Paving the runway while landing the plane

Learning designers working across sectors to enable agile curriculum development

Abstract

In response to growing demand for flexible, industry-aligned education, learning designers are increasingly taking on strategic roles in complex, cross-sector curriculum initiatives. This paper presents a case study of the Macquarie University (MQ), Faculty of Science and Engineering’s Learning Design Team who have played a pivotal role in the development of innovative, stackable micro-credentials for the Institute of Applied Technology – Digital (IAT-D), a unique partnership between MQ, TAFE NSW, University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and Microsoft.

These micro-credentials were co-designed, co-developed, and co-delivered by academic, professional, and industry partners. Brought into the project midstream, the Learning Design Team faced compressed timelines, evolving expectations, and no established processes. In response, they adopted an agile, improvisational approach that epitomised the challenge of “paving the runway while landing the plane” simultaneously building systems and processes whilst delivering outcomes under extremely tight deadlines.

Acting as instructional designers, developers, and project managers, the team consulted with project leadership, guided busy academics, and translated complex requirements into cohesive, student-centred learning experiences. This case highlights the often invisible but vital contributions of learning designers as sense-makers, strategic collaborators, and enablers of educational transformation, working across institutional and sectoral boundaries to make innovation possible.