Faculty of Engineering

GSOE9011 Engineering
PGCW Research Skills
A05 Video pitch – research proposal (10%)
Due: Week 12, May 3, 2023, 23:55 / 11:55 PM

Overview and motivation

There is a truism in academia that “research not published is research not done”. Less glibly, if
you haven’t communicated the results of your research effectively, it is of no use to anyone but
yourself. One of the important ways that we communicate our research is presenting orally – either
face-to-face, in a seminar, conference session, poster session or, increasingly, in short video
format. The motivation behind this assessment item is to apply and test the stated communication
learning outcomes of the course, particularly for oral communication. Further, as a competency in
STEM, there is an expectation that a graduate has developed skills in oral and written
communication, using a range of forms of communication to a range of audiences. This task gives
you the chance to do things a little differently…

Learning outcomes
Upon successful completion of this task, you will have:
 Explained your research proposal – namely, the research question, background to the problem
and why it’s important, what you plan to investigate and how.
 Produced an audio-visual presentation that effectively communicates complex disciplinary
ideas to a general engineering audience.

Format
As an individual student, you will prepare a short video, as an ‘elevator pitch’. That is, you will
explain and pitch the research project proposed by your team to an educated but lay (with respect
to engineering) audience. In that video, explain and pitch the proposed research project of your
team, as though you were talking to a friend or colleague in a lift, or explaining back a project
proposal to your professor/supervisor, or to a group of managers in industry.
Imagine, for example, that your audience are board members of a funding agency (and I am one
of them), and you need to convince me that your research is worthy of funding. Oh, that’s right, I
am not an engineer… Oh, and if you can, shoot the video as an actual elevator pitch; that is, shoot
the video in an elevator!
The length of the video should be strictly 3–4 minutes. The video may consist of you presenting
with a whiteboard or other props, a PowerPoint or Prezi animation with narration or something else
altogether. However, videos making quality use of multiple forms (e.g. cutting between narration of
diagrams or animations and direct-to-camera) will be eligible for higher marks.
You do not need to provide a dedicated reference slide or section but you should give verbal credit
to works to which you are referring, e.g. “Lea et al. in their 2010 paper said…”
Bear in mind what our guest lecturer had to say about presenting and getting your message
across effectively. The three-minute thesis competition may be a useful source of inspiration.

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GSOE9011, 2024-T1
GSOE9011 Engineering PGCW Research Skills A05 Video Pitch

Submission
At present, as I have concerns about the UNSW system for media/videos, I ask you to upload your
video as either an unlisted video in YouTube (preferred option) or, if you are uncomfortable with
that, via your choice of file-sharing service. You can then ‘submit’ your video for marking by
providing the URL/link to your video via the Assignment submission portal for this task.

Assessment criteria
Please see the following page. Note that these criteria are currently being reviewed,
especially against those used for a related task in the sibling course GSOE9010. Ay update
to this document will be flagged and uploaded well in advance of your need to complete the
task.

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GSOE9011 Engineering PGCW Research Skills
Criteria Incompetent
(<40%)
Audio- Audio-visual quality detracts from
visual your understanding of the
quality presentation. There sound might
(20 marks) be muffled, distorted, over
powered by background noise or
unclear for some other reason.
Video may be of inadequate
resolution, too dark or too bright or
hard to watch for another reason.
Clarity of The student struggles to
expression communicate their ideas and after
watching the video you are unsure
(20 marks) what the project is about. Visual
aids are either not present or
detract from your understanding
the presentation.
Project The student cannot or does not
context explain why the research was
and impact done. The student does not point
to the impact of the proposed
(30 marks) project.
Project The research question is not
proposal explained and there is no clear
(30 marks) demonstration of student
understanding. Research plan is
not present, or does not have
sufficient detail to demonstrate
they can successfully complete a
thesis project.
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GSOE9011, 2024-T1
Partly Competent
(40% to 60%)
Audio-visual quality is adequate
for the presentation. There may
be some background noise or
other distractions, but it does not
impair your comprehension of
the presentation. Similarly, there
may be some lighting issues or
video quality problems, but it
doesn’t impair comprehension.
The speakers can generally be
understood and get their main
ideas across to the audience.
The student has tried to use
audio-visual medium to aid
communication by editing
multiple shots together, using
figures, diagrams and tables or
demonstrations.
The student attempts to explain
why the work was done but you
don't think they really
understand. The student
demonstrates limited understand
of the implications of the project.
A feasible research plan is
presented that includes some
consideration of the resources
and time required. However, the
plan appears disconnected from
the literature review. The
components of the plan don’t
necessarily fit together logically.
A05 Video Pitch
Competent Mastery
(60% to 80%) (80% to 100%)
Audio-visual quality is satisfactory Audio-visual quality is excellent
for the presentation. Unlike partial and assists the viewer to
competence you can see the comprehend the presentation.
creator has tried to reduce or
remove distractions to assist the
viewer’s comprehension.
The student effectively The presentation is delivered in a
communicates complex professional manner that would
disciplinary knowledge in an be engaging and effective in front
appropriate way for a general of a broad audience.
engineering audience. The
student makes use of the audio-
visual medium to aid
communication and support what
they are saying.
In narrow or direct terms, the The student explains the broader
student explains how the project context that the work fits into -
connects to prior research or why it was done and how
industry experience and the important it is. The broad
impact of the project. implications on knowledge and/or
practice in society, the discipline
or industry are explained.
The research plan demonstrates As for competent, but the plan is
a logical and feasible course of also robust and has provision for
action. Realistic milestones have project variations and
been set. The plan fits within the contingencies.
narrative set out by the literature
review and the student logic
behind the plan in the narrow
context of the reviewed literature.