FAQs about Shopfront

Subjects change each year so please make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the most up to date information. Projects span a range of types including design, business, research and more.

Undergraduate students in the Shopfront program are usually in their third (final) year of study at UTS (University of Technology Sydney). Postgraduate students in the Shopfront program are usually in their first or second year of study in their advanced degrees. 

The dynamic skills that Shopfront students have to offer your organisation depends on the coursework subject that your project is allocated to. Among the many skills that Shopfront students have contributed to in the past include Business Plans/Strategies (e.g., campaigning, marketing, feasibility studies), Design consulting (e.g., (re)branding, fundraising campaigns, animation videos, data visualisation, imagery) and Research skills (e.g., data analysis and interpretation, report writing). Student skillsets are diverse, and we can provide further detail on the specifics of these contributions once we receive your application. 

The Shopfront program runs for the full duration of an academic semester (around 12 weeks in total). The key dates vary across the Spring and Autumn semesters (see next question). 

The Shopfront program runs during two academic sessions: Autumn and Spring. 
 
Semester 1: March to June 

Semester 2: August to November  

As these dates are contingent on the UTS academic timeline, these dates may vary slightly each year. We will provide you with key semester dates when we discuss your project allocation. 

Please complete this project or research proposal to the best of your ability. As the projects are reviewed periodically for a limited number of places, submit your proposal as early as possible to secure your project. 

For the Autumn session (March to June) — submit your application before 15 January 

For Spring session (August to November) — submit your application before 21 June

Once we have received your proposal, we will determine whether your proposal is a suitable Shopfront project. We will be in touch if we require any further information, or if your project requires any changes to be eligible for the Shopfront program. If it does not fit the Shopfront program, we will refer your project to other Social Impact programs at UTS or keep your project on file for a later date should anything arise. 

At the conclusion of the semester, you will receive all assets that were agreed upon in your project brief. As most Shopfront students are in their final semester, it can be quite difficult to contact them once the semester is over. For this reason, it is important to check all collateral/materials at the end of the semester to ensure that they have been received correctly. You are welcome to use these assets as needed to meet your organisational needs and objectives. We simply ask you to acknowledge the contribution of Shopfront students. The appropriate acknowledgement will be provided to you once you begin your project.

Your organisation will be required to nominate a sole point of contact who will be available to supervise and direct students throughout the full duration of the semester. We usually advise that you be available for 2 hours per week to meet with students, respond to emails and offer feedback. Students will act as consultants, and therefore will not require close supervision, however, they do require direction and consistent communication to ensure that they are meeting the project objectives and supporting your organisation in the best way possible.  

Please note that you will be required to meet with the students at the commencement of the semester for an initial meeting/Q&A session, and at the conclusion of the semester for the final presentation of their projects. Exact dates will be provided before the semester begins. We know that you are busy doing important work, so please be assured that your specific roles and responsibilities will be clarified before you are committed to the program. 

The Shopfront team would be happy to assist you with developing a shopfront project. It would be useful that you have some objectives, goals, or outcomes in mind that you would like to achieve. We can then work with you to develop a shopfront project. If your project does not fit into the Shopfront program, we will endeavour to place you with an alternate UTS Social Impact program. 

Projects are mainly allocated to one coursework subject per semester. We are working towards an interdisciplinary approach, but at present we cannot accommodate this. Sometimes, organisations return to Shopfront to undertake a follow up project under a different coursework subject, and this may be possible if the program can accommodate your follow-up project.

The number of students allocated to each group depends on the number of students within the subject. A group is typically comprised of approximately 4-7 students.  

There are usually one or two students allocated the position of lead contact and will be responsible for most of the communication/correspondence.  

This varies from subject to subject and we take that into consideration when we assess your project. We will communicate the relevant assessment criteria with you and provide space to rescope your project according to these criteria as well as your own objectives. This is a discussion that takes place upon receiving your application. 

Shopfront serves not-for-profit organisations. Sometimes, we also serve for-profit organisations that deliver social impact with minimal resources such as small to medium social enterprises. However, we prioritise not-for-profit organisations. 

Sometimes students across a coursework subject will work with on multiple projects for the same organisation. The projects will be divided prior to the commencement of the semester to ensure that deliverables are aligned in meeting the main objectives of the organisation. However, these teams will not collaborate with the teams working on the other projects. 

No. Usually, UTS students are covered by UTS insurance for the work they undertake as a part of their coursework. 

Yes, you are welcome to reapply to Shopfront. However, as we have a limited number of places, we will prioritise new organisations in our selection process to provide them with the opportunity to benefit from the Shopfront program.