Diploma in Innovation

Innovation for a better world

Not just for the ‘tech or finance bros’ – innovation is for a better world. Innovation can be a fresh solution or a significant improvement to an existing problem or an unknown need.

It can be new product development (think re-usable water bottles or even the humble zipper). It might be a new service (for example telehealth), a new business model (hello, fresh dinners!), or a new way of doing things (think circular economies). It could be a new tool (where would we be without pdf makers?) Or an important social innovation (eg, mobile showers for the homeless).

This course is designed to build your capability to tackle complex issues in creative ways, underpinned by business smarts.

Part of the TD School.

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Diploma in Innovation

CODE

UTS: C20060 (version 2)

DURATION

3 years part time

INTAKE

July Session 2025
December Session 2025
Autumn Session 2025
July Session 2026
December Session 2026
Autumn Session 2026

View important dates

COURSE FEES

Domestic (FT)

LOCATION

City campus

What you'll study

This course will solidify how bold new ideas are born, bred, developed and delivered. You will learn by doing. You’ll work in a creative and entrepreneurial environment, prototyping ideas using design thinking principles, building MVPs, testing, and iterating. You’ll learn about business strategy, funding options and pitching.

The chance to collaborate and engage in practical group work with people from all walks of life will only serve to evolve your worldview. It’s one of the things our grads say they value the most about this course.

Typical course program

The Diploma in Innovation is exclusively available as a companion degree. During the Winter and Summer sessions, you’ll take your subjects in three-week blocks. You can complete Diploma subjects within the duration of your core degree and get a second qualification when you graduate. Subjects can be taken in any order, although we do recommend starting with Innovation in Complex Systems.

Course structure

20+4

Your “Core degree” subjects (compulsory plus electives)
4+2

Diploma in Innovation subjects (compulsory plus electives)

First year

In the July session, you’ll complete Innovation in Complex Systems, followed by Futuring for Innovation with Impact in the December session.
Second year

In the February session, you’ll choose an elective to complete, and then in the July session you’ll study Creating and Commercialising Ideas.
Third year

In the July session, you’ll study Navigating Innovation Networks, followed by an elective in the December session.

First year

In the July session, you’ll complete Innovation in Complex Systems, followed by Futuring for Innovation with Impact in the December session.

Second year

In the February session, you’ll choose an elective to complete, and then in the July session you’ll study Creating and Commercialising Ideas.

Third year

In the July session, you’ll study Navigating Innovation Networks, followed by an elective in the December session.

See typical course program in the UTS Handbook

Course highlights

Study the fundamentals of innovation. Learn to bring your best ideas to life. Discover how to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape, and how to ‘frame’ innovation. Take electives to learn more about funding platforms or how to position yourself as a strategic leader in any field with skills such as:

Admissions information

The Diploma in Innovation at UTS equips you with innovation capabilities and entrepreneurial skills, supports your personal growth, and prepares you to be a future change maker. This program is exclusive to UTS and all UTS undergraduates can enrol (excluding Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation students). The Diploma in Innovation runs alongside your degree, incorporating international best practices and expert guests. In a supportive environment, it fosters practical skills for sectoral and societal change, encouraging creative problem-solving that complements your main field of study. As a graduate, you will creatively integrate ideas across professions and be an inventor of the future. Enhance your professional networks and stand out with this diploma. Apply now at https://dipinn.uts.edu.au.
Students come out of the Diploma in Innovation with the practical and professional skills to create and support sectoral and societal transformation. Graduates creatively integrate ideas across professions and are inventors of the future. The Diploma offers a supportive environment for students to learn new skills, methods and perspectives, which complement their core degree, helping them stand out from the crowd with their ability for creative approaches to complex problems.
Your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a score between 0.00 and 99.95. It shows you how you rank compared to all the students in your year group in New South Wales. A selection rank combines your ATAR with any other adjustment points that make up your overall university entrance score. Your selection rank may differ from university to university, depending on the adjustment points granted to you at each institution.
Employers tell us the skills our graduates acquire from undertaking a Transdisciplinary Elective sets them apart from the crowd. That’s why we have embedded this program into every undergraduate degree.

All you need to do is choose the Elective that inspires you the most.

Transdisciplinary Electives integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, allowing you to approach complex problems from a range of perspectives.

By combining methods and insights from various disciplines, transdisciplinary learning often leads to breakthrough ideas and creative innovations that may not be possible within the confines of a single discipline.

If you find yourself rapt by the world of innovation – you can pair your core degree with a Diploma in Innovation, graduating with two qualifications in the same timeframe.

In both instances, you’ll work on a real-world challenge presented by an industry partner organisation – partners who often create career pathways for our graduates.

* Excludes students concurrently enrolled in the Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.

Find more Transdisciplinary Innovation courses

Return to Transdisciplinary Innovation

Entry schemes and pathways

Learn more

Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

At UTS, we understand the dedication it takes to reach your current position – forging a path through prior study, work, and diverse learning experiences.

Jumbunna Admission Program

If you're Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Jumbunna is an alternative application process for our courses that emphasises diverse pathways to success.

UTS College

Transition smoothly to UTS with UTS College. Explore our programs now.

Changing from another postgraduate course

You can apply for our courses using your previous study. You may even be eligible for recognition of prior learning, so you won’t need to repeat subjects.

Learn more

Careers

Your future career

Dial up your credibility with future employers or business partners.

Many future-of-employment reports conclude that all the skills you’ll develop in the Diploma in Innovation are highly valued in all lines of work. But particularly across the STEM, health, and sustainability arenas.

DipInn graduates tend to perform better in interviews than the average graduate (especially in those gruelling team-based challenges).

No matter what you want to be or do in the future, a UTS qualification in Innovation will set you up for success in ways you haven’t yet begun to imagine.

Career options

Where you’ll study

Our world-class facilities support your future-focused learning and high-impact research. They enable effective partnerships with industry and provide services to our community.

See more facilities

University of Technology campus — Our campus is a base for your academic, professional and social life.

Students in the UTS Library — Find your perfect study spot and enjoy the quiet away from the campus bustle.

Scientists working in the lab — Conduct breakthrough research in the Hive Super Lab.

Why UTS?

Why study Transdisciplinary Innovation at UTS

Learn how to solve society’s most complex challenges through creativity, innovation and collaboration.

Our transdisciplinary degrees respond to the future of work and are about building expertise beyond discipline-specific approaches. You'll gain practical, in-demand skills that cross all industries and sectors.