ICT curriculum and course structure: the great balancing act

This paper reports on an ICT curriculum development process that involved balancing a number of constraints that, in the words of an external academic advisory panel, resulted in a “very coherent, strong, contemporary” ICT curriculum. Instigated by an external school review that recommended the implementation of a single degree, the curriculum had to contain the knowledge requirements for students to develop the necessary skills for a set of ICT graduate level career outcomes identified by the local and national ICT industry. Due to a shrinking staff profile coupled with pressure for increased research output the School was instructed to offer only thirty undergraduate coursework units. Finally, the curriculum and course structure had to be attractive to domestic and international applicants and the curriculum also had to inspire graduate progression to a research higher degree.