Bureau: Industry Projects
Overview
This unit is designed to deepen students’ understanding of professional design practice while cultivating advanced employability skills. Through an internship hosted by Swinburne University, students will engage in directed, experiential learning within a work-integrated context, applying design knowledge and methods to real-world tasks and projects for diverse clients. Complementary learning activities will further enhance professional capabilities, encouraging students to critically reflect on their industry experience and confidently articulate their emerging professional identity.
Requisites
Pre-requisite
Enrolled in an undergraduate degree from the School of Design and Architecture and meet minimum number of credits points and any other specific pre-requisites for the specific internship opportunity.
Requirements
Students are required to apply for a School of Design and Architecture (SoDA) industry internship by replying to advertised opportunities with any application information requested, such as a portfolio of work and GPA. If accepted for the internship, instructions for how to enrol into this unit code will be provided by the SoDA supervisor or DDD40016 convener.
01-November-2026
30-May-2027
Unit learning outcomes
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
- Independently apply design practice knowledge and methods to tasks within a work integrated learning context
- Effectively and collaboratively participate and contribute to a professional design practice environment
- Prepare design solutions in response to industry briefs that are informed by considerations of intellectual property, ethical practice and emerging technologies
- Critically reflect on one’s design practice and pursue one’s professional purpose
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
| Activity Type | Activity | Total Hours | Number of Weeks | Hours Per Week | Venue Type and Activity Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| On-campus | Class | 24 | 12 weeks | 2 | Learning materials and activities around professional practice and supporting the workplace learning experience. Classroom not centrally timetabled. |
| Specified Activities | Various | 264 | 12 weeks | 22 | Workplace industry experience on campus. |
| Unspecified Activities | Independent Learning | 12 | 12 weeks | 1 | Mentored support for industry projects. |
| Total Hours: | 300 | Total Hours (per week): | 25 | ||
Assessment
| Type | Task | Weighting | ULO's |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progress Evaluation | Individual | 0% | 1,2 |
| Reflection | Individual | 0% | 2,4 |
| Portfolio | Individual | 0% | 1,3,4 |
Content
The content of this unit will vary according to the nature of the individual design projects. Class time will be used for delivery and discussion of key concepts in professional design practice. Studio time will be used for experimentation, consultation, brainstorming and workshops and could include activities such as:
- Client briefing and consultation
- Design management and processes
- Research and design strategy
- Concept and ideation
- Design development
- Prototyping and testing
- Production considerations
Study resources
Reading materials
A list of reading materials and/or required textbooks will be available in the Unit Outline on Canvas.