A lifetime of learning

Open online courses

Our free course in Systems Thinking was one of the most heavily subscribed online courses of 2018. Systems thinking gives us powerful ways to engage with messy situations and complex challenges and this course provides tools for tackling the problems of today to create a sustainable tomorrow.

Short courses

In 2018 we ran a pilot for a program of short courses on sustainability, offering:

• Behavioural Insights 101 - an introduction to the use of behavioural insights to improve the effectiveness of sustainability behaviour change and engagement projects with a focus on resource efficiency.
• Integrated Transport and Land Use - how transport networks and land uses combine to influence accessibility, land values and housing affordability.

Both were well received and we are planning our next phase of short course offerings.

I liked the variety of activities, the strategies used to communicate with the group and the opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback. It was the most effectively structured and presented course I have ever attended!

— attendee of Behavioural Insights 101 short course

Award courses

ISF staff codeveloped, coordinated and contributed to the new Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation. This combined degree encompasses high-level critical and creative thinking, invention, complexity, innovation, future scenario building and entrepreneurship.

A new subject called The Environment, Health and Sustainability (part of the Bachelor of Health Sciences) was taught for the first time in 2018 thanks to the expertise in ISF and UTS Faculty of Health. ISF researchers also contributed to the Faculty of Design, Building and Architecture’s Graduate Certificate and Diploma in Property Development, and Graduate Certificate and Diploma in Planning with the Sustainable Urban Development subject.

Scoping and planning interdisciplinary degrees

Associate Professor Dena Fam and Dr Scott Kelly, under the guidance of Professor Lesley Hitchens, scoped the potential and provided recommendations for the introduction of interdisciplinary degrees at UTS. This was achieved by scanning local and global best practice in the delivery of interdisciplinary programs in research, teaching and learning as well as through strong engagement with senior management throughout the two-year process. An implementation strategy was developed, in consultation with key faculty, to trial two to three pilot interdisciplinary postgraduate degrees.

Professor Fam was also involved on the working group to develop a UTS Masters of Global Issues (PRAC). This subject looks at different theories and sector approaches for addressing the creation of sustainable futures.

UTS Teaching and Learning Grant

This grant, led by Associate Professor Fam, will support academics to take transdisciplinary approaches in designing, teaching and evaluating learning experiences for their students, whether at undergraduate, postgraduate or PhD level. Its significance lies in building staff capability as UTS begins to scale up transdisciplinary offerings and collaborating with and contributing to international networks to progress this field.

DAB Design Studios

Associate Professor Fam worked with the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building in 2016-17 to design and deliver two Interdisciplinary Design Studios. In collaboration with UTS Facilities and Operations staff, NSW EPA, and waste industry partners, students designed a food waste management system at UTS to manage 100 per cent of food waste on campus. The design studios won Associate Professor Fam a UTS Green Hero award in 2018 and she was nominated as a finalist in the 2018 Australian Campuses Towards Sustainability awards.