DYN900 Design Strategy and Leadership

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Understand and articulate the integral role of design in various leadership contexts by being able to analyse and communicate how design thinking, strategies, and practices influence leadership decisions and outcomes.
2. Develop the capability to formulate innovative leadership approaches tailored to complex design challenges by being able to apply these techniques effectively in real-world situations, evaluating their impact and refining them as needed.
3. Create a personal vision of creative confidence, nurturing the ability to harness creativity as a fundamental leadership tool and recognising the significance of creative thinking in shaping strategies, driving innovation, and leading teams towards constructive outcomes.
4. Analyse and differentiate the strengths and limitations of diverse approaches to design-led leadership and evaluate these approaches in the context of leadership in design strategy and decision-making, discerning their applicability in different scenarios.

Content

Learning Approaches

In this unit, you will learn through the following approaches: (i) Lectures will be given by experienced design academics and industry guest lecturers. These active sessions offer you an opportunity to immerse yourself in contemporary leadership issues within the context of strategic design. In these lectures, we amalgamate cutting-edge leadership models with advanced design considerations. These sessions are carefully crafted to stimulate your critical thinking, allowing you to explore how design and leadership intersect. Moreover, you will learn how to apply this knowledge to real-world scenarios. (ii) Tutorials serve as the platform to apply design and leadership techniques directly to your professional practice. These tutorials are problem-centred, crafted to support your development of knowledge and skills for the unit's assessment tasks.

Key Expectations:
To make the most of lectures and tutorials, active participation is essential. This includes attending lectures with an open and inquisitive mind, actively participating in tutorial discussions, and demonstrating a commitment to understanding and critically evaluating design strategy and leadership principles and their real-world impacts. Your willingness to engage with course materials, readings, ask questions, and contribute to discussions is paramount.

The learning approaches within this unit are designed to scaffold your successful completion of the assessment tasks. Regular group activities and discussions in the tutorials will be integral to the unit's learning process. These sessions are designed for students to share their experiences related to the unit's content. Tasks within these activities are structured to build on the insights gained from the discussion and shared-experience sessions, ultimately informing subsequent tasks.

The unit's learning approach emphasises problem-based learning, independent study, and team-based collaboration. It is underpinned by engaging lectures, interactive tutorials, and opportunities for self-assessment and reflection. This multifaceted approach is designed to equip you with both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to excel in design leadership roles.

Some of the material you will need and details about the tasks that you will undertake will be found on the DYN900 Canvas site. You will need to regularly connect with this site to be kept informed of latest news and of weekly requirements of the unit.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback in this unit is an integral part of your learning journey and is facilitated through various strategies:

• Tutorial Workshops: In your tutorial classes, you will actively engage with your peers and teaching team. This provides a unique opportunity to share your formative ideas for the completion of the assessments and to receive constructive feedback continuously. These tutorial groups are designed to function as dynamic peer support and learning communities, fostering the exchange and discussion of emerging ideas regarding leadership and its application in the realm of strategic design.

• Assessment Task Descriptions and Marking Rubrics: To provide you with clarity on the standards and expectations right from the start, the criteria and standards against which each assessment will be evaluated are outlined in the Assessment Task Descriptions and Marking Rubrics, which are shared with you at the beginning of the semester.

• Feedback on Marked Assessments: Upon the completion and evaluation of each assessment, you will receive detailed feedback from the markers. This feedback is aligned with the predetermined criteria, offering insights into your performance and suggestions for improvement.

Feedback is not just a score or commentary; it is a resource for your growth, which you can effectively leverage:

1. Reflect and Apply: Take the time to review the feedback provided on your work. Use it as a mirror to assess your strengths and areas where improvement is needed.

2. Set Improvement Goals: Based on the feedback, set specific goals for enhancing your performance in the next assessment. These goals should be actionable and measurable.

3. Utilise Tutorial Feedback: The feedback shared within your tutorial groups is a valuable collective resource. Engage in discussions, seek clarification, and collaborate with your peers to gain diverse insights and perspectives on your work.

4. Feedback as a Stepping Stone: Consider each piece of feedback as a stepping stone in your learning journey. It should guide you in moving forward, making continuous progress in understanding and applying leadership concepts within the context of strategic design.

By actively embracing feedback as an opportunity for growth, you will not only enhance your performance in this unit but also develop skills that are transferable across various disciplines and future learning endeavours. Your receptiveness to feedback and dedication to improvement will play a pivotal role in shaping your development as a design strategist and leader.

Assessment

Overview

This unit's assessment framework is designed to gauge your mastery of key concepts and competencies related to design strategy and leadership. The assessments are structured to align with the unit's learning outcomes and are interwoven with formative assessment activities to ensure your preparation for success. You will engage in three summative assessment tasks that are challenging, realistic, and designed to support your long-term development as an independent and highly employable graduate.

