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Industry and community projects
- Overview
- 3000 level - types of project units
- 3000 level - eligibility and how to enrol
- 3000 level - projects and partners
- 4000 level - projects and how to enrol
3000 level - projects and partners
The following projects are 3000 level units. If you’re studying in a Bachelor of Advanced Studies, see information on our 4000 level projects.
Because industry and community projects are run in collaboration with partners outside of the University, project partners and topics are subject to change prior to the start of teaching.
If you have any questions about the projects, you can email pvceducation.enquiries@sydney.edu.au or the project supervisor listed in each project.
Availability of projects
Places in each project are limited so we encourage you to register early in Sydney Student to avoid missing out.
You will only see projects that are available for your enrolled shell unit and still have places available. Projects will not be visible if they are at capacity. If you can’t see a project when you register, you will need to select a different project that meets your major or course requirements.
Project availability is subject to change.
Intensives
Intensives are full-time equivalent offerings, and the exact timing of each day is outlined in the intensive timetable below. Students are expected to attend the scheduled class times for the relevant session.
If you have any questions, contact pvceducation.enquiries@sydney.edu.au.
- January - February intensives take place over four weeks from 18 January - 14 February 2027.
- June - July intensives take place over four weeks from 28 June - 25 July 2027.
Find out how to enrol in an ICPU.
Timetable
January - February intensive projects take place over 4 weeks from 18 January - 14 February 2027.
There will only be one class per project. Please consider the project timetable before registering for a project in Sydney Student and make sure that you are available for the allocated class times. The project timetable below is an indication of the time you will need to be available for scheduled classes and independent groupwork. The specific class-times will vary and be advertised when the canvas site is published.
Projects will be delivered face-to-face on campus and have a 90% attendance requirement.
It will take 7-9 days for your personal timetable to reflect your project registration.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 2 | 10 am – 1 pm | Public Holiday (no classes) | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 3 | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | Independent study day (no classes) | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 4 | No classes | ||||
Please note, the above hours include scheduled class times as well as additional hours where students are expected to be available to work independently with their teams.
Students are expected to contribute a total of 120 – 150 hours of effort towards the intensive unit which includes 39 hours of scheduled classes plus an additional 81 – 111 hours (20 - 27 hours per week) outside of class times, including significant independent groupwork as indicated.
Timetable
June - July intensive projects take place over 4 weeks from 28 June - 25 July 2027.
Please consider the project timetable before registering for a project and make sure that you are available for the allocated class times as there is a 90% attendance requirement.
All projects are delivered face-to-face on campus unless otherwise stated; please check project descriptions for details.
It will take 7–9 days for your personal timetable to reflect your project registration.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 2 | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | Independent study day (no classes) | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 3 | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm | Independent study day (no classes) | 10 am – 1 pm | 10 am – 1 pm |
| Week 4 | No classes | ||||
Students are expected to contribute a total of 120–150 hours of effort towards the intensive unit, which includes 39 hours of scheduled classes plus an additional 81–111 hours (20–27 hours per week) outside of class times. This will include group meetings scheduled outside class hours and independent research.
Semester-long projects
Semester 1 projects will commence 22 February 2027. Semester 2 projects will commence 2 August 2027.
Students are expected to attend scheduled class times for 3 hours per week.
2027 semester-long projects will be delivered face-to-face on campus and have a 90% attendance requirement.
It will take 7 to 9 days for your personal timetable to reflect your project registration.
If you have any questions, please contact pvceducation.enquiries@sydney.edu.au.
Find out how to enrol in an ICPU.
