The Inside-Out Project

Industry and Community Partner

South Australian Department of Correctional Services (DCS)

Consulting

University

The University of South Australia

Innovative Features

Engaging multiple disciplines
Community engaged
Co-designed with industry or community
Scalable and sustainable

Enablers

Key enablers of the Match Studio Inside-Out Project included:

Match Studio’s well-established connections with policy makers and government agencies.
The contribution of the PSW Placement Coordinators in connecting and arranging governance requirements for the student placement.
Academics at UniSA are now familiar with Match Studio and the opportunity it provides for their students to engage in real-world WIL experiences.

For more information

Please contact Jane Andrew at Jane.Andrew@unisa.edu.au

Visit Match Studio →

Match Studio is a dynamic research and learning space at the University of South Australia (UniSA) where interdisciplinary teams of students, academics and researchers engage, think, learn, and co-create innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Match Studio partners teaching and work-integrated learning with research and industry-linked projects, drawing from a suite of collaborative facilitation tools, using design thinking and co-design methods to identify and articulate a challenge, and then develop solutions that will deliver outcomes that are designed to make a difference.

The Inside-Out Project involved Match Studio partnering with the South Australian Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to explore policy options for transforming its current prisoner art activities into a comprehensive Creative Industries program for offenders based on national and international best practice. Four School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy (PSW) students collaborated with academic and research staff from Match Studio, as well as a supervisor/mentor from the PSW program to develop a proposal for DCS. The Inside-out Project was credit-bearing for the students involved.

UniSA’s Match Studio selected a small team of Social Work and Information Technology students to undertake literature, policy and case study research, and apply Design Thinking methodology to identify and propose creative industry based skills development and industry production models to be delivered within South Australian prisons. In doing so the team has develop program proposals that will enable participants continued engagement with the industry /learning program post release, advised and delivered through a collaboration between, DCS, Community Corrections and external agencies.

Impact / outcomes

Students: the Match Studio Inside-Out Project provides students with the opportunity to engage in learning and knowledge exchange outside the traditional academic paradigms. It exposes them to a range of methodological approaches and ways of thinking, including an introduction and application of collaborative problem solving and team-based skills. It also provides students with an opportunity to develop and extend their networks and contributes to the evidence base of their professional portfolio.

Community Partner: are provided with feasible and well-researched proposals for innovations and report being inspired by the experience of working with the students.

Teaching Staff: can engage with industry, community partners and students in a meaningful and interesting way.

Student Assessment

Students are assessed during placement review meetings and at a final interview with their mentor and the community partner. These assessments contribute to the students industry accreditation requirements.