ARO UND CAM PUS
Transforming learning in an uncertain world When Bond University launched its ground-breaking suite of future-focussed Transformation degrees in 2019, the Health Transformation program was prophetically described as being able to equip graduates “to help prepare the world for the next pandemic”. That same future focus guides the University as it adapts to the reality of living with COVID-19 and the rapidly changing higher education landscape. Bond responded to the COVID-19 disruption with a pivot to remote delivery for the May semester. This set the stage for further innovation in September with a move to multi-modal learning where the physical and virtual classrooms are combined in a multidimensional learning environment. The on-campus students and remote students are able to interact and learn together regardless of their location. According to Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Professor Keitha Dunstan, this new way of learning has been embraced by students and has had some unexpected positive consequences. “One of the things we hadn’t anticipated was the physical classroom students wanting to attend through the remote classroom as well,” Professor Dunstan says. “They are all logging in and chatting with their remote colleagues as well as participating in the class physically.” Professor Dunstan is confident Bond will remain a leader in the evolution of higher education as it builds on the capacity that has been established during this challenging time. “Multi-modal delivery is an innovation that will likely change how we approach
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creating learning environments for our students in the future.” Even before the pandemic, Bond was moving quickly to reinforce its graduates’ standing as among the most employable in Australia. The University’s multi-disciplinary Transformation degrees – a Bachelor of Entrepreneurial Transformation, Bachelor of Digital Transformation, Bachelor of Health Transformation and Bachelor of Legal Transformation - have been launched in recognition of employers expecting different things from graduates. “It was recognising that the world is becoming more trans-disciplinary; that there are still experts, but everyone in the workforce is expected to be more than just an expert in a field,” Professor Dunstan says. “An important skill is the ability to bring together successful multidisciplinary teams. We recognise we need graduates who are better able to work in those teams, so what better way to do that than to have the degree that takes a multidisciplinary approach to start with?” The innovative degrees are focused on new and emerging fields, with students participating in workplace-based learning immersions through Bond’s Transformation CoLab which utilises expertise from across the University and industry. Shari Thompson is one of the pioneering students to have embarked on a Transformation degree. “I picked the Health Transformation degree over a standard health degree because I wanted to do more than just biology,” Ms Thompson says. “I thought the opportunity to do law, business and digital subjects would help my understanding of the world and my employability – to make sure I’m ready for what employers want. “I do genuinely feel that the degrees are preparing us for a future world of work.” Bond has also launched a suite of micro-credentials that meet the new and emerging needs of business, industry and the general community. Micro-credentials are offered across multiple disciplines to
