presentation prior to the presentation day.

Throughout the project students will be asked to consult and critically evaluate peer reviewed publication from the major Food Science journals. Some of these are listed below (all are available in the UCD library in hard copy or electronic form) but students could be asked to consult journal outside of the list below

1. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
2. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology
3. Trends in Food Science and Technology journal
4. Advances in Nutrition
5. Food Hydrocolloids
6. Food Policy
7. Global Food Security
8. Food Chemistry
9. Applied and Environmental Microbiology
10. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research
11. Food Microbiology
12. Meat Science
13. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
14. NutrientsOpen Access
15. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
16. Food Control
17. ostharvest Biology and Technology
18. Food Research International
19. International Journal of Food Microbiology
20. Journal of Dairy Science
21. LWT - Food Science and Technology
22. Food and Bioprocess Technology
23. Journal of Food Engineering
24. Journal of Functional Foods
25. Food Packaging and Shelf Life
26. Food Quality and Preference
27. Journal of Animal Science and BiotechnologyOpen Access
28. Food and Function
29. Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies
30. Current Opinion in Food Science

Name Role
Dr Tesfaye Bedane Tutor
Mr Vincenzo Del Grippo Tutor
Dr Emma Feeney Tutor
Dr Marco Garcia-Vaquero Tutor
Professor Ronan Gormley Tutor
Dr Niamh Harbourne Tutor
Dr Daniel Hurley Tutor
Dr Jean-Christophe Jacquier Tutor
Professor James Lyng Tutor
Dr Ajay Menon Tutor
Professor Frank Monahan Tutor
Mr Mick O'Sullivan Tutor
Dr Selene Pedros Garrido Tutor
Assoc Professor Amalia Scannell Tutor