Skip to main content
Close icon Menu icon
UTS UTS
Cart
Your cart
Your cart is empty

Browse courses to find something that interests you.

Log in
Search
Enter to search / ESC to close


Browse Study Areas >

Analytics & Data Science

  • Critical & Creative Thinking
  • Data Science
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Invention & Innovation
  • Leadership & Management
  • Problem Solving
  • Strategic Thinking

Architecture

Built Environment

Business & Transformation

  • Accounting & Finance
  • Business Technology
  • Critical & Creative Thinking
  • Data Science
  • Economics
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Leadership & Management
  • Marketing
  • Problem Solving
  • Strategic Thinking

Communication & Media

Design Innovation

Technology

  • Business Technology
  • AI & Machine Learning
  • Telecoms
  • Data Science
  • Key Technology Trends

Health

Law

  • Law and technology
  • Substantive law
  • Industry accreditation
  • Professional skills

Public Policy & Governance

  • Evidence Evaluation and Insights
  • Community engagement
  • Governance
  • Local government
  • Leadership
  • Policy and program delivery
  • Strategic planning

Systems & Operations

Engineering

Bridging Courses

Science & Mathematics

Education

Search
Log in
  • About
  • All courses

    All courses
    Browse all courses
    • Analytics & Data Science
    • Architecture
    • Built Environment
    • Business & Transformation
    • Communication & Media
    • Design Innovation
    • Technology
    • Health
    • Law
    • Public Policy & Governance
    • Systems & Operations
    • Engineering
    • Bridging Courses
    • Science & Mathematics
    • Education
  • For your organisation
  • Insights
  • Home
  • Study areas
  • Business & Transformation
  • Risk Management
  • Systems Thinking: Reality is Messy
FREE COURSE

Systems Thinking: Reality is Messy

Start learning
Free course

START DATE

Start anytime

MODE

Online

DURATION

2 hrs
Start learning

Meet the Expert

Isabel Sebastian

Isabel Sebastian
Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS

Isabel spent a decade working in Asia where she experienced how different cultural worldviews lead to vastly different approaches in stakeholder engagement, decision-making and problem-solving. She felt inspired to learn about Eastern philosophies, many of which view the world and all life as interconnected.

These explorations led Isabel to the art and science of systems-thinking and its potential for accelerating sustainability practices and behaviours. She has a professional background in tourism and environmental management with more than 20 years of experience in natural area management, business sustainability and an interest in Eastern cultures.

More Less
profile url

Katie Ross

Katie Ross
Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures

Katie brings almost two decades of experience in the sustainability sector. She works predominantly across social change, international development and energy research areas as a project director and manager of projects promoting social and technical system transformation. Katie is currently undertaking her PhD on processes of transformative learning for sustainability.

More Less
profile url linkedin url

Meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The liveability of our cities. Equitable social and financial institutions. They’re all complex challenges and they all require a different approach. These are challenges for change-makers who deeply understand complexity. Systems thinking gives us powerful ways to engage with messy situations. In this free course, you will discover the fundamentals of system thinking by understanding how to recognise complexity.

About this course

This is a free, self-paced online course.

Do you ever reflect on the challenges of today and imagine options for a better future? As we increasingly recognise the complexity of our world, the challenges we face require new approaches.

What we need, are ways of thinking that can effectively work with complexity, such as systems thinking. Systems thinking gives us tools, approaches and skills to deal with messy, complex situations, both professional and personal. It opens pathways towards more sustainable futures.

In this free course, you’ll learn how complicated situations are vastly different from complex situations or projects. This will equip you to take the next steps to experiment with systems thinking tools in later modules where you’ll apply them to the messy situations faced by you, your organisation or your project.

The full course will help you understand the value of systems thinking when engaging with challenging real-world situations. You'll learn about the ways of thinking, sensing and being in the face of a complex world.

The course content represents 20 years’ collective UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) knowledge and expertise, which builds on the inspiration of a large number of systems thinkers. Our team of 70 researchers and 35 postgraduate students continues to innovate and apply systems thinking tools and approaches to improve real life complex situations.

The full course structure will deal with the following areas:

  • Reality is messy: What types of situations are we dealing with? (Part 1)
  • What is a complex system?
  • Strengthening our systems thinking
  • Worldviews and paradigms: looking deeply into ourselves and our societies
  • Apply systems thinking in your world.

Course structure

  • Recognising your situation - simple, complicated, complex or chaotic
  • The five characteristics or dimensions (scale, certainty, stability, clarity and boundedness)
  • A process for dealing with messy situations - probe, sense, respond
  • Emergent behaviour and complex situations
  • Complexity as a process of continual learning.

Why you should do this course

  • Explore the need for complex thinking in sustainability
  • Understand the foundations of systems thinking
  • Learn how to recognise complex situations
  • Get a head start on the full Systems Thinking course where you will: work through case studies; explore situations from systems perspectives; identify the characteristics of a system; apply systems thinking tools to situations; develop new awareness and reflection skills; and get a deeper understanding of reality, causality and your self
  • Gain access to the collective experience and expertise of the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures
  • Develop some of the fundamental knowledge for the UTS Master of Non-Profit and Social Enterprise Management.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone who wants to explore and apply systems thinking to their sustainable practices.

Related Courses

Living Well with Palliative Care Living Well with Palliative Care
Free Course

Living Well with Palliative Care

Build your skills to support people with a life-limiting illness through demystifying palliative care.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Safeguarding in Sport: Understanding the Risks Safeguarding in Sport: Understanding the Risks
Free Course

Safeguarding in Sport: Understanding the Risks

Learn to safeguard athletes while developing you foundational understanding of risk assessment and responses in sports.

  • calendar_month Enquire now
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
The Mind Behind the Money - an Introduction to Behavioural Economics The Mind Behind the Money - an Introduction to Behavioural Economics
Free Course

The Mind Behind the Money - an Introduction to Behavioural Economics

Explore the psychology behind consumer behaviour in this free short course.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Modern Slavery in the Home Modern Slavery in the Home
Free Course

Modern Slavery in the Home

Build your expertise around identifying and responding to modern slavery within Australian household contexts.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building
Free Course

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building

Explore new interdisciplinary research and collaborations around emerging technologies and human rights.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach
Free Course

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Considering Human Rights within Emerging Technologies.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Machine Learning in Train Network Operations Machine Learning in Train Network Operations
Free Course

Machine Learning in Train Network Operations

Explore improvements in train network operation performance via machine learning techniques .

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced
Modern Slavery Modern Slavery
Free Course

Modern Slavery

Learn about modern slavery internationally and in Australia and the actions you can take to prevent it.

  • calendar_month Start anytime
  • hourglass_empty 2 hrs
  • monetization_on Free
  • place Online
  • supervisor_account 100% self-paced

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.

  • About
    • About UTS Open
    • The University
    • FAQ
    • Digital badges
  • UTS Degrees
    • Postgraduate study
    • Find a course
  • News
    • Insights
    • Events
    • Find an expert
  • Information
    • Terms and Conditions
    • UTS governance
    • Privacy
    • Accessibility
    • Disclaimer
Connect
  • Contact us
  • Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube LinkedIn

© Copyright UTS - CRICOS Provider No: 00099F - TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12060 - TEQSA Category: Australian University - ABN: 77 257 686 961 - 09 June 2022 03:33 PM. The page is authorised by the Chief Operating Officer and Vice-President (COO)

loading