Swinburne launches Victorian-first Bachelor of Applied Innovation

In the future, creativity, empathy and strategic thinking will become more valued than ever before. Swinburne’s Bachelor of Applied Innovation allows students to take their idea from seed to success and work on live briefs with clients like previous partners CSIRO, Panasonic, St Vincent and ANZ to develop commercial solutions.
In summary
- Swinburne’s Bachelor of Applied Innovation is the first degree of its kind in Victoria
- Students in the degree will learn through innovation sprints, hackathons, design challenges and industry projects
- The double degree can be paired with 18 of Swinburne’s most in-demand courses and teaches students the skills that will never be replaced by machines
Innovation sprints, hackathons, design challenges and industry projects are all part of Swinburne’s Bachelor of Applied Innovation, the first degree of its kind in Victoria.
The double degree can be paired with 18 of Swinburne’s most in-demand courses and teaches students the skills that will never be replaced by machines – empathy, creativity and critical and systems thinking.
Students will learn how to take their ideas from seed to success working on live briefs with clients like previous partners CSIRO, Panasonic, St Vincent’s and ANZ to develop solutions for commercialisation. Innovation Manager at South East Water and Bachelor of Applied Innovation industry adviser, Joel Segal says the skills taught by the degree give its graduates a competitive advantage.
“It takes students beyond the ‘technical’ skills of a discipline such as business or engineering, adding a complementary skillset necessary to think and act as an innovator,” said Mr Segal.
The degree that takes creativity for good to the nth degree
Creativity for public good is the driving force behind the degree. Students will get to work on projects that create innovation, technologies and ideas that improve people’s lives.
Bachelor of Applied Innovation course director Aaron Down is a designer and strategist who delivers Design Factory Melbourne’s global academic programs with the Centre for Design Research at Stanford University, the SUGAR Network for Global Innovation and IdeaSquare at CERN. He says that for university students to create real-world impacts, an interdisciplinary approach is essential.
“The Bachelor of Applied Innovation double degree suite will be delivered in the way industry is now working,” says Aaron.
“Real life work settings give students hands-on and practical projects with real people, communities and partners. We are creating a learning environment for meaningful work with real social and commercial impact.”
Deeply immersive projects in the innovation lab
In the course, students will get the opportunity to take on leadership roles in interdisciplinary teams and work collaboratively on real-world projects. Projects are as diverse as they are thrilling, students could find themselves re-imagining learning environments for STEMM, addressing food waste in hospitals or exploring digital experiences and travel.

Aaron says these experiences give students confidence, practical skills and industry connections – all from year one.
“These immersive projects help to give them a leg up as they embark on their future careers,” he says.
Creating a culture for innovation
Students will learn in one of Swinburne’s dedicated innovation and maker spaces: Design Factory Melbourne. Design Factory Melbourne’s Professor Christine Thong says this makes the student experience very similar to working at an innovation lab for an organisation.
“We have a designated space to innovate. We work with local and international partners and industry projects. And we are the only Design Factory in Australia that offers students unique connections to a global network, with over 30 Design Factories around the world, from Helsinki to Japan, to New York,” says Professor Thong.

Life-changing thinking starts here
Swinburne product design engineering and Design Factory Melbourne alum, Rob Mastromanno is the winner of two prestigious Good Design awards and is a senior product manager at Babybee. He benefited from many of the guiding principles of the Bachelor of Applied Innovation.
“Swinburne thrust me into complex, real-world problems. I was forced to consider commercial, social, ethical and sustainability requirements,” says Rob.
The experience gave him a significant confident boost.
“My projects at Design Factory Melbourne empowered me to take on opportunities in industry that were outside of my comfort zone because I had the skills to navigate the gaps in my experience and understanding.”
Rob is now building a team of his own and will be keeping a close eye on the first graduating cohort from the Bachelor of Applied Innovation.
Swinburne’s Bachelor of Applied Innovation double degree suite draws on the guiding principles of the United Nations Sustainable Development Guidelines, which encourage students to be agents of change.
The Bachelor of Applied Innovation double degree commences in Semester 2, 2022 and will be open to current and commencing students.
-
Media Enquiries
Related articles
-
- University
- Social Affairs
In 5 years, this Australian astrophysics lab reached 50% women. Here’s how they did it
Many organisations, from community sporting groups to the United Nations, have set themselves a target of gender parity: ensuring half of staff or members are women. Gender parity is desirable because training and retaining equal halves of a population’s available talent influences an organisation’s growth, problem-solving capacity and future-readiness.
Friday 17 November 2023 -
- Technology
- Science
- Sustainability
Swinburne and CSIRO launch state-of-the-art renewable hydrogen refuelling station
Swinburne University of Technology and CSIRO have launched a state-of-the-art clean hydrogen refuelling station, purpose-built for enabling hydrogen research.
Thursday 23 November 2023 -
- Science
Students start talking for global sustainable changes
Swinburne students from across the world are pitching sustainable scientific ideas to make the globe a better place.
Wednesday 08 November 2023 -
- Science
- Health
What is ‘fried rice syndrome’? A microbiologist explains this type of food poisoning – and how to avoid it
A condition dubbed “fried rice syndrome” has caused some panic online in recent days, after the case of a 20-year-old who died in 2008 was resurfaced on TikTok. “Fried rice syndrome” refers to food poisoning from a bacterium called Bacillus cereus, which becomes a risk when cooked food is left at room temperature for too long.
Monday 30 October 2023 -
- Technology
- Health
- Science
The new non-invasive brain scan techniques giving seizure sufferers a new lease on life
Swinburne University of Technology’s cutting-edge non-invasive investigations for epilepsy are giving seizure sufferers like Stephenie Evans a second chance at a happy and healthy life.
Read more (The new non-invasive brain scan techniques giving seizure sufferers a new lease on life )Monday 16 October 2023