Timetable
| Industry partner and project | Timetable |
|---|---|
| Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Synroc: Positioning Australia as a Global Leader in Nuclear Waste Stewardship | Friday 9 am – 12 pm |
| Bridge Housing Enabling Social Housing Within Purpose-Built Mixed Tenure Communities | Tuesday 2 – 5 pm |
| BUPA Personalising Health and Care in the Digital Era | Friday 10 am – 1 pm |
| Chau Chak Wing Museum A Museum for All: Rethinking Access and Participation | Monday 12 – 3 pm |
| City of Sydney Designing Inclusive Innovation Precincts in Tech Central: Urban Mobility and Lived Experience With International Students as a Case Study | Tuesday 9 am – 12 pm |
| Elizabeth Broderick and Co Shifting the Story: Narratives on Gender Equality in a Contested Moment | Tuesday 9 am – 12 pm |
| Ernst and Young Australia and The University of Sydney Designing Connected Campuses for Belonging in a Hybrid World | Wednesday 12 – 3 pm |
| Insurance Council of Australia Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts of Disasters to Strengthen the Case for Climate Resilience in Australia | Monday 2 – 5 pm |
| Liverpool City Council Towards LIV2050: Building Connected and Vibrant Communities in Western Sydney | Wednesday 10 am – 1 pm |
| Microsoft and The University of Sydney Reimagining Higher Education for a World with AI | Thursday 10 am – 1 pm |
| NSW Department of Communities and Justice Decision-Making in Complex Interdisciplinary Human Service Systems | Friday 9 am – 12 pm |
| NSW Department of Education Reimagining Evaluative Practice in NSW Secondary Education to Strengthen Curriculum Implementation and Improved Student Outcomes | Wednesday 9 am – 12 pm |
| NSW Statewide Health Literacy Hub Improving Communication Systems for Equitable Patient Experience in NSW Hospitals | Monday 9 am – 12 pm |
| Paratus Clinical Beyond Recruitment: Reimagining Clinical Trial Participant Experience | Tuesday 2 – 5 pm |
| Randstad Making the Impossible Possible: Digital Transformation for an Innovative Recruitment Process | Tuesday 12 – 3 pm |
| The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use Adolescent Health: Big Problem, Huge Opportunity | Friday 9 am – 12 pm |
| UAP The Role of Creativity in Contemporary City-Making | Thursday 10 am – 1 pm |
| Westpac Banking Corporation Reimagining Banking with Responsible, Human-Centred AI | Monday 10 am – 1 pm |
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation – Synroc: Positioning Australia as a Global Leader in Nuclear Waste Stewardship
Interest in nuclear waste management has grown as the pursuit for ‘clean energy’ alternatives intensifies in the context of a growing global climate crisis. This debate highlights the criticality of environmental stewardship – emphasising trusted, traceable, and governable lifecycle resource management – to ensure responsible technological innovation. ANSTO Synroc® (Synroc) technology is more than a breakthrough in radioactive waste immobilisation. It is a strategic national asset with the potential to position Australia as a leader in global nuclear stewardship and trust infrastructure. Developed by ANSTO, Synroc offers a durable, nature-inspired solution capable of safely containing intermediate and high-level waste over geological timescales. In this project, interdisciplinary teams are asked to consider how they would take Synroc to market and at what scale. This should include assessment of global drivers and blockers for advanced waste immobilisation, including those relating to community and social license, policy, liability structures, and emerging nuclear programs that shape demand. Lessons from the existing landscape of waste management approaches and providers should also be leveraged. Teams will draw on evidence-based insights to propose a recommended pathway for how ANSTO and Australia should deploy Synroc internationally. A pathway which delivers national benefit, supports responsible nuclear activity, and can be credibly governed and grown over the long term.
Timetable: Friday 9 am – 12 pm
Bridge Housing – Enabling Social Housing Within Purpose-Built Mixed Tenure Communities
This project may involve discussions and sensitive content related to safe housing for vulnerable communities, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
Bridge Housing is a community housing provider and charity managing close to 3,800 properties across Greater Sydney, supporting more than 5,700 residents across diverse communities. As the organisation enters a period of significant growth, new developments are increasingly designed as mixed tenure communities, bringing together social housing tenants, affordable renters, market renters, and owner occupiers. While this model creates opportunities for more inclusive and diverse neighbourhoods, it also introduces new challenges around how residents are allocated and how communities function over time. This project invites interdisciplinary student teams to explore how allocation strategies can be used more intentionally to support safe, cohesive and thriving mixed tenure communities. The challenge is to think beyond vacancy management and consider how available policy levers, data insights, and partnership approaches can shape long term community outcomes. What does an “optimal” allocation approach look like when balancing regulatory requirements, commercial pressures, and community wellbeing? And how can allocation strategies be used proactively to support positive interactions and integration across different tenure types? Students will develop practical, evidence-based approaches that help Bridge Housing strengthen community cohesion, reduce risk, and support residents across all tenure types to live well together.
