THESIS DEVELOPMENT PLAN
For Research Higher Degree Candidates (PhD & MPhil) in the
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Please review the information in the School’s Milestone Guidelines before completing this form.
1. Candidate’s Details
Candidate’s Name
Student Number
Program
PhD
MPhil
Milestone
Milestone 1: Confirmation
of Candidature
Commencement Date
Milestone 2:
Mid-candidature Review
Milestone 3:
Thesis Review
2. Project Details
Thesis title
Principal Advisor
Associate Advisor
3. Abstract
Enter your abstract in the box below. For the Mid-Candidature Review and the Thesis Review you may choose to revise your abstract.
4. Objectives
This field should contain your objectives for your thesis entered as bullet points. If you change your objectives at the Mid-Candidature
Review or the Thesis Review, then the most current version should be entered here with details of how they have changed in the second
box.
1.
Mid-Candidature Review and Thesis Review: How have your objectives changed since your last milestone?
5. Milestones & tasks
Identify the milestones and project-related tasks needed to complete the thesis and the expected month of their achievement. This should
be as a numbered list, and these numbers will be used in section 6.
Milestone
Number
Description
Date
1
2
3
4
5
Developmental Activities
You may be involved in activities that are not directly related to your thesis topic, but which play a role in your development as a research
higher degree candidate. Examples include tutoring, attending seminars or conferences and any additional professional training. List these
below and include in section 6.
Milestone Letter
Description
Date
a
b
c
d
e
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Mid-Candidature Review and Thesis Review: How have your milestones and developmental activities changed since your last milestone?
1.
RHD Final Seminars attended
List below the School RHD Final Seminars you have attended.
Seminar
Date
6. Map your Milestones to the Graduate Attributes
Maps the thesis milestones to the UQ research higher degree attributes to show the mechanisms through which they are being achieved
GRADUATE ATTRIBUTE
MILESTONES &
DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITIES
A. Knowledge and skills in the field of study
A1. In-depth, significant knowledge at the forefront of the field
A2. Advanced understanding of key perspectives related to the field.
B. Effective communication
B1. Capacity to communicate ideas effectively to a range of audiences inside and outside the
field of study or discipline and to the wider community;
B2. Capacity to communicate knowledge for the education of others, which may include
teaching and supervision;
B3. Ability to work collaboratively and effectively with others, within a range of teams and
contexts, respecting individual roles and responsibilities
C. Critical judgment and research skills
C1. Ability to engage effectively in the discipline’s philosophy of enquiry and discourses
C2. Ability to conduct independent and original research and scholarship, which may be
demonstrated by:
 understanding and developing concepts,
 formulating viable research questions,
 accessing and managing information at an advanced level,
 designing and implementing methodologies appropriate to the discipline or field of
study,
 analyzing and synthesizing information or data from a variety of sources,
 critically analyzing one's own research,
 setting research goals, planning, and ordering activities to complete a complex project
within available resources.
D. Independence, creativity and learning
D1. Ability to make a substantive and independent contribution to knowledge in the discipline
or field of study in an original and scholarly way
D2. Ability to apply existing skills and knowledge to identify and formulate new problems
D3. Ability to develop inventive solutions, demonstrating flexibility and resourcefulness
D4. Ability to lead projects in the discipline
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E. Ethical and social understanding
E1. A clear understanding and demonstration of ethical, legal, social and civic responsibility as
a researcher and member of the discipline
E2. Capacity to understand and respect interdisciplinary and diverse cultural perspectives, and
the roles and expertise of others
E3. Appreciation of local, national and global issues and the social and philosophical contexts
relating to research and practice in the discipline
E4. Commitment to professional development and the discipline or profession, and a
willingness to listen and respond to constructive feedback.
7. Annual Fire Safety
Annual Fire Safety completed*
http://elearn.com.au/uq2/START.htm
Month
Year
*The Annual Fire Safety certificate of completion must also be attached to the Thesis Development Plan. If you do not have a copy of the
certificate, a print of your Training Report from Blackboard must be included or the confirmation email from OHS.
8. Resources
What resources, including scholarship support, are required to complete your work? What are the risks, or possible delays associated with
completion?
Mid-Candidature Review and Thesis Review: How have your required resources changed since your last milestone?
9. Submission of Thesis
This section is only for students completing Milestone 3: Thesis Review.
Expected completion date
Day
Month
Year
Field of Study
The field of study is a free text field that describes the academic discipline or sub discipline of the applicant’s research project. It appears on
the degree certificate in the format, “PhD in the field of <<insert field of study>>”. Students can choose from: Aerospace Engineering,
Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or Mining Engineering.
10. RHD Final Seminar Program
This section is only for students completing Milestone 3: Thesis Review.
Seminar Date
Day
Month
Year
Presenting in the RHD Final Seminar Program is a requirement for completion of an RHD program in the School of Mechanical and
Mining Engineering. Students are asked to schedule their seminar date at their Thesis Review Milestone. If you have not yet contacted the
Postgraduate Administration Officer (PGAO) to schedule your seminar, please do so: rhdadmin@mechmining,uq.edu.au.
If you have concerns about presenting your final seminar, please contact the PGAO to discuss.
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11. Submission Checklist
This section is only for students completing: Thesis Submission
In preparation for your Thesis Submission, you must complete a Thesis Submission form (http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/thesissubmission) and submit to the PGAO for processing. You cannot upload your thesis to eSpace until your Thesis Submission form has been
approved by the School’s Postgraduate Coordinator. Please see a check-list of items to be completed prior to submission.
You must also submit this Thesis Development Plan with the Thesis Submission form to the PGAO for processing.
(a) Thesis Submission form
(b) Declaration by author
As part of your thesis preliminary pages (http://www.uq.edu.au/grad-school/thesis-preparation) you are required to include a
Declaration by author (All candidates to reproduce this section in their thesis verbatim). Please sign the Declaration by author
below to have your Thesis Submission approved by the Postgraduate Coordinator.
Declaration by author:
This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except
where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have
included in my thesis.
I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis,
significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis.
The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature
and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in
any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for
another award.
I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award
Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act
1968.
I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where
appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis.
Signed:
(c) Turn-it-in Originality Report
You are required to run your Thesis (prior to Thesis Submission) through Turn-it-in software to generate an Originality Report for
review by the Postgraduate Coordinator before processing your Thesis Submission. All students should have access to a course
titled “RHD School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering” in Blackboard (https://learn.uq.edu.au). You must log in to
Blackboard with your staff username to see this course and submit your thesis to Turn-it-in via this Blackboard course.
If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact the Postgraduate Administration Officer for assistance
(rhdadmin@mechmining.uq.edu.au).
(d) RHD Final Seminar Program
Seminar Date
Day
Month
Year
12. Signature
Signature
Date
Candidate
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Chair of Review Committee
Please complete and send by email to rhdadmin@mechmining.uq.edu.au
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