# AESC30170

**Source**: https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=MODULE&MODULE=AESC30170&TERMCODE=202500&ACYR=2026
**Parent**: https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=COURSE&MAJR=ESS1&AUDIENCE=

Academic Year 2025/2026

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#### Professional Work Experience (AESC30170)

Subject:
:   Agricultural&Environmental Sci

College:
:   Health & Agricultural Sciences

School:
:   Agriculture & Food Science

Level:
:   3 (Degree)

Credits:
:   10

Module Coordinator:
:   Dr Thomas Cummins

Credit Split by Trimester:
:   Spring 5\
    Summer 5\

Trimester:
:   2 Trimester duration (Spr-Sum)

Mode of Delivery:
:   On Campus

Internship Module:
:   Yes

Module Type:
:   Professional/Work Placement Module

How will I be graded?
:   Distinction/Pass/Fail (GPA Neutral)

Curricular information is subject to change.

Professional Work Experience (PWE) is undertaken to give students realistic exposure to professional practice in farming, and in environmental management. Students attend a study week on ecological field skills in the Burren (organised by UCD, but for which there will be a charge to the student), or other equivalent work by agreement. Required preparatory sessions will also be held in the Autumn & Spring Trimester. In addition, students arrange for themselves and undertake at least two periods of work experience, specifically: on a farm (or with a forestry, equine, apiculture or horticulture enterprise), and with an environmental agency or company. Full-time contracted work must be undertaken for sixteen weeks. Students are required to make all arrangements, including identifying, contacting, and establishing contracts with placement hosts, as well as any necessary arrangements for accommodation and travel, including visas, transport, medical requirements and personal travel insurance.\
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The module is assessed by reports submitted for each period of work, and compliance with contract-submission. Students must familiarise themselves with and abide by the PWE regulations as set out by the Agricultural Sciences Programme Board. Host contract completion is a mandatory requirement of the PWE programme. Therefore, each placement must have a finalised host contract in place (which has been signed by the host and received by UCD) before the placement is deemed to have commenced by UCD. Any placements (or parts thereof) completed in the absence of an appropriately completed host contract will not be accepted and are deemed null and void. Only in the most exceptional circumstances will any deviation from this requirement be permitted and this must have the agreement, in writing, of the PWE co-ordinator.\
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Reports are prompted by template documents, but must be an original account of the enterprise and work done. Guidelines will note the requirement to not reveal sensitive commercial information and to respect host confidentiality. Uncritical use of AI generated content, such as unnecessary language, unverifiable references, or unattributed imagery is likely to attract a fail grade. On the other hand, language or punctuation issues, mistakes and human error, and the student's own original photographs will be welcomed within report work.

## About this Module

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### What will I learn?

###### Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion, students will have significant ecological field skills, practical experience of productive land management, appreciate the interdependence of productive land uses and ecosystem services, be familiar with State schemes influencing environmental effects of land management, and be aware of professional activity in environmental assessment & management.

###### Indicative Module Content:

As an internship module, the activities undertaken on farm and environmental placements are those of the workplaces.\
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During the ecological field skills exercises, students will be exposed to understandings of landscapes, and to identification of plants and understanding of plant communities.\
\
Where necessary and agreed, alternative online and offline content may be offered as replacements.

### How will I learn?

###### Student Effort Hours:

| Student Effort Type | Hours |
| --- | --- |
| Placement/Work Experience | 300 |
|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Total | 300 |

\

###### Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

Farm work is an opportunity for students with a farm background to experience a different enterprise, and for those without farm experience to get their first exposure to the conditions of farm work. Appropriate induction and training will be required in any case for skills new to the student. It is partiularly important that students are aware of the motivation behind day-to-day decision-making on farms, taking into account longer-term management objectives and the physical constraints such as weather, soil conditions, machinery and input costs. \
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Work in environmental assessment or management will be entirely new to most students, and given the broad variety of possible activities, the specific nature of the work may differ among placements. In all cases, it is expected that the student will be introduced to realistic work practices, given appropriate induction or training, and become meaningfully involved in the operation of the host's environmental activities. This will include being made aware of standards, procedures and information systems in use, and especially the specific expectations around professional practice such as client confidentiality, chain-of-custody, handling physical sample materials, and the use of database or reporting systems.\
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As the assessment approach is by written report, it is important that students take responsibility for the content submitted, avoiding uncritical use of generated material, while human error or fine points of formatting will not be a concern.\

### Am I eligible to take this module?

###### Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.

\

###### Module Requisites and Incompatibles

**Pre-requisite:**\
RDEV20140 - Health, Welfare & Safety\
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**Additional Information:**\
Students must complete a minimum of sixteen weeks of full-time contracted work.\
\
**Equivalents:**\
Prof. Work Experience (AES) (ERM30100)\
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### How will I be assessed?

###### Assessment Strategy

| Description | Timing | Component Scale | Must Pass Component | % of Final Grade | In Module Component Repeat Offered |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Report(s): Ecological field skills are assessed on submission of the Burren report, or an agreed alternative. Reports are required for a maximum of two professional work experience placements. | Week 15 Summer | Pass/Fail Grade Scale | No | 100 | No |

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###### Carry forward of passed components

Yes

\

### What happens if I fail?

| Remediation Type | Remediation Timing |
| --- | --- |
| Repeat (CFP) | Within Three Semesters |

*Please see [Student Jargon Buster](https://www.ucd.ie/students/services/ucdstudentjargonbuster/) for more information about remediation types and timing.* \

### Assessment feedback

###### Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment\

###### How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students are invited to a non-assessed interview post-assessment, which may be face-to-face or remote, at which their submissions are discussed, and credit is confirmed to have been recorded for work experience undertaken.

### Associated Staff

| Name | Role |
| --- | --- |
| Dr Sinéad Flannery | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Ms Henna Kinsella | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Dr Aoife Osborne | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Professor Olaf Schmidt | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
| Assoc Professor Helen Sheridan | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |

### When is this module offered?

**Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.**

|  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2 Trimester (Jan-Aug) | Tutorial | Offering M1 | Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 | Tues 11:00 - 11:50 |

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