Timetable: Tuesday 2 – 5 pm
BUPA – Personalising Health and Care in the Digital Era
Bupa is a global health organisation committed to helping people live longer, healthier, and happier lives. To achieve this, Bupa provides a wide range of health and care services, including aged care and retirement living, dental and optical services, health insurance, and community wellbeing initiatives. To strengthen its impact, Bupa is undergoing a major transformation aimed at becoming the world’s most customer-centric healthcare organisation. This strategy focuses on: (1) Expanding global reach by significantly increasing customer numbers; (2) Enhancing customer experience through seamless, personalised interactions, and (3) Building tailored models of care powered by data and digital technologies. Central to this vision is the creation of personalised health journeys that go beyond traditional insurance and transactional care. These journeys will support prevention, early intervention, chronic condition management, wellbeing, and long-term health outcomes, which adapts to individual needs, preferences, and life stages. As part of this initiative, interdisciplinary teams are challenged to answer: How might Bupa design and deliver personalised health journeys that improve customer experience, build trust, and deliver better health outcomes? Teams are invited to propose bold, innovative solutions that combine evidence-based insights with creativity, enabling personalisation at every stage of the customer’s health and care journey.
Timetable: Friday 10 am – 1pm
Chau Chak Wing Museum – A Museum for All: Rethinking Access and Participation
The Chau Chak Wing Museum (CCWM) is a free public Museum located within the University of Sydney’s Camperdown campus. The Museum brings together galleries, exhibitions and learning spaces, showcasing a large and diverse collection. One of CCWM’s three main pillars is 'access'. Staff across education, public programs, collections, curatorial, memberships and partnerships work to ensure activities are available, relevant and meaningful for all audiences, and showcase multiple perspectives. CCWM’s strengths include award-winning learning programs, ongoing and temporary exhibitions, artist and community partnerships, collection-care, digitisation, podcasts, and pop-up Museum events in Western Sydney. However, genuine access – what this means and how it affects diverse communities – remains an ongoing challenge. Barriers include CCWM’s University and inner-Sydney location, accessibility requirements and appeal to audiences beyond the University. There are strong aspirations for improved reach, digital resources and literacy, and a fuller representation of diverse groups, both local and further afield. Overcoming barriers that are social, cultural and physical – both to the Museum and the University campus – requires new ideas and a rethinking of what genuine access means. CCWM welcomes solutions that support greater access and participation through belonging strategies, digital access, mutually beneficial membership and partnership programs, audience and community-informed activities, University engagement, and fresh perspectives on who the CCWM belongs to and how associated engagement takes place.
Timetable: Monday 12 – 3 pm
City of Sydney – Designing Inclusive Innovation Precincts in Tech Central: Urban Mobility and Lived Experience With International Students as a Case Study
Tech Central is one of Sydney’s key innovation precincts, bringing together universities, startups, cultural organisations, and diverse communities. As the precinct continues to expand, the City of Sydney is seeking to better understand how people experience Tech Central, how they move through it, access services, use public spaces, and engage in its cultural and innovation activities. International students are one of the largest user groups in the precinct and provide a valuable lens for examining broader issues of mobility, access, wellbeing, and inclusion. Their experiences highlight how urban systems, including transport, public space, services, cultural environments, and employment pathways, shape people’s sense of connection and opportunity. In this project, you will explore Tech Central as a complex urban system. Using international students as a key case study, you will analyse how different groups navigate the precinct and identify factors that support or limit inclusion and engagement. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, policy insights, and evidence based analysis, you will identify key barriers and opportunities shaping inclusion. Your team will apply a human-centred approach to propose practical interventions that support a more inclusive and connected innovation district. Your insights will contribute to policy discussions with the City of Sydney on inclusion and wellbeing.
