Postgraduate Course: Joint Challenge Dissertation (CMSE11592)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Dissertation |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 60 |
ECTS Credits | 30 |
| Summary | Many potential dissertation topics in the environmental sustainability and social innovation space are related to wicked problems and thus inherently difficult for an individual working alone. Rather than forcing trade-offs between challenging but difficult and manageable but circumscribed, the Joint Challenge Dissertation allows for up to five students to collaborate in researching a topic related to environmental and societal challenges. This course will enable students to gain a greater understanding of a complex issue through research of greater depth and breadth through collaboration with other students. |
| Course description |
Joint challenge dissertation projects will address topics that require scope and depth is beyond what can be accomplished by an individual within the constraints of a traditional MSc dissertation and is suitably related to environmental and social issues within the scope of the MSc GSS degree. It consists of two outputs:
i) a joint study project (33.3% or 20 of 60-credits) and ii) an individual dissertation (66.7% or 40 of 60-credits). Collectively, the joint study and the individual dissertation components will constitute the 60-credits and equivalent to a traditional dissertation. Groups of 3-5 students will cooperate to plan and implement a joint study project related to a problem within the realm of environmental sustainability or social impact, which will be agreed between the supervisor and students. Students will collectively develop the overall scope of the project, data collection and understanding of the background and contextual knowledge of the case. The joint effort will culminate in the creation of an output (e.g. report, multimedia, video, website, etc.) which synthesises the collective findings of the joint study in a logically coherent narrative that is accessible for a non-expert audience. The data for this project will be jointly collected and the use of mixed methods are encouraged. Students will then individually develop their own research questions and conceptual frameworks for their respective individual dissertations
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
600
(
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 5,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
583 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
67% Dissertation (individual) - assesses all course Learning Outcomes
33% Joint Study Project (group) - assesses all course Learning Outcomes |
| Feedback |
Formative: Formative feedback to be provided by supervisor in group and individual supervisory meetings and with more detailed comments on initial chapters from dissertation.
Summative: Joint study project (group) and dissertation (individual) |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a substantial understanding of the social and environmental dimensions of a complex issue.
- Be able to coordinate within a group of peers to develop and implement a research project.
- Demonstrate effective communication skills necessary to describe and inform a general audience about a complex environmental or social issue of public concern.
- Display the critical thinking skills necessary to make sense of and analyse the stakeholder environment and causal relations around an issue from a systemic perspective.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Practice: Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Work with a variety of organisations, their stakeholders, and the communities they serve -learning from them, and aiding them to achieve responsible, sustainable and enterprising solutions to complex problems.
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
Critically evaluate and present digital and other sources, research methods, data and information; discern their limitations, accuracy, validity, reliability and suitability; and apply responsibly in a wide variety of organisational contexts.
Knowledge and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of contemporary organisational disciplines; comprehend the role of business within the contemporary world; and critically evaluate and synthesise primary and secondary research and sources of evidence in order to make, and present, well informed and transparent organisation-related decisions, which have a positive global impact.
Identify, define and analyse theoretical and applied business and management problems, and develop approaches, informed by an understanding of appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative techniques, to explore and solve them responsibly.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Winston Kwon
Tel: (0131 6)51 5980
Email: Winston.Kwon@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Mary Anne Boeff
Tel: (0131 6)50 8072
Email: MaryAnne.Boeff@ed.ac.uk |
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