We all grapple with the wicked problem of career and life decision-making. Navigating transition points and unexpected events can challenge us; we get stuck, and we find ourselves asking, “how can I move forward from here?”
Enter Life Design.
What is Life Design?
Drawing on design thinking principles, Life Design articulates a methodology for figuring out where we want to be and how we might get there. Based around five core designer mindsets and a series of explorative activities, it provides a repeatable process to help self-direct our lives. Radical collaboration, curiosity and having a bias toward action are central to investigating options through ideating and prototyping. These methods give us permission to try things out in small ways and discover that there will be multiple good solutions, rather than one perfect one.
How is it relevant at UTS?
Starting uni, finishing uni, deciding our direction or making a career change provoke many questions and uncertainties that are universal. It makes sense, then, to challenge the assumption that careers support should happen behind closed doors, and instead empower students to work together, broaden their networks and reap the benefits of collaboration and diverse perspectives.
What we’ve tried so far
UTS Careers has piloted a number of formats and activities to test how Life Design methods can work in a university environment. These have included:
- Studio-style workshops on campus (1-day intensives)
- Workshop series online (4 x 90-minute workshops, taken as stand-alone or a connected series)
- Embedded tutorials for a professional practice subject (4 x 2-hour tutorials with associated Canvas modules)
- Bite-sized activities embedded in a range of subjects
In each format students came together to identify their career problem space, ideate and formulate possible actions for prototyping their options. The students worked in smaller table groups or breakout rooms and were guided by Careers facilitators to reflect on their values, visualise alternative futures, crowd source ideas for career prototypes and most importantly to mingle, share and support each other.
Signature activities included:
- Keeping a ‘Good Time Journal’ for identifying high points and moments of flow
- Creating a series of ‘Odyssey Plans’ to imagine a variety of possibilities for the next 5 years
- Helping each other to create ‘Idea Boards’ to articulate options and select next steps
Life Design activities are varied, tactile, and move at a swift pace to encourage action, creativity and sharing without over-analysing.
The wins
- Engagement and resonance was high when students opted in at the right time for them and committed to the process. Participants regularly told us, “I really liked this… I wish I’d done it earlier!”
- Students helped other students. There was a sense of community and genuine interest in hearing other views and offering ideas across different disciplines and life stages.
- We witnessed people push through the wall of feeling stuck or confronted. The style of activities and supportive environment resulted in small steps forward.
The challenges
- People wanted more time to think, create and discuss, or a structured avenue to follow up and reconnect later.
- Some students didn’t ‘buy in’ to the process, observed particularly during in-curriculum tutorials where some struggled to see the personal significance or course relevance.
- The online format presented additional challenges for facilitators to gauge when and how to support students through their ‘stuck’ moments.
What’s next?
Design Your UTS (DYU)
Many students told us they wished they’d done this sooner, so up next is DYU, a new iteration of Life Design that introduces the concept to first-year students in Orientation to help them design their university experience as a stepping stone to a well-lived life. It will include online and on-campus workshops, Learning Hub activities, resources and events throughout 2021.
UTS Career Activators Network (UCAN)
Life Designers are encouraged to build a network of people who can be active participants in their career prototyping, and students have told us they want an avenue for continuing to expand their Life Design connections beyond a workshop. In 2021 UTS Careers is launching UCAN to provide access to an engaged network of alumni, industry reps and staff who are committed to offering that support to students and new grads via mentoring, career-related content and co-facilitation of activities and events.
Varied avenues to learn
Designing our lives is best done in our own timeframe. We want to provide varied opportunities in the curriculum and alongside for students to learn about the methodology, and feel encouraged to engage more when they need it. UTS Careers continues to work with Transdisciplinary Innovation and faculties to pilot new content within subjects with a focus on introductory learning that positions Life Design as relevant for building professional identity and taking action for a fulfilling career. We’ll also be offering group career coaching, new workshop formats and bite-sized learning experiences both online and on campus, for those who wish to engage further.
Life Design is something the whole UTS Community can get involved in. You can support students with designing their lives by signing up for UCAN. To find out more about Life Design at UTS, please contact UTS Careers.