Throughout the unit, you will participate in formative assessments and learning activities to develop the knowledge and skills essential for the successful completion of the summative assessments. These activities include:

• Lectures: Instructive presentations by teaching staff or guest lecturers on strategic design and leadership topics.
• Tutorials: Facilitated sessions that encourage problem-solving, debate, discussion, and consolidation of concepts presented in lectures.
• Peer Feedback: The opportunity to provide and receive feedback from peers and teaching staff, fostering an iterative improvement process.
• Self-Assessment: Reflecting on your progress, identifying areas of improvement, and setting goals for enhancement.

These formative learning activities are strategically designed to empower you to build the knowledge and skills necessary for the successful completion of the summative assessments. Regular feedback from both peers and teaching staff will guide your development, ensuring you are well-prepared to demonstrate your learning effectively in the assessments. Your journey through these assessments will equip you to become a responsible and socially-conscious strategy designer, ready to apply your skills and knowledge ethically and confidently in your future career.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Self-assessment

Your journey begins with a self-assessment, where you critically reflect on your own knowledge, work, skills, and abilities. Utilising the provided online self-assessment tool, you will evaluate your performance objectively against predefined criteria. This reflective exercise allows you to delve into your progress, skill development, and comprehension, helping you identify any gaps in your understanding and capabilities. It is not merely an evaluation of your current status but a launchpad for setting explicit development goals, not only for this unit but also for your entire Master's degree journey. The self-assessment is a pivotal formative activity aimed at fostering your awareness of your capabilities and areas for improvement.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Professional Plan

Building upon the insights gained from your self-assessment, the professional plan serves as your roadmap for this unit and your future career in design strategy and leadership. This documentation is akin to a learning contract or an action plan, mapping your expertise and skill development through charts, diagrams, and thoughtful analysis. You will identify areas where expertise and skills are lacking, acknowledging the criticality of continuous improvement. You will propose how to bridge these gaps through engagement with the degree program's curriculum, creating a timeline for your skill acquisition journey. Additionally, you will suggest extracurricular activities that complement your formal learning and contribute to your holistic growth. The professional plan is the cornerstone that bridges self-assessment to real-world application, offering you the chance to chart your path towards becoming a design strategist and leader.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Response to Selection Criteria

The summative assessment task takes the form of an essay that calls for a compelling application of your acquired knowledge and skills. This task requires you to define a role and organisation you aspire to work for upon completing your degree. You will establish the criteria for selection into that role, crafting a comprehensive job application that includes referees, skills, and relevant experiences. Each selection criterion will be met with a well-articulated response demonstrating your readiness for the role. This assessment sharpens your professional writing skills while providing a platform for you to showcase your leadership and design acumen in a real-world context. It is an opportunity to integrate your self-assessment insights and professional plan into a concrete manifestation, reinforcing the idea that the knowledge and skills you gain are immediately applicable in the world of design strategy and leadership.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Risk Assessment Statement

All commencing CIESJ students are required to complete the mandatory CIESJ Student HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) Inductions.

There are no extraordinary risks associated with the learning and teaching activities in this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

DE77 Graduate Certificate in Strategic Design

1. Demonstrate knowledge as it relates to contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities in Strategic Design.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
2. Apply innovative practices to plan, manage and contribute to Strategic Design projects in a way that connects stakeholder requirements with real-world outcomes.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
3. Demonstrate ethically and socially responsible judgement and decision making in individual and collaborative modes.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria

DE88 Graduate Diploma in Strategic Design

1. Demonstrate knowledge as it relates to contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities in Strategic Design.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
2. Apply innovative practices to plan, manage and contribute to Strategic Design projects in a way that connects stakeholder requirements with real-world outcomes.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
3. Demonstrate ethically and socially responsible judgement and decision making in individual and collaborative modes.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
4. Evaluate and incorporate sustainable practices in the context of Strategic Design.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
5. Develop an understanding of the international landscape by evaluating diverse cultural, economic, and geopolitical perspectives in the context of Strategic Design.
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria

DE99 Master of Design (Strategic Design)

1. Demonstrate and apply advanced and holistic knowledge as it relate to contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities in Strategic Design
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
2. Apply innovative, systematic practices and approaches to plan, lead, deliver and manage Strategic Design projects in a way that connects multi-stakeholder requirements with real-world outcomes
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
3. Demonstrate ethically and socially responsible judgement and decision making, recognising the importance of personal accountability, acumen and reflective practice when working in individual and collaborative modes
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
4. Assess, integrate, and champion sustainable practices in the context of Strategic Design, demonstrating a commitment to environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic viability
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria
5. Develop a nuanced understanding and sensitivity of the international landscape by synthesising diverse cross-cultural, economic, and geopolitical perspectives for effective Strategic Design leadership and approaches
   Relates to: Self-assessment, Professional Plan, Response to Selection Criteria