Timetable: Tuesday 9 am – 12 pm
Elizabeth Broderick and Co – Shifting the Story: Narratives on Gender Equality in a Contested Moment
This project may involve discussions and sensitive content related to gender equality, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
Elizabeth Broderick & Co is a specialist consultancy focussed on advancing gender equality across workplaces and society. Gender equality has undergone significant shifts in recent years. Movements such as #MeToo, increased visibility of women’s leadership and sport, and greater attention to care, pay equity and inclusion have reshaped conversations. Yet this progress is unfolding alongside growing contestation. Anti-feminist backlash, fragmented evidence, and influencer driven digital cultures are reshaping how narratives about gender are formed and shared, including through online spaces such as the so-called ‘manosphere’. In Australia, research highlights a complex landscape where support for equality coexists with perceptions that it has already been achieved, alongside growing uncertainty, particularly among men and boys, about changing expectations. It also identifies a large group of people who are supportive but passively engaged, and whose views can shift depending on how issues are framed. This project invites interdisciplinary teams to explore how gender equality narratives can be shifted in this contested environment. What are effective ways to engage audiences whose views are still forming? What narratives resonate across different groups, and why? How can backlash, such as the manosphere, be addressed? Students will develop actionable strategies to shift narratives in ways that are responsive to contemporary social dynamics.
Timetable: Tuesday 9 am – 12 pm
Ernst and Young Australia and The University of Sydney – Designing Connected Campuses for Belonging in a Hybrid World
Universities today operate across both physical campuses and digital ecosystems. As learning becomes more hybrid, many students report feeling disconnected—engaging with lectures, peers, services, and support through fragmented platforms that are rarely designed to foster a sense of belonging. While on campus experiences remain critical for forming friendships, networks, and identity, much of students’ university life now unfolds online. When these digital experiences feel transactional or isolating, students may begin to question whether they truly belong, particularly during key transition moments such as commencing university, changing courses, or returning after disruption. This project challenges students to explore how universities can integrate digital and physical environments to create meaningful, inclusive, and cohesive campus experiences. Students will examine how design, technology, pedagogy, and community practices can work together to reinforce connection, wellbeing, and belonging—not as an add on, but as a core part of the university experience. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives, the project invites innovative thinking about how digital platforms can complement physical spaces, strengthen relationships with peers and staff, and support students to feel connected to the institution now and into the future. Outcomes will consider scalable, future focused solutions that enhance student experience, equity, and engagement across the university community.
Timetable: Wednesday 12 – 3 pm
Insurance Council of Australia – Quantifying Psychosocial Impacts of Disasters to Strengthen the Case for Climate Resilience in Australia
This project may involve discussions and sensitive content related to disasters and climate change and associated psychosocial impacts, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
As disasters driven by climate change become more frequent and severe, their human toll is growing—but remains poorly understood. While damage to buildings and infrastructure is easily measured, the psychosocial costs to individuals and communities are often invisible: disrupted lives, trauma, lost livelihoods, and long-term impacts on health, wellbeing, and opportunity. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), the peak representative body for the general insurance industry, is calling for new ways to identify, define, and quantify these non-material losses—especially where they are worsened by pre-existing vulnerabilities such as age, disability, language barriers, mental health, family violence, or socioeconomic disadvantage. In this project, interdisciplinary student teams will work with ICA to explore how insurers and policymakers can better capture the real human cost of disaster. By understanding these impacts, the industry can not only improve its disaster response but also strengthen its case for national investment in climate adaptation and resilience. How can these impacts be measured, modelled, or mapped to influence public policy, insurance reform, or future-focused risk education? What metrics or case studies could help integrate social wellbeing into disaster frameworks? This is an opportunity to contribute to a vital national conversation—where climate resilience isn’t just about rebuilding structures but restoring lives.
Timetable: Monday 2 – 5 pm
Liverpool City Council – Towards LIV2050: Building Connected and Vibrant Communities in Western Sydney
Liverpool City Council is one of the largest and most multicultural Local Government Areas (LGAs) in metropolitan Sydney. It encompasses a total land area of 306 square kilometres and 42 suburbs, with a population of approximately 250 000 and a community drawn from over 140 countries. It is also one of the fastest-growing regions in Sydney, with its population projected to grow to over 350 000 residents by 2046. Liverpool City Council is committed to ensuring that Western Sydney's growth-trajectory is maintained alongside creating a connected, vibrant and livable community. To achieve this goal, it is refreshing its 2050 strategic plan - ‘LIV2050’ - to enable an even more ambitious vision for the future. This will include seeking investment in critical infrastructure to better support multicultural communities with facilities that enable connection. It also entails further investment in building a thriving nighttime economy. In this project, interdisciplinary teams are invited to ground themselves in the unique (South) Western Sydney landscape, with attention to local community values and aspirations. Drawing on evidence-based research, local and global case studies, demographic trends and community insights, interdisciplinary teams are invited to identify emerging opportunities, challenges and priority areas which may help Liverpool City Council inform future investment decisions, strengthen funding opportunities, and support long-term strategic planning under LIV2050.
