The anticipated knowledge, skills and/or attitude to be developed by the student are:

Demonstrated ability to

This course will require the following texts and other resources:

Lectures – lecture handouts will be provided to facilitate note taking. Lectures will be recorded wherever possible and uploaded to MyUni.

Practicals – a practical manual will be provided. Students will need to provide their own lab coat and safety glasses and wear enclosed shoes.

Diagnostic and formative assessments are included in pre-lecture online activities.

6 x 2 Hour Lecture blocks
5 x 1 hour Tutorial (weeks 8 to 12)
4 Practicals of 4 hours (weeks 8 to 11)
1 team based Project Proposal

• 1 x 4 hr Computer Practical / Workshop on Peer Review and Information Gathering in the first week
• includes formative tasks, group work and question time in tutorials to assist in preparation of the Project Proposal

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

This course is taught in either Weeks 7 to 12 or 8 to 13 to accommodate the Industry Placement/Experience in the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science and Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology Programs, respectively.

A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should expect to spend, on average 24 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g., lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).

The course content will include the following:

Lecture Outlines – Lecture order may change from year to year

Lectures 1 to 6. Dr Carolyn Schultz

1. Biotechnology for wine-makers and food technologists - why? Traditional methods of plant improvement. Plant Improvement using molecular markers: types of marker systems their relative advantages and disadvantages.
2. Application of molecular markers (as used in forensics): for improved ecological sustainability, human health, novel functions and protection of crop varieties and yeast strains.
3. The emerging technologies and their potential applications. Transgenic plants: What, why and how?
4. Strategies and targets for genetic manipulations of cereals, grapevines and other food crops.
5. Limitations and potential risks of GM crops. Role of OGTR and FSANZ in risk assessment. Examples of released transgenic crops.
6. Biotechnology in food safety, quality control and nutrition: Use of human cell lines to compare bioavailability of nutrients.

Lectures 7 to 10. Dr Rachel Burton 

The commercial use of enzymes in industries such as cheese manufacture, the production of sweeteners and wine production, will be discussed in the context of enzymic properties that are required for large scale processes. In addition, the role of plant cell wall components and carbohydrate-modifying enzymes will be related to burgeoning interest in human health and nutrition, and in renewable biofuel production.

Lectures 11 & 12. Dr Paul Chambers (Australian Wine Research Institute)

Fermentation in wine and food: Pure cultures, their selection, generation and maintenance. Role of microorganisms. Potential for manipulation to improve fermentation efficiency and control of by-products. Designing organisms to suit specific processes and processors.

Practicals

Prac 1 (weeks 8 & 9): Techniques for the identification and comparison of genetically modified organisms.

Prac 2 (weeks 10 & 11): Use of a recombinant enzyme to reduce flour viscosity in food processing.

Assessment task	Type of assessment	Percentage of total assessment for grading purposes	Hurdle (Yes/No)	Outcomes being assessed
Pre-lecture online tasks	Diagnostic	0%	No
Examination	Summative	40%	Yes	1-4
Practical reports	Formative/Summative	30%	Yes*	4,5
Project Proposal	Formative/Summative	30%	Yes*	4,6,7

* Collectively forms a hurdle. To pass the course, a student must obtain a minimum of 40% in the combined mark for the practicals & project proposal (i.e. 24 out of 60) and 40% for the written exam(s). There will be no additional assessment for the practical work or project proposal.

Participation at all practical sessions is compulsory and will include compulsory online formative assessment tasks. These formative assessment tasks (pre- and/or during practical classes) are designed to guide students to the important material required for the practical report. A minimum standard will need to be achieved and students may re-submit to improve their mark.

Exam: (40% of total course grade). A final exam will assess the students’ knowledge, their ability to apply knowledge and their critical analysis skills.

Practical Reports: (30% of total course grade). Two Practical Reports, one for each two week practical. Prac 1 is a full practical report write up (Aims, Introduction, Results, Discussion, Conclusion). The assessment task for Prac 2 gets students to focus on data presentation and summarising key points from four different, but related experiments. A formative assessment component is included to provide students with feedback before submission of the final assessment task. Students will receive written feedback on each of practical reports submitted for assessment.

Project Proposal (30% of total course grade): “Developing Convincing Project Proposals”. This assessment task involves a peer-supported learning environment, where students learn to confidently critique scientific papers and discuss scientific methods, formulate questions and devise experiments to address specific questions, summarise the important knowledge and gaps in an area of global significance and effectively communicate in written form to produce a document of a professional standard. There is a formative peer feedback component in the Week 11 or 12 tutorial. Successful completion (on-time according to written instructions) together with self and peer-evaluation of contributions throughout the project will provide evidence of interpersonal and life-long learning skills such as time management.

Diagnostic and formative assessments are included in pre-lecture online activities and lecture activities such as “think pair share”, quizzes and group discussions in class.

Late submission of assessments

If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A penalty of 10% of the value of the assignment for each calendar day that is late (i.e. weekends count as 2 days), up to a maximum of 50% of the available marks will be applied. This means that an assignment that is 5 days or more late without an approved extension can only receive a maximum of 50% of the mark.