CDEV3000 /6000 Practice of Work

Offers students the opportunity to work directly with a partner organisation on a co-designed project whilst earning 6 units of credit towards their degrees.

Students speaking in front of class
Expressions of Interest are currently being collected for Summer Term 2024.

With CDEV3000 Practice of Work / CDEV6000 Partnered Work Project you can interact directly with an organisation and gain practical project-based experience, taking your professional skills to the next level, all while earning 6UoC.

This course has been designed to enable students to integrate theory with the practice of work. Students will learn about professional practice and develop their personal capabilities for lifelong learning and work. The course centres on engaging with external partners (e.g. industry, community, government) by working on real-world projects, under the guidance of academic and workplace supervisors. Academic supervisors aim to maximise the learning from these activities with specialised support.

The course is available to domestic and international students and can be undertaken as a General Education course.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

This course involves work learning experiences where students work directly in or with an industry or community organisation to gain real-world experience in preparation for a future career. Please visit WIL website for more information.

Course highlights

  • Work directly with a partner organisation on a co-designed project to provide the organisation with purposeful deliverables. 
  • Develop skills in teamwork, project management, problem solving, design thinking and communication. 
  • Work in interdisciplinary teams and gain understanding of how to work effectively with people from other disciplines and backgrounds. 
  • Gain support on professional development through personal and professional reflection. 
  • Develop skills in effective communication and become adept in collaboration in a multidisciplinary team environment. 

Course details

CDEV3000/3100 Practice of Work (in-person or online) is available to undergraduate students.

CDEV6000/6100 Partnered Work Project (in-person or online) is available to postgraduate students.

  • Both courses offer a range of projects and are run throughout the year in Summer Term, Term 1, Term 2, Term 2C and Term 3.
  • Both courses are awarded 6 Units of Credit (UoC).
  • CDEV3000/3100 can be taken as a general education subject or a free elective in some undergraduate degrees.
  • CDEV6000/6100 can be taken as an elective in some postgraduate degrees.
  • Students work in inter-disciplinary teams in collaboration with their project partner and an academic project supervisor who assists in maximising learning and the quality of the project deliverables.

For more information about the partner projects, please visit our course Sharepoint page:

Previous partner projects

Partner projects previously offered through CDEV3000/CDEV6000:

Previous partner projects in detail

  • The IBM Client Engineering team is changing the way IBM engages with clients through showcasing at speed the business value and technical feasibility of technology solutions.

    In Australia and New Zealand our team has grown from 8 people in early 2021 to 31 team members by the end of 2022. As the team expands, we want to attract top talent and specifically attract and deliver a great experience for early professionals. We would like your help to re-imagine our internship and graduate experience for IBM Client Engineering. The focus is on designing the content and structure of the early professional programs with human-centred design rather than marketing.

  • OzHarvest are Australia's leading food rescue organisation. We work closely with our food donors and our recipient agencies (charities) to ensure we are rescuing as much food as possible from going into landfill, and directing it to people in need.

    We are currently very reactionary in our communication with both our food donors and recipient agencies, and we believe a more proactive form of regular and positive communication will help improve engagement and understanding of OzHarvest, our cause and our processes.

    We wish to improve/expand upon our existing methods of communication by developing a new form of monthly or quarterly newsletter designed specifically for our food donors and recipient agencies. This state specific newsletter will help OzHarvest proactively increase engagement and understanding from both key stakeholders by sharing positive feedback of the work we do and reinforcing requirements from both stakeholders.

  • The Australian National Maritime Museum specialises in the exhibition of the country's unique maritime heritage and the connection the Australian people have with the oceans, rivers, and lakes that surround them.

    The museum is looking for new ways to attract young people, particularly students interested in STEM, to come to the museum and engage with their spaces. This will include developing ideas and practical outcomes for how and where they might build a dedicated STEM space in the museum. This could mean utilising existing rooms within the museum or even creating a new space such as a floating laboratory.

  • The Powerhouse Museum is a world renown institution that presents exhibitions and programs that support the applied arts, applied sciences and creative industries.

    Taking a leadership position on sustainability and positive climate action is central to the Powerhouse's renewal. The Powerhouse Climate Action Plan (2022-2025) focuses on Powerhouse infrastructure, programs and operations outlining the important immediate actions that will embed sustainability across the organisation.

    Powerhouse is looking for ideas, strategies, and recommendations on communicating the climate action and sustainability commitments of their organisation, providing an opportunity to facilitate relationships between their audiences and positive climate action.

Student testimonials