Timetable: Wednesday 10 am – 1 pm
Microsoft and The University of Sydney – Reimagining Higher Education for a World with AI
Higher education was built for a world where knowledge was scarce, and expertise developed slowly. Today, both assumptions are being challenged. As AI accelerates change and reshapes work, graduates need more than foundational knowledge. They also need durable skills, strong habits of thinking, and the dispositions to adapt, judge wisely, and keep learning. This project invites students to explore how higher education might evolve to prepare graduates more effectively for their future. Working in interdisciplinary teams and with our partners, students are invited to develop innovative proposals for future-ready learning in an AI-enabled world. These proposals should consider questions such as: How might curricula, teaching, and assessment be redesigned to emphasise durable skills when AI can generate answers but cannot replace curiosity, ethical reasoning, or purpose? How can universities balance enduring human capabilities with essential AI competencies? And which AI competencies matter most, and how can they be embedded across curricula in ways that help students judge when to use AI and how to use AI well? Teams are encouraged to propose bold, creative, and evidence-informed solutions that reflect their distinctive perspectives on what will best support the next generation of students.
Timetable: Thursday 10 am – 1 pm
NSW Department of Communities and Justice – Decision-Making in Complex Interdisciplinary Human Service Systems
This project involves discussions and sensitive content related to child protection, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
In this scenario-based learning experience, students will consider how critical decision-making in human services sector is undertaken. Students will have an opportunity to develop and practice critical thinking and problem solving, in the complex work of child protection. This is a context where the responsibility for decision-making often falls on junior practitioners navigating interdisciplinary and inter-agency contexts for the first time (e.g. spanning social work, psychology, education, health, occupational therapy, law enforcement, criminal justice and more). The importance of effective systems of child protection cannot be overstated - children who are abused and neglected face various lifelong challenges including poor schooling outcomes, substance use, mental illness, justice involvement and poor employment outcomes. Numerous reviews highlight the many challenges facing child protection systems and the people who work in the sector, including resource constraints, appropriateness of decision-making, and ensuring outcomes that serve the best interests of the child. Students will learn the language, professional practice, models and concepts employed by different disciplines responding to child protection through exploration of multiple individual scenarios related to child protection. These skills will prepare students for future inter-disciplinary and inter-agency work in diverse human service contexts. The unit culminates in a novel scenario-based simulation delivered at the NSW Police Headquarters in Parramatta – the first of its kind for university students.
Following registration in this project, students are required to complete an Expression of interest. Successful applicants will be notified weekly, and unsuccessful applicants will be offered alternative projects. Registration for this project closes on Sunday 2nd August.
Timetable: Friday 9 am – 12 pm
NSW Department of Education – Reimagining Evaluative Practice in NSW Secondary Education to Strengthen Curriculum Implementation and Improved Student Outcomes
NSW is embarking on the most ambitious reform of Kindergarten to Year 12 (K-12) curriculum in three decades. This is designed to enable the achievement of key priorities such as decluttering the curriculum to ensure teachers have more time to teach; strengthening post-school pathways for Year 12 students and building new curriculum that targets core knowledge and skills gaps. Yet the success of these reforms relies on teacher understanding of how to implement the curriculum with fidelity, as well as teacher capacity to measure student learning experiences responsively, ensuring that the needs of diverse students are met. Reflective practice – oftentimes seen as compliance driven – is seen as essential to this process. In this project, interdisciplinary teams are invited to explore key systemic, cultural, and practical considerations for reflective practice and evaluation interventions, at the level of tools, practices, or systems. They may focus their thinking on specific learning stages, subject areas, school environments and with consideration of the rich diversity of NSW highschoolers. In this project, students are asked to deliver actionable insights for how the NSW DoE can better resource and support secondary teachers and their leaders to reimagine evaluative practice for impactful curriculum reform and implementation.
