Developing a winning strategy for UNSW to stimulate sustainable growth​

Challenge

UNSW School of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) is one of Australia's most prestigious and largest schools.

While most universities found COVID-19 a challenge to navigate, CSE grew exponentially in all facets. However, this growth trajectory shifted focus toward maintenance and away from innovation and strategic development. CSE wanted to align internally on its current state, and plan ahead to ensure growth was sustainable and yielded success.​

The Strategy Group engaged with CSE to co-design and develop a strategy that provided clear guidance, tools and frameworks CSE could utilise to execute and implement to stimulate sustainable growth.​

Approach

Conducting a series of workshops that focus on collaborative strategic development and innovation​

The Strategy Group used a human-centred design approach to facilitate several in-depth interviews with key UNSW/CSE stakeholders. The intent was to understand the experiences, processes and initiatives operating in the school from the perspective of individuals that are involved in the world of CSE on a day-to-day basis. Conducting in-depth interviews provided CSE with several rich statements of significance, callouts and insights that validated key areas of concern and emphasised where CSE performs best.​

​The Strategy Group facilitated two digital co-design workshops that included a diverse range of UNSW/CSE stakeholders.

The workshops were structured so that participants had the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and align on key focus areas that would deliver desirable outcomes in the future. Both workshops utilised cutting-edge strategic frameworks and tools that elicited innovative ideas and helped shape goals that were a marriage of desirable, feasible, viable and aspirational. ​