CDEV3500/ CDEV6500 Future Leader Lab
Collaborate with students from various disciplines to tackle UN Sustainable Development Goals. Apply now for Term 1 2025.
Applications for Term 1 2025 are now open
Future Leader Lab is a leadership development course where students build their leadership skills through learning how technology, innovation and entrepreneurship interact with the UN鈥檚 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDG 11 鈥 Sustainable Cities and Communities. It is offered as an undergraduate curriculum course via CDEV3500 and as a postgraduate course via CDEV6500.
The course aims to address today鈥檚 challenges in making our cities and communities sustainable through developing and applying innovative and entrepreneurial approaches to new knowledge in circular economies, clean energy, and renewable transport. A fourth learning theme is digital literacy and the role of technology in supporting innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. Students will have the opportunity to learn about personal and organisational leadership and how these might lead to change in the future, and they will be empowered as future leaders for change in the community, government and industry sectors, by addressing contemporary issues through the lens of circular economies, clean energy, renewable transport and immersive technology solutions.
Course details
- Involves problem-based learning (PBL) whereby students work in interdisciplinary teams (though are assessed individually) to consider how individual and organisational (community, government, and industry) leadership can use technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to solve challenging, real-world problems for sustainable cities and communities. New knowledge themes include circular economies, clean energy, and sustainable transport while digital literacy will be developed through engaging with immersive technologies.
- Students will learn about theories and applications of leadership, undertake a field trip to see a circular economy in action, and explore immersive technology solutions that contribute to sustainable cities and sustainable transport.
- Students will also explore the economic drivers for innovation and design solutions for recycling and clean energy.
- The course culminates with students pitching a leadership solution to a complex sustainable cities/communities problem.
- This course is 6 UOC as a general education/free elective course.
Eligiblity
CDEV3500
You are eligible to apply if you:
- are an undergraduate student with good academic standing
- have 6 UOC available in your degree, for undergraduates:聽
- as a general education (available to all faculties); or free elective for some degrees; or as BCom Final Year Synthesis course (麻豆社madou Business School)
- have completed 30 UOC by course commencement - Term 1 2025.
CDEV6500
You are eligible to apply if you:
- are a postgraduate student at 麻豆社madou with good academic standing
- can be taken as a free elective in some postgraduate degrees.
Enquire with the Nucleus to check your eligibility:聽
Social impact
More聽and more customers are prioritising a business' commitment to better their community. With this course聽you will focus on developing skills in leadership by addressing sustainable development goals that will benefit businesses by:
- building trust with the community
- keeping employers engaged
- attracting loyal customers
- creating meaningful change
- ensuring sustainability聽
- telling a story people care about.
Enrolment
To enable your participation in CDEV3500/CDEV6500 in Term 1 2025, students should ensure that enrolment in this course fits within your degree and follow the 麻豆社madou requirement which allows a maximum of two other courses during Term 1 2025.
Please note CDEV3500 and CDEV6500 are not self-enrolled:
- students need to submit an application via MS Forms
- once successful, students will be enrolled by the WIL Central Team.
Applications for Term 1 2025 close at 11.59pm, Sunday 3 November 2024.
Students share their experience
Leopold
鈥淚 can absolutely say that CDEV6500 Future Leader Lab was a rich and immersive learning experience that significantly enhanced my understanding of leadership paradigms and their applications in complex, real-world contexts.聽
"A particular strength of the course was its in-depth examination of the Circular Economy, which not only deepened my knowledge of this topic but also revealed the potential for innovative solutions to emerge from reframing traditional problems.聽
"I highly recommend the Future Leader Lab course to postgraduate students and professionals seeking an engaging learning experience.鈥
- Leopold, Master in Management and Technology
Lily
鈥淚 liked the way CDEV3500 Future Leader Lab was framed across different sectors and contexts to provide a holistic overview of the application of sustainable practices in the real world. I met a range of students, staff, and visitors from around the world, which helped me to challenge my own and others鈥 understanding of a sustainable future.
鈥淭he course opened my eyes to the technology that 麻豆社madou is working on with other developers. The visit to the Nowra Recycling Centre and 麻豆社madou Smart Hub demonstrated the impact that the university and local actors are having towards creating a more sustainable future in recycled building materials. Discussions with leaders at Sydney鈥檚 KPMG offices provided insight into what global corporations are trying to do in assisting local, national, and international sustainable initiatives.鈥
-听Lily,聽Bachelor of聽Arts and Social Sciences
Natthanan
鈥淚n terms of the theoretical aspect and knowledge that we learned in class, Future Leader Lab content was in-depth and will be very beneficial in both my future academic and professional careers. I had a great time with my peers, and surprisingly, the fact that everyone comes from a different background adds diversity and variety to each conversation, giving us different perspectives to work on when working on the project.
"I also enjoyed that we got to hear from different aspects and perspectives, such as corporate, non-government, and governmental backgrounds, to get a grasp of the whole context around sustainability.鈥
-听Natthanan,聽Bachelor of Commerce
Mazaya
"Future Leader Lab is for anyone who鈥檚 ready to be challenged and open to exploring ideas you might not have even heard of before. Though we鈥檝e all probably heard of sustainability, in this course, you鈥檒l learn exactly why it鈥檚 so important, its practical applications, and what it means to live on a planet with finite resources.
"Everything I鈥檝e learned has made the future I want so much clearer. Beyond the course content, the teachers were fantastic鈥攕o passionate in a way that invigorates you鈥攁nd every day I was introduced to something new. You get to be really hands-on with your learning, meet a variety of experts in different fields, and grow alongside a cohort of students from diverse backgrounds. I鈥檝e truly never enjoyed a course this much, and I couldn鈥檛 recommend it more."
-听Mazaya,聽Bachelor of聽Sociology