Timetable: Wednesday 9 am – 12 pm
NSW Statewide Health Literacy Hub - Improving Communication Systems for Equitable Patient Experience in NSW Hospitals
This project could involve discussions and sensitive content related to patient health and wellbeing in hospital settings, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
The NSW Statewide Health Literacy Hub works across NSW’s health system to support clear communication between hospitals and patients and to promote equitable access to health information. The Bureau of Health Information (BHI) independently monitors and reports on the performance of public hospitals, including patient experiences and communication outcomes. Together, these agencies provide a rich foundation of insights into hospital encounters, communication pathways, and patient outcomes across diverse demographic groups and hospital contexts. Despite ongoing efforts to improve accessibility, public hospital systems remain complex and can create barriers in emergency departments, surgical admissions, discharge processes, signage, digital platforms, and navigation systems. Patients from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal communities (including higher populations in Western Sydney), people with disability, older adults, carers, and those from lower-socioeconomic households often face disproportionate communication demands. In this project, interdisciplinary student teams will analyse hospital communication materials, BHI survey findings, forms, signage, and websites to identify system bottlenecks, accessibility gaps, and equity challenges. Rather than expecting patients to increase their health literacy, the project focuses on reimagining hospital communication systems to be clearer, more intuitive, and equitable. Students are encouraged to develop actionable, evidence-informed solutions, including communication audits, redesigns of signage or forms, digital tools, or policy recommendations aimed at improving patient experience.
Timetable: Monday 9 am – 12 pm
Paratus Clinical – Beyond Recruitment: Reimagining Clinical Trial Participant Experience
This project is not available for registration by students who have previously completed the project ‘Rethinking Communication Strategies for Recruitment in Clinical Studies’.
Paratus Clinical is an Australian-owned clinical trials organisation headquartered in Sydney, with a growing network of research-dedicated sites and partner clinics across Victoria, Western Australia, and New Zealand. With a vision to become Australia’s preferred provider for outpatient clinical trials, Paratus operates six purpose-built clinics located in population-dense areas with strong access to transport and healthcare services. Each site is equipped with advanced medical and data infrastructure, including laboratory-grade storage, diagnostic equipment, and state-of-the-art database systems, ensuring high-quality, compliant trial delivery. This interdisciplinary project focuses on one of the most critical challenges in clinical research: participant recruitment, engagement and retention. Moving beyond transactional recruitment models, the project explores how patient-centred engagement strategies can enhance participant experience and improve study completion rates. Using the Paratus Exclusives VIP participant program as a case study, students will investigate behavioural drivers behind trial participation, identify key drop-off points in the participant journey, and explore factors influencing trust, motivation and ongoing engagement. Students will map the end-to-end participant experience, analyse high-risk timepoints for attrition, and propose practical, ethically grounded interventions to improve communication, site interactions, and overall participant satisfaction. The project will benefit from multiple disciplinary perspectives such as health sciences, behavioural psychology, data analysis, and design thinking to develop innovative, patient-centred solutions for clinical trial delivery.
Timetable: Tuesday 2 – 5 pm
Randstad – Making the Impossible Possible: Digital Transformation for an Innovative Recruitment Process
This project is not available for registration by students who have previously completed the project ‘The use and impact of Generative AI in the Recruitment process’.
Randstad Australia is inviting interdisciplinary student teams to explore how AI, digital technologies, and innovative service design can strengthen its Digital Marketplace (DMP) and enhance its position as a trusted partner for both clients and candidates. The project focuses on improving how users experience the platform across key touchpoints, from attraction and onboarding to engagement, matching, and retention. Teams will investigate current customer journeys to identify friction points, drop-off moments, and opportunities to improve satisfaction, efficiency, and platform performance. Depending on the team’s focus, projects may examine either business-to-business or business-to-customer interactions. Students are encouraged to consider how AI-enabled solutions, communication strategies, and process redesign can create more personalised, seamless, and scalable experiences. The DMP plays an important role in Randstad’s digital-first strategy by connecting clients with talent through a flexible, self-service platform. As competition for talent intensifies and user expectations continue to evolve, Randstad seeks practical ideas that combine technology with human-centred service. The outcome of the project will be a set of actionable recommendations, which may include strategic proposals, experience improvements, or prototype concepts that support measurable impact, stronger engagement, and sustainable growth for Randstad Australia’s DMP.
