Students interested in creating social change will now have access to some of the leaders in the field with the launch of the Centre for Social Impact’s first undergraduate course.

High-profile guest speakers, including UNSW Chancellor David Gonski, philanthropist and social entrepreneur Daniel Petre and Director of Nura Gili and Chair of Australian Indigenous Education, Professor Martin Nakata, will share their knowledge and experience in this area.

The new course, ‘Creating Social Change: From Innovation to Impact’, is available to all undergraduate students at UNSW and to the general public as a non-award course. The course adds to CSI’s established and highly regarded educational programs such as the Graduate Certificate in Social Impact.

Mr Gonski said he looked forward to contributing to a course that would be challenging and thought provoking.

“A successful career and a contribution to broader societal issues can and should be integrated. Encouraging students to think about themselves, their purpose in life, and how they can contribute through their future careers is an aim I strongly support, ” Mr Gonski said.

The key focus of the course will be to examine how social change happens in Australia while also providing students with connections and insights to global trends and issues. It will also explore key social challenges such as homelessness, disability and Indigenous disadvantage.

Students will be introduced to systems thinking and societal change scenarios, while learning about how each sector contributes to social impact in Australia and how sectors can work together more effectively to achieve positive social change.

Students will be given the opportunity to put their learning into practice by planning their own change process to solve a social problem.

‘Creating Social Change: From Innovation to Impact’ will run at UNSW’s Randwick campus during summer term, from 9 December to 31 January. More information about the course is available on the Centre for Social Impact website. 

Enrolment opens 24 October via the ASB summer term website.

Media contact: Leilah Schubert, Centre for Social Impact, 02 8936 0917