Curriculum and student experience
Message from the Dean, Learning and Teaching
The courses taught by the Faculty of Business and Law are designed to equip graduates with the skills they need to solve real world problems. As part of our commitment to making tomorrow better, we’ve focused on embedding ethics, responsibility and sustainability into the core of our curriculum and the experiences which we offer our students.
Professor Sonia Dickinson
Dean, Learning and Teaching, Faculty of Business and Law
Our curriculum
Our strategic plan focuses on embedding ERS into our curriculum in order to demonstrate that ERS is not only taught, but also practised and assessed. In order to achieve this, our course renewal process ensures that every course and major not only has a course learning outcome that is focused on ERS, but also that there is strategic alignment between both the course learning outcomes and the units where ERS is explicitly taught, practised and assessed. This alignment also ensures ERS is scaffolded through the course and respective majors, growing our commitment to ERS principles.
Our business core exemplifies our commitment to ERS by:
- Revitalisation of all business core units to ensure they set the foundation of ERS in practice
- Revision of all majors to ensure curriculum is embedded with ERS principles
- Development of a learning journey in our capstone experience to enable students the opportunity to reflect on their commitment to ERS principles.
ERS Course Learning Outcomes
Graduate Statement of Commitment to Responsible Professional Practice
From 2021, graduating Business and Commerce students will be presented with the following statement:
“I recognise that my professional work will impact on others. In accepting that I have a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure this impact is not harmful, I will:
- practise my profession with the highest levels of integrity;
- lead by example, and question unethical behaviour;
- use my skills and knowledge to seek a better future for generations to come;
- consider the human, environmental, and social impact of my professional activities;
- defend the rights, freedom, and dignity of others; and
- seek to advance opportunities for Indigenous and First Nations peoples within my profession.
I will communicate my values through my actions, and not just my words and hold myself and those around me accountable from this day forward.”
Student programs
The Big Idea
The Big Idea is a social enterprise immersion and business planning competition for university students. The competition is run by The Big Issue, a social enterprise itself that develops solutions to help the homeless, marginalised and disadvantaged people positively change their lives. Student teams develop a social enterprise idea, with the support of social entrepreneurs and experts from across Australia. A panel of experts then judge the business plans. The Faculty of Business and Law supports The Big Idea at Curtin through academic involvement in the program.
Enactus@Curtin
ENACTUS Curtin is a community of around 70 students, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. They are affiliated with ENACTUS, an international not-for-profit organisation, who align their initiatives with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Being involved with ENACTUS isn’t just about volunteering to give back to the community, it provides students the opportunity to get out of the university safety net and into the community. Students meet with people from diverse backgrounds, different demographics and with different life challenges, widening their perspective of life and helping them learn tolerance, patience and understanding. Recent ENACTUS Curtin projects include EquipMe and Take Away Garden.
Curtin Women in Business
Women in Business (WIB) strives to connect, support and empower women across all faculties. Through events, the club aims to provide a space where emerging thought leaders are able to build professional networks and create lasting relationships between peers. Members act raise awareness of gender equality through the education and career development. WIB hopes to continue to offer events and opportunities that build a better and more equal society and continue to address United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 10 and 11.
Curtin Volunteers!
Curtin Volunteers! is Curtin’s student-driven volunteering hub. Its mission is to provide opportunities which both enhance the student experience and benefit the wider community. The volunteering opportunities are diverse, ranging from hands-on environmental projects, community development projects in remote and Indigenous communities, helping new migrants to develop English language skills, companionship for young adults with disabilities, and introducing young girls to coding.
Clinics
Curtin Link
Curtin Link is a business and law advice centre that connects Curtin intellectual resources to not-for-profit organisations, small businesses, social enterprises and start-ups. The centre provides students with the opportunity to work on projects for the WA community from Curtin’s Murray Street campus. Read more
Curtin Tax Clinic
The Curtin Tax Clinic aims to assist unrepresented taxpayers in meeting or complying with their taxation affairs. It was the first clinic of its kind in Australia offering students, under the supervision of experienced tax practitioners, the opportunity to engage in casework directly relevant to their career in taxation.
Following on from the success of the Curtin Tax Clinic, the Australian government announced funding for universities to trial similar tax clinics across the country.
John Curtin Law Clinic
The John Curtin Law Clinic aims to enhance the education of Curtin law students and improve access to justice through supervised professional experience. The Law Clinic offers services to eligible clients in a clinical legal education environment.