Timetable: Tuesday 12 – 3 pm
The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use – Adolescent Health: Big Problem, Huge Opportunity
This project involves discussions and sensitive content related to adolescent health and wellbeing, which may be triggering for some participants. If you feel uncomfortable engaging with these themes, we encourage you to consider registering for an alternative project.
The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use is a multidisciplinary research centre at The University of Sydney. It is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people affected by co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, which are currently the leading global causes of burden and disease in young people. While adolescence is a critical period in the lifespan where lifelong health habits are formed, young people report feeling isolated, lonely and disconnected. Rates of mental health disorders have risen dramatically, and physical activity and nutrition remain suboptimal. New challenges also abound. Today’s adolescents are the first human cohort to live their full lives under the shadow of climate change. Increasing digitalisation and global commercialisation has resulted in unprecedented access and exposure to harmful products (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages, ultra processed food, tobacco and e-cigarettes), while rapid acceleration of digital technologies has led to excessive screen time and reliance on digital communication. In the face of these complex challenges, there are myriad opportunities to make a difference, not least by engaging young people themselves in the co-design of impactful preventative measures and interventions. In this project, interdisciplinary teams are invited to bring fresh perspectives and deliver innovative solutions to help improve adolescent health and wellbeing.
Timetable: Friday 9 am – 12 pm
UAP – The Role of Creativity in Contemporary City-Making
UAP (Urban Art Projects) is a global leader in the curation, design, fabrication, installation, and management of major public art commissions. For more than three decades, their teams have delivered culturally significant projects for governments, local councils, institutions, and private landowners around the world. In recent years, demands on Australia’s built environment have intensified, driven by the need for higher-density and affordable housing, as well as more responsive civic infrastructure. New transport corridors and precincts are producing neighbourhoods at pace, alongside efforts to regenerate existing urban spaces. Public art is increasingly embedded into these developments, championed by a variety of Government and Council placemaking frameworks, masterplans, and cultural protocols guiding First Nations and non-Indigenous commissioning. Yet the role of public art in emerging Australian neighbourhoods, how that role is measured and who holds influence and authority, are questions at the core of its impact and relevance for audiences and stakeholders, both in the short and longer term. What values and futures are being designed into public spaces, and how does governance, funding, cultural authority and partnership inform and shift decision-making? This project invites interdisciplinary student teams to investigate how creative interventions shape, and are shaped by, the places, people and the power structures of changing urban landscapes and propose innovative ideas and recommendations for the future.
Timetable: Thursday 10 am – 1 pm
Westpac Banking Corporation – Reimagining Banking with Responsible, Human-Centred AI
Artificial Intelligence is transforming financial services, with Gen-AI and agentic systems enabling hyper-personalisation, intelligent automation, and autonomous decision-making. Banks use these technologies to enhance customer engagement, strengthen security, and streamline operations. For Westpac, AI is an opportunity—to take action now for a better future—and reinforce its ambition to be customers’ number one bank and trusted partner. This comes amid rising expectations, regulatory scrutiny, and competition from fintechs/global tech firms, requiring a balance of innovation, trust, and ethics. This ICPU invites students to work in interdisciplinary teams to step into the bank’s shoes and design AI-enabled solutions that delight customers and strengthen Westpac’s reputation as a safe, innovative leader. Solutions should go beyond chatbots or budgeting tools to apply Machine Learning, Gen-AI, or agentic AI in ways that create meaningful experiences or improve operations. Proposals should address customer or business needs, align with Westpac’s priorities, and demonstrate ethical AI, data privacy, and transparency. Feasibility and responsible implementation are essential. Students could also demonstrate how current and emerging technologies enable their idea, outline implementation pathways, and consider workforce and change impacts. Solutions should highlight safe, responsible, human-centred AI that strengthens customer relationships, community trust, and Westpac’s leadership in banking’s future.
Timetable: Monday 10 am – 1 pm
Projects will be listed here once available.