I've been teaching design at the University of Sydney since 2017 - as a student and as a teacher simultaneously. My approach sits at the intersection of student-centredness, collaboration, and critical thinking, creating inquiry-based learning environments that organically encourage human-centred thinking and intrinsically trigger motivation and curiosity.
Students should be the captains of their own learning. I design units where student agency isn't an afterthought - it's the whole point. From letting students choose their own research directions to forming project squads from day one, the structures I create put them in the driver's seat.
Learning is social. From project squads to cross-stream peer critique, I build structures that make collaboration unavoidable and genuinely valuable - not just a box to tick. The best insights come from bumping up against someone else's perspective.
I push students to sit with ambiguity, challenge their assumptions, and ask better questions before they reach for solutions. Design education that skips the discomfort is doing students a disservice - the field demands it.
Knowledge is built, not delivered. Every assessment, activity, and tutorial is designed to scaffold students through constructing their own understanding - turning analysis into games, discoveries into aha moments, and research into something they actually own.
My Teaching Philosophy
"Good design education makes students uncomfortable in the best way - it asks them to sit with ambiguity, listen before they solve, and fiercely advocate for the humans who'll actually use what they make."