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Design for Innovation (LAWS90193)
Graduate courseworkPoints: 6.25Not available in 2024
Overview
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In Design for Innovation students have the opportunity to rethink and redesign how the law operates and engages with clients and the community by placing the user at the centre of the design process.
Design is the process of creatively and strategically solving problems. Human‐centred design maps out the user’s journey to find the most challenging problems, placing the people with the problems at the centre of the solution. It has become a powerful tool to deploy in the pursuit of making better services and products. Its role in the legal sector is emerging and it is already making breakthroughs in the delivery of government services and private practice.
This subject explores the principles of human‐centred design, including the collaborative process – empathising with users, ideation, prototyping and user‐testing. It is both theoretical and practical, providing students with ongoing tools and techniques to deploy in pursuit of solving problems and delivering better services. Challenging the traditional notion of ‘lawyer as expert’, it asks students to adopt a different, human‐centred and collaborative perspective on problem solving through design. Students will have the opportunity to work on real world issues relevant to their work place or practice interests.
The lecturers in this subject combine years of experience in this area, sharing a commitment to solving complex legal problems using human‐centred design.
Intended learning outcomes
A student who has successfully completed this subject will:
- communicate effectively as an engaged participant and practitioner in complex discussions around existing and emerging human‐centred design in the legal landscape.
- have an advanced and integrated understanding of the principles and application of human‐centred design and its importance to legal problem solving the delivery of private practice and government services.
- have an advanced understanding of the collaborative process of human‐centred design, including empathising with the user, focusing on the user's problem, drawing on user insights, examining and responding to feedback from users to create new iterations of prototypes.
- have the cognitive and technical skills to generate critical and creative ideas relating to legal problem solving through human‐centred design and create prototypes to test solutions.
Generic skills
Expected skills developed through successful completion of the subject:
- Strategic skills in considering a range of options in response to a legal problem and in identifying those which best meet the needs of the client;
- Interpersonal skills in relating to a client (actual or hypothetical) and providing advice attuned to that client's needs and interests;
- Skills of logical analysis and reasoning;
- Oral skills in legal and problem analysis and argument;
- Skills in the application of legal knowledge to contemporary social problems.
Last updated: 30 January 2024
Eligibility and requirements
Prerequisites
None
Corequisites
None
Non-allowed subjects
None
Recommended background knowledge
Ideally students should have practice experience.
Applicants without legal qualifications should note that subjects are offered in the discipline of law at an advanced graduate level. While every effort will be made to meet the needs of students trained in other fields, concessions will not be made in the general level of instruction or assessment. Most subjects assume the knowledge usually acquired in a degree in law (LLB, JD or equivalent). Applicants should note that admission to some subjects in the Melbourne Law Masters will be dependent upon the individual applicant’s educational background and professional experience.
Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)
The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.
Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home
Last updated: 30 January 2024
Assessment
| Description | Timing | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
Class Oral presentation
| During final class | N/A |
Written Report containing User Persona, Journey Map including areas of opportunity and Prototype (2,500 words together with visual components and design artefacts Code 2)
| 4 June | 100% |
Last updated: 30 January 2024
Quotas apply to this subject
Dates & times
Not available in 2024
Additional delivery details
Any student taking this subject must also be enrolled in, or plan to enrol in, another approved 6.25 credit point subject.
This subject has a quota of 30 students. Enrolment is on a first come, first served basis. Waitlists are maintained for subjects that are fully subscribed.
Students should note priority of places in subjects will be given as follows:
- To currently enrolled Specialist Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters law students who are enrolled in or have successfully completed another 6.25 credit point subject;
- To currently enrolled Specialist Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters law students with a satisfactory record in their degree;
- To other students enrolling on a single subject basis eg. Community Access Program (CAP) students, cross-institutional study and cross-faculty study.
Please refer to the Melbourne Law Masters website for further information about the management of subject quotas and waitlists.
Last updated: 30 January 2024
Further information
- Texts
Prescribed texts
Materials will be provided on the LMS.
- Links to additional information
- Available through the Community Access Program
About the Community Access Program (CAP)
This subject is available through the Community Access Program (also called Single Subject Studies) which allows you to enrol in single subjects offered by the University of Melbourne, without the commitment required to complete a whole degree.
Entry requirements including prerequisites may apply. Please refer to the CAP applications page for further information.
Additional information for this subject
Contact law-admissions@unimelb.edu.au for information.
Last updated: 30 January 2024