Next Generation Learning & Skills category

Bond University’s “Collaboration for Global Change” is a pioneering subject integrated into the institution’s Core Curriculum and required for all undergraduate students. Designed to foster interdisciplinary thinking and action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this subject uses immersive charrettes (intensive collaborative design workshops), design thinking, Indigenous knowledge systems, and AI-enhanced collaboration to equip students with the tools to address complex global challenges. Through cross-faculty collaboration, students develop practical solutions to sustainability issues, showcasing their work in culminating poster presentations that detail the feasibility and anticipated impact of their ideas, along with clear implementation roadmaps. This initiative sets a new benchmark in embedding sustainability across university-wide curricula.

Student posters on display at Bond’s Sustainability Festival

Impacts and Social Benefits

  • Students engage in real-world sustainability initiatives, including developing an app to support Amazon deforestation efforts and a “bee highway” seed-distribution project.
  • The subject builds graduate skills in collaboration, systems thinking, and civic engagement, increasing employability and real-world problem-solving capacity.
  • Integration of Indigenous philosophical frameworks encourages deeper conceptual understanding of sustainability as relational and community-based, fostering long-term ethical impact.

 

Leadership and Engagement

  • The curriculum was co-developed by Bond’s Transformation CoLab, with input from Indigenous elder on campus, faculty leaders, students, and learning and teaching specialists.
  • More than 800 students per semester complete the subject, engaging with stakeholders and community partners to refine and implement their projects.
  • Dissemination includes conference presentations, professional development, high school outreach, and scholarly contributions on curriculum design, increasing impact beyond Bond.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Student posters and projects are displayed at public events, such as Bond’s Sustainability Festival and Open Days, fostering awareness and dialogue around sustainability.
  • High school leadership students have adopted the charrette model, enabling early development of sustainability problem-solving skills in secondary education.
  • Students influence change beyond the university, engaging local government and business stakeholders on topics like sustainable zoning and community resilience.

 

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Top 3 learnings

  • Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for addressing complex sustainability challenges effectively.
  • Applied projects with student chosen contexts deepen engagement with SDGs beyond theory.
  • Treating students as co-creators builds their agency and real-world impact.

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Next Generation Learning & Skills category

Bond University’s “Collaboration for Global Change” is a pioneering subject integrated into the institution’s Core Curriculum and required for all undergraduate students. Designed to foster interdisciplinary thinking and action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this subject uses immersive charrettes (intensive collaborative design workshops), design thinking, Indigenous knowledge systems, and AI-enhanced collaboration to equip students with the tools to address complex global challenges. Through cross-faculty collaboration, students develop practical solutions to sustainability issues, showcasing their work in culminating poster presentations that detail the feasibility and anticipated impact of their ideas, along with clear implementation roadmaps. This initiative sets a new benchmark in embedding sustainability across university-wide curricula.

Top 3 learnings

  • Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for addressing complex sustainability challenges effectively.
  • Applied projects with student chosen contexts deepen engagement with SDGs beyond theory.
  • Treating students as co-creators builds their agency and real-world impact.

Impacts and Social Benefits

  • Students engage in real-world sustainability initiatives, including developing an app to support Amazon deforestation efforts and a “bee highway” seed-distribution project.
  • The subject builds graduate skills in collaboration, systems thinking, and civic engagement, increasing employability and real-world problem-solving capacity.
  • Integration of Indigenous philosophical frameworks encourages deeper conceptual understanding of sustainability as relational and community-based, fostering long-term ethical impact.

 

Leadership and Engagement

  • The curriculum was co-developed by Bond’s Transformation CoLab, with input from Indigenous elder on campus, faculty leaders, students, and learning and teaching specialists.
  • More than 800 students per semester complete the subject, engaging with stakeholders and community partners to refine and implement their projects.
  • Dissemination includes conference presentations, professional development, high school outreach, and scholarly contributions on curriculum design, increasing impact beyond Bond.

 

Wider Societal Impact

  • Student posters and projects are displayed at public events, such as Bond’s Sustainability Festival and Open Days, fostering awareness and dialogue around sustainability.
  • High school leadership students have adopted the charrette model, enabling early development of sustainability problem-solving skills in secondary education.
  • Students influence change beyond the university, engaging local government and business stakeholders on topics like sustainable zoning and community resilience.

 

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Supported by

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Category finalists