Next Generation Learning & Skills category

The University of Technology Sydney’s Transdisciplinary Electives Program embeds transdisciplinary learning across all undergraduate degrees, ensuring every UTS student develops the capability to work across disciplines, sectors and perspectives. Through eight innovative subjects, each co-designed with an industry, community or government partner, students engage with real-world sustainability and societal challenges as a core part of their degree.

Since 2022, more than 9,000 students have completed a transdisciplinary elective, working with organisations including UNICEF Australia, the Australian Red Cross, City of Sydney, Lane Cove Council, Microsoft and Stockland. Students collaborate in transdisciplinary teams to explore complex challenges such as climate action, disaster preparedness, intergenerational justice, urban futures, social inequality, AI and sustainability.

By embedding authentic partner engagement at scale, the program helps students move beyond learning about sustainability to learning for sustainability. It builds systems thinking, collaboration, creativity, reflexivity and professional confidence, while generating fresh insights and practical value for partner organisations and wider society.

University of Technology Sydney – Discussing SDGs via the Transdisciplinary Electives Program

Impacts & Benefits

  • Reached more than 9,000 undergraduate students since 2022, with enrolments projected to reach around 6,000 students annually from 2026.
  • Embedded transdisciplinary learning across all undergraduate degrees, reaching students from more than 170 programs and 100+ disciplines.
  • Connected students with 58 partner organisations, including government agencies, corporations, NGOs, SMEs and startups.
  • Generated more than 1,800 student proposals, providing partners with fresh perspectives on sustainability, social impact and future-focused challenges.
  • Achieved international recognition, winning Gold in the Power of Partnerships category at the 2025 QS Reimagine Education Awards.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Created a whole-of-university model, making real-world, partner-led transdisciplinary learning a core part of every undergraduate student’s experience.
  • Built a scalable partnership approach, with organisations committing to sustained three-year engagement and co-designed challenge spaces.
  • Enabled authentic student–partner interaction at scale, with subjects enrolling 300–600 students working in transdisciplinary teams on live challenges.
  • Mainstreamed sustainability capability development, ensuring all students, not only self-selecting cohorts, engage with complex environmental and social issues.
  • Supported curriculum innovation across UTS, helping break down disciplinary silos and strengthen collaboration between faculties, partners and professional areas.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Prepared graduates for complex sustainability challenges, building capability in systems thinking, collaboration, adaptability, innovation and communication across difference.
  • Created value for partner organisations, with student insights influencing strategies, community planning, business operations and stakeholder engagement.
  • Expanded students’ career pathways, helping them connect their disciplinary expertise with broader social, environmental and public impact roles.
  • Demonstrated a transferable model for higher education, attracting national and international interest from institutions exploring transdisciplinary curriculum reform.
  • Supported action beyond the classroom, with student work informing public events, competitions and local government decision-making.
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Top 3 learnings

  • Transdisciplinary learning helps students build future-oriented capabilities – teach for sustainability, not just about it.
  • Co-creating education experiences with like-minded organisations generates mutual value – turn ideas into impact through partnerships.
  • Authentic, meaningful engagement with real-world complexity and sustainability challenges is scalable – design for action.

Supported by

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Category finalists

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Next Generation Learning & Skills category

The University of Technology Sydney’s Transdisciplinary Electives Program embeds transdisciplinary learning across all undergraduate degrees, ensuring every UTS student develops the capability to work across disciplines, sectors and perspectives. Through eight innovative subjects, each co-designed with an industry, community or government partner, students engage with real-world sustainability and societal challenges as a core part of their degree.

Since 2022, more than 9,000 students have completed a transdisciplinary elective, working with organisations including UNICEF Australia, the Australian Red Cross, City of Sydney, Lane Cove Council, Microsoft and Stockland. Students collaborate in transdisciplinary teams to explore complex challenges such as climate action, disaster preparedness, intergenerational justice, urban futures, social inequality, AI and sustainability.

By embedding authentic partner engagement at scale, the program helps students move beyond learning about sustainability to learning for sustainability. It builds systems thinking, collaboration, creativity, reflexivity and professional confidence, while generating fresh insights and practical value for partner organisations and wider society.

Top 3 learnings

  • Transdisciplinary learning helps students build future-oriented capabilities – teach for sustainability, not just about it.
  • Co-creating education experiences with like-minded organisations generates mutual value – turn ideas into impact through partnerships.
  • Authentic, meaningful engagement with real-world complexity and sustainability challenges is scalable – design for action.

Impacts & Benefits

  • Reached more than 9,000 undergraduate students since 2022, with enrolments projected to reach around 6,000 students annually from 2026.
  • Embedded transdisciplinary learning across all undergraduate degrees, reaching students from more than 170 programs and 100+ disciplines.
  • Connected students with 58 partner organisations, including government agencies, corporations, NGOs, SMEs and startups.
  • Generated more than 1,800 student proposals, providing partners with fresh perspectives on sustainability, social impact and future-focused challenges.
  • Achieved international recognition, winning Gold in the Power of Partnerships category at the 2025 QS Reimagine Education Awards.

 

Leadership & Engagement

  • Created a whole-of-university model, making real-world, partner-led transdisciplinary learning a core part of every undergraduate student’s experience.
  • Built a scalable partnership approach, with organisations committing to sustained three-year engagement and co-designed challenge spaces.
  • Enabled authentic student–partner interaction at scale, with subjects enrolling 300–600 students working in transdisciplinary teams on live challenges.
  • Mainstreamed sustainability capability development, ensuring all students, not only self-selecting cohorts, engage with complex environmental and social issues.
  • Supported curriculum innovation across UTS, helping break down disciplinary silos and strengthen collaboration between faculties, partners and professional areas.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Prepared graduates for complex sustainability challenges, building capability in systems thinking, collaboration, adaptability, innovation and communication across difference.
  • Created value for partner organisations, with student insights influencing strategies, community planning, business operations and stakeholder engagement.
  • Expanded students’ career pathways, helping them connect their disciplinary expertise with broader social, environmental and public impact roles.
  • Demonstrated a transferable model for higher education, attracting national and international interest from institutions exploring transdisciplinary curriculum reform.
  • Supported action beyond the classroom, with student work informing public events, competitions and local government decision-making.

Supported by

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Category finalists