University of Technology Sydney
UTS
cart Cart
Your cart
Your cart is empty

Browse courses to find something that interests you.

sign in Log in
search


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

Science & Mathematics

Education

loading
  • About
  • Study areas
  • Course types
  • For your organisation
  • Insights
  • Home
  • Study areas
  • Business & Transformation
  • Risk Management
  • Systems Thinking: Reality is Messy
TASTER COURSE

Systems Thinking: Reality is Messy

Start learning

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 taster 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 taster 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
  • Get access to UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures collective experience and expertise
  • Develop some of the fundamental knowledge for UTS’s 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.

Free course

START DATE

Start anytime

MODE

Online

DURATION

Self paced
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. This exploration led her 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

Related Courses

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building
Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: Research and Capacity Building

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

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach
Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Human Rights and Emerging Technologies: an Interdisciplinary Approach

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Considering Human Rights within Emerging Technologies.

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
Statistical Thinking
Statistical Thinking
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Statistical Thinking

Explore the statistical essentials you need to tackle evidence-based arguments in the modern world.

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
Forecasting NBN Broadband Service Demand
Forecasting NBN Broadband Service Demand
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Forecasting NBN Broadband Service Demand

Explore how data analytics enables improved NBN workforce planning.

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
Machine Learning in Train Network Operations
Machine Learning in Train Network Operations
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Machine Learning in Train Network Operations

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

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
Analysing COVID-19 and Bushfire Impacts in LGAs (NSW)
Analysing COVID-19 and Bushfire Impacts in LGAs (NSW)
Enrol Now
TASTER COURSE

Analysing COVID-19 and Bushfire Impacts in LGAs (NSW)

Explore a case study investigating the impacts of COVID-19 and Australian bushfires, on our health and wellbeing.

  • Free
  • Self paced
  • Online
We use cookies

We use cookies to help personalise content, tailor and measure ads, plus provide a safer experience. By navigating the site, you agree to the use of cookies to collect information. Read our Cookie Policy to learn more.

  • About
      • About UTS Open
      • The University
      • FAQ
  • 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 - 21 December 2018 11:06 AM. The page is authorised by Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Corporate Services).
loading