L3 Team Project Supervisory Role#

Introduction#

This document briefly outlines the L3 Team project module and outline the role descriptor for academic supervisors in the Team Project module L3.

Each Team Project runs for one term in either Michaelmas or Epiphany.

Typically we have 6 or 7 projects per term. Each team typically has 5 or 6 students and undertakes a project defined by a partner Company (or NHS) via a short Project Brief, which is shaped by interactions between the Company and the module leader before the start of term.

The students are randomly allocated to the project teams, but students from the same college are separated. For practical and work experience reasons there is no project choice for the students.

The Team Project is about student-led learning, building upon their skills and experiences developed in the earlier years of their degree. This includes physics knowledge, data analysis, computational skills, experimental laboratory skills, report writing and presentation skills. The team working aspect is a critical component, the teams need to work this out for themselves with some academic guidance and support, if it appears needed.

Team project supervisors are called Academic Consultants in the Team Project module.

The Academic Consultants are assigned to projects based on topical alignment to research interests where possible.

Role Descriptor and Activities#

Outline#

The Academic Consultants role is to oversee, support and provide consulting advice to a student team in their planning, development and execution of activities towards achieving an original project brief. The role is not to direct and lead project activities, but to review activities agreed and undertaken by the Team, provide critical guidance and to influence the Team in decision making to support their development towards successful completion of their project. The students are undertaking the management and practical aspects required to achieve the objectives of the project brief.

Practical engagement#

The module begins in week 1 of term with a 2-hour session with the Module Leader, new Academic Consultants can attend this introductory session to better understand the module, but it is not required. The students first engagement is in the 2nd week of term, when they will meet with their Company Client contact for a Kick-off meeting, which is usually in Physics at Durham, the Academic Consultant should agree the time/date with the Client and attend this meeting. In the following 7 weeks there will be regular weekly Board meetings, up to and including the penultimate week of term when the Team Project reports are submitted. In the last week of term the Team and the their Academic Consultant visit the Company site for the Team to give a summatively assessed presentation. Marking can begin at the end of term.

1. With the Teams#

Your Team: The practical role of the Academic Consultant includes attending a weekly Board Meeting of the Team, where the Team will have a Chair and a Minute Secretary, the meetings will review work undertaken and plan future work, with Academic Consultant input. This board meeting is the opportunity to provide Consultant oversight and help in decision-making and advising on aspects of the work the Team should really consider to achieve the project brief. It is also an opportunity to assess and record the roles and contributions of individual team members. The time requirement is 1 hour per week per project. Consultants also need to respond in a reasonable manner to project queries from your Team at other times.

All Teams: Each Academic Consultant is expected to take part in what is call the ‘Laboratory Sweep’ during one afternoon per week. This involves going around each of the projects in turn to discuss with the group how the project is progressing, try to understand any technical needs that they have and taking, take action or advise students how to proceed. A key component of the Lab Sweep is also to check the students are not doing anything that is risky with regard to health and safety. If a Consultant suspects activity is not safe they should stop it immediately and ask to see the risk assessment and report to the Laboratory technicians. The Lab sweep takes roughly 1 hour or so per week.

2. With the Client#

Kick-off meeting: In addition to the board meetings and the lab sweeps, which take place weekly during the central eight weeks of the term, in the second week of term there is a kick-off meeting with the Company Client that usually occurs at the University in Physics. The Academic Consultant for each project is expected to be at the relevant project kickoff. They also need to agree the date/time and arrange the meeting with the Company Client contact.

Final Presentation: In addition to the kickoff meeting at the end of term the Teams each visit the Company and give a presentation. The Academic Consultant should arrange the time and date for that presentation and accompany the students to the presentation. Most of our Company contacts are local, but some are further field so 3-6 hours may be needed for travel plus the presentation and any workplace tour that is included.

3. Assessment#

The final part of the academic consultant role is to mark the project. This includes the project report for which there is one joint report per Team. Marking also includes the presentation and includes a category of overall progress towards achieving the project brief, for which you will get input from the Client via a short pro forma.

Team Project marking takes place via the Physics database as usual. For Team projects, once one student from a team has been marked you can import the marks from that student to tother Team members, noting only that you then change the marks for the individual student contribution, so each student gets an individual mark which is based upon the whole team performance and their individual contributions

created May 2024 by Del Atkinson