BPS3061 · Industrial formulation

Overview

The objective of this unit is to provide you with the opportunity to tackle real-world formulation development in the cosmetic industry and develop your technical, teamwork, and communication skills. You will learn about cosmetic actives and excipients, apply science-based formulation strategies like Design of Experiments and leverage advanced tools, including AI-driven methods, to design, develop, test and justify a collection of cosmetic products. Throughout the unit, you will build hands-on experience in professional product development, with an emphasis on sustainability and systems thinking, as well as regulatory compliance. The work culminates in the Monash Cosmetic Expo, where you present your product collection, formulation rationale and claim substantiation to industry guests. This event provides a unique platform to enhance employability, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate your work-readiness, engage with potential employers, and build professional networks within the cosmetic science sector.

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Assessment will comprise 100% in semester assessment. This unit is a pass grade only unit. This unit contains one or more competency hurdle assessment tasks that you must successfully complete to be able to pass the unit. If you fail to meet the hurdle requirement, you will receive a fail grade for the unit regardless of the total marks you achieve.

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. Apply knowledge of skin biology and cosmetic pharmacology to design a research strategy to develop new products
2. Synthesise findings and select relevant experimental factors to develop cosmetic formulations across diverse product forms
3. Create and apply an industry standard Design of Experiments (DoE) template to systematically review experiments and critically reflect on formulation performance
4. Methodically and systematically analyse data and critically discuss regulatory and sustainability considerations ensuring compliance with global standards
5. Demonstrate effective communication strategies for product technical documentation and findings through professional presentations to industry stakeholders
6. Demonstrate work readiness via effective teamwork skills in project management, product development team planning and presentations
7. Leverage AI tools for ideation, formulation, troubleshooting, and trend analysis, and apply critical evaluation to guide innovation while maintaining ethical and scientific rigour.

Workload

• Twelve 4-hour laboratories • Twenty-four 2-hour workshops • Forty-eight hours of self-directed study

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.