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Place and Community Framework

3. Impactful learning environments.

Principle 3 focuses on Impactful Learning Environments. RMIT places will enable active, authentic and applied lifelong learning and connect a vibrant group of learners to research, industry and community.

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Rationale

As the world navigates significant changes in society, the economy and technology, a revolution in education is also taking shape. Globally, education is moving towards enabling learning via flexible pathways that complement work routines, family situations and personal choices. Increasingly, access to education is needed over an individual’s entire lifetime to enhance livelihoods and wellbeing. The lifelong learning revolution – a continuous re-skilling and up-skilling throughout our adult lives – is critical to the development of our economy and whole industry sectors. Everyone in our diverse, interconnected society should have access to an education that can help them to succeed, while also helping to shape their workplace, industry, and community.

RMIT is leading a push to make lifelong learning a reality at scale. Delivering even more of our learning in partnership with industry, governments, and communities, we co-create education pathways and systems for diverse students in a transforming world. We provide flexible learning opportunities across vocational diplomas, apprenticeships, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, English language pathways, industry-partnered future skills programs, micro-credentials, and digital delivery of in-demand skills. We increasingly enable learners to find their own access points and create a ‘stackable’ education experience, building the skills and knowledge they need to thrive over time. These movements lead us to a diversified understanding of the ‘learning environment.’

RMIT learners form part of an international network. They are supported to engage and participate wherever they might be and at times that work with the rhythm of their lives, through personalised programs and the highest quality digital and hybrid experiences. We remain committed to in-person learning. We invest in world-class spaces for specialised, technology-rich research and experimentation, as well as designing spaces for flexible and adaptable use. We lead the way in supporting learning in practical contexts, through partnerships with government, industry, and community.

How this could work in practice

  • Digital enabled blended learning: RMIT offers personalised learning experiences that enable in-person and remote participation. We fully exploit the potential of technology and new pedagogies to enable collaboration and networked learning, wherever we might be.
  • A mix of specialised and flexible spaces: RMIT offers world-class spaces for specialised, technology-rich research, teaching, and experimentation, as well as spaces for flexible and adaptable use (to accommodate various kinds of learning objectives, and to adopt to future learning needs). This includes informal learning spaces to reflect the growing importance of social learning, self-directed learning, and wider community access and engagement.
  • Learning in/with industry and communities: RMIT leads the way in supporting learning in practical and work-based contexts, through partnerships with government, industry, and community. Our learning environments include a diverse range of industry and community settings encouraging rich, meaningful and relevant engagement with research, industry and community through interdisciplinarity in practice.
  • Clustering for innovation and impact: Our learning spaces are integrated into the fabric of urban and suburban spaces and augment the strengths and assets in a district and community. We work alongside industry and communities and share learning spaces that support and enable collaboration and innovation. We encourage purposeful mixing of disciplines, sectors and communities.
  • Supporting health and wellbeing: Learning is enhanced by spaces that connect us to each other and to nature. We create environments for learning that enable health and wellbeing.

Example: Simulated health ward

RMIT University’s School of Health and Biomedical Science completed a new fit-out within Levels 3 and 4 of Building 201 for a future Simulated Health Ward to provide modernised facilities and expanded capacity for health classes.

The project responds to changes in the requirements for accreditation in the Bachelor of Nursing and Diploma of Nursing and the need to update outdated services to provide world-class state-of-the-art facilities for future teaching. The learning space includes 52 simulated hospital beds across five functional components: nursing labs, a high-fidelity simulation ward, simulation debrief / community and mental health scenarios; clinical prep student practice, training bathroom and technical support areas.

The Simulated Health Ward enables students to practice a variety of patient care scenarios. Photo: Kane Jarrod.

Example: SHAPE Studio Elective

SHAPE is a studio style elective focused on multidisciplinary collaboration, design thinking and implementation strategies for current, real world, built environment projects. It is a unique platform for students, staff, researchers, and industry professionals to engage in an innovative learning and teaching initiative which facilitates interdisciplinary engagement, industry collaboration and project-based learning.

The SHAPE project journey enables students to draw upon their individual professional skillsets whilst connecting and learning from the diverse and complimentary capabilities of their teammates. Teams are challenged to consider the complete lifecycle of a master planned proposition, delivering a true multidisciplinary experience.

Now in its fifth year of delivery, SHAPE is an example of a collaborative, stakeholder engaged, learning opportunity that RMIT offers to both students simulation debrief / community and mental health scenarios; clinical prep student practice, training bathroom and technical support areas. as well as industry professionals. Key partners include RMIT’s School of Property, Construction and Project Management, School of Architecture and Urban Design, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, School of Engineering and School of Business and Law as well as Melbourne Innovation Districts, City of Melbourne, Melbourne Metro Rail Authority and the Aurecon Design Academy.

Multidisciplinary collaboration in action as SHAPE Studio students develop their masterplan proposals.

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