The power of academic-industry alliances

Step into the classroom of any TD School course and you’ll immediately see a place where research meets real-world challenges head on. This is the vibrancy harnessed by our teaching staff who ensure theory meets practice through having students apply their TD learning in collaborative partnerships with real people and organisations.  

Launching this Spring semester in partnership with leading tech-enabled services provider, ServiceRocket, Technologies reimagined in a complex world, is the latest addition to the TD Electives program at UTS. This program provides the opportunity for all undergraduate students at UTS to access transdisciplinary teaching, working collaboratively with peers from various disciplines on a real-world challenge posed by an industry partner.

In anticipation of this exciting new elective, we sat down with TD School academics, Dr Luis Hernando Lozano Paredes and Monique Potts, who will be leading the subject, to discuss their perspectives on the value of work-integrated learning, their memorable partner experiences and what they’re looking forward to this year.  

Can you tell us a bit about your academic background – what are your main areas of interest?

Luis: I’m an Architect & Urbanist (Master of Architecture, Urbanism and Design) and an Urban Economist (MSc in Urban Economics) with a PhD in the discipline of Built Environment. I’ve always been interested in the intersections between society, the places we live and navigating economic and political relationships with our built environment - particularly in cities. More recently, including in my PhD, I’ve been drawn to understanding the impacts of digital technology on society and the built environment and how these technologies afford instances of societal and human change. In other words, an expansion of the human-computer interaction (HCI) realm into a human-computer-place interaction. 

Monique: I have quite a diverse, or some may say chequered, academic history having started three different undergraduate degrees (economics/law, medicine, arts) before finally finding my passion doing Communications at UTS. I then went on to work in digital media and online development doing an MA at UNSW in what was then called 'New Media'. More recently, I've been working on my PhD in TD School which focuses on resilience and experiential learning for young people in the context of uncertain futures and climate disruption. I'm interested in participatory action research across education and health, with a focus on mental health for young people and supporting communities and families. Other areas of my research interests include gender and technology, systems thinking and change as well as transformative and experiential learning.

What drew you to TD School? 

Luis: Considering my academic background and interest in the intersections of many aspects and disciplines, my connection to transdisciplinarity was already there even before I knew the TD School existed. Moreover, when I started teaching as a casual academic in some TD subjects, I realised that all my interests around built environments, cities, and society are, by definition and practice, transdisciplinary complex issues. Cities are the quintessential TD problem that requires TD research. Cities are complex; their issues cannot be understood and tackled by just one disciplinary perspective, and most of all, cities need everyone's participation to make sense of their futures. 

Monique: I moved from my role as Executive Producer and Program Manager at the ABC to join the UTS Innovation and Creative Intelligence Unit in 2014. While in that role, I started teaching in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation (BCII). I'd been wanting to do a PhD for some time but I hadn't found a home for the transdisciplinary ideas I was interested in exploring. I soon realised TD School was that home, and I haven't looked back. I'm inspired by the staff and academics here who are focused on engaging with real-world challenges using a range of worldviews, methodologies, and disciplinary perspectives.  

What excites you about industry partnerships and work-integrated learning in TD School courses? 

Luis: Work-integrated learning  represents a great avenue for merging theoretical knowledge with practical experience, which I find immensely fulfilling. This approach allows students to apply the concepts and theories they learn in real-world settings. It also helps them develop critical skills in today's fast-paced and evolving professional landscape. The excitement comes from seeing students engage with complex, real-world problems and navigate their challenges, fostering resilience, adaptability, and innovative thinking. It’s about bridging the gap between academia and industry (necessary when tackling place-based issues, which we mostly do at TD), thus creating opportunities for students to collaborate with professionals and gain insights into the workings of their future fields. This hands-on experience is invaluable, as it prepares students not just to enter the workforce but to excel and lead in their chosen careers, equipped with a deep understanding of the practical implications of their academic studies. 

Monique: After coordinating the internship subject for the BCII last year I learned a lot about the value students get from real-world learning on the job during internships. I think the internships and industry partner challenges that students engage with help build their understanding as potential professionals and help them discover what they value and find rewarding (or not). This experience is invaluable for students to help them find the direction they might want to take when they finish university and start their careers.  

Can you describe a memorable experience working with TD School students and an industry partner? 

Luis: My most memorable experience has been working with the City of Parramatta council as our industry partner in one of our initial BCII subjects (Problem to Possibilities). It was amazing to see first-year students incorporating the brief about the future and values of Parramatta and seeing them explore the area (many of whom have never been to the City of Parramatta before). The interaction between the urban policy needs of Parramatta and the creative and expansive explorations that the students did resulted in beautiful images of the future. This shows how participation can inform better sense-making and better outcomes for our built environments. 

Monique: Last year I taught in one of the TD Electives Reframing, remixing, reimaging society with our industry partner, the Australian Red Cross. The students were exploring a challenge posed by the Australian Red Cross about how to engage young people to help build resilience in communities in the context of climate change. It was inspiring to see how engaged students were in exploring this complex challenge. One team decided to use their personal networks to learn more about the challenge as one student had an uncle who was a teacher in Lismore and had experienced numerous floods. Through their research, which integrated the lived experience of stakeholders, the team developed a fabulous proposal to hold a 'Climate Day' experience in schools involving virtual reality as an immersive experience to help respond to young people's climate anxiety and better prepare them. The team of undergraduate students decided to enter their project in the 2023 Disaster Challenge hosted by Natural Hazards Research Australia, and were awarded one of the top three finalists.

What are you looking forward to this year at TD School? 

Luis: I am eager to engage with students and colleagues from various disciplines, learn from their perspectives, and contribute my insights about how we deal with places and society. The prospect of working on projects that push the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines and have the potential to make tangible impacts in our communities is incredibly motivating. I look forward to contributing to and being part of groundbreaking research addressing critical issues such as sustainability, technological integration, and the need for constructive discussion in our society and guiding students as they navigate these complex yet fascinating challenges. 

Monique: I'm looking forward to a new TD Elective that I'm co-designing and delivering with my colleagues and our industry partner ServiceRocket. The subject Technologies Reimagined in Complex World will encourage students to think about and play with their interaction with technology and work in transdisciplinary teams to think about how we can leverage technology to enable people to impact their career, their organisation and the communities in which they live.

Technologies reimagined in a complex world will launch as a TD Elective in Spring, and will give all undergraduate students studying at UTS, the opportunity to explore a challenge co-designed with TD School and ServiceRocket. As a tech-enabled services provider for enterprises around the globe, ServiceRocket enables its workforce to impact their families and communities as they learn and grow.