Tackling the financial future of Australians through design

In an effort to encourage more Australians to think about their financial future, Swinburne is hosting a ‘design sprint’ with industry partners Netwealth and MASS. 

The five-day sprint titled ‘Make It. Break It.’, based on the Google Ventures design sprint model, will take place 18 - 24 July at the Swinburne Innovation Precinct.

Participating Swinburne students will have the opportunity to work with industry professionals, workshopping solutions to improve Australians’ engagement with superannuation and investments.

“Having the chance to collaborate with industry experts while still studying is a fantastic learning and networking opportunity for our students,” says Course Director of Communication Design (Honours), Associate Professor Nicki Wragg.

“Design sprints are still a relatively new process of working. Students, staff and industry taking part in the sprint are learning together and will be able to transfer the experience into their working lives. For some students, they might not have an opportunity like this until years into their career.

“They will learn how to work with professionals, big picture thinking and the interdisciplinary skills they need to be successful in this industry.”

The sprint is a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping and testing ideas with customers. Students of all study levels will participate in teams to create the best design solutions.

Looking to solve a big problem

The collaboration between Swinburne, wealth management company Netwealth and design studio MASS looks to solve one of Australia’s growing challenges; how to get more people engaged with their super and retirement. 

For many, retirement seems a distant prospect, which can give rise to the problem of inadequate savings. According to Roy Morgan Research, 45.6 per cent of Australians aged 25-29 think ‘retirement is too far away for me to need to plan for it. Other challenges exist with women retiring with far lower super balances than males.

“At Netwealth our vision is to enable people to see wealth differently and discover a brighter future,” says Matt Heine, Joint Managing Director of Netwealth.

“Working with university students and MASS on this design challenge resonates with our core purpose.  It gives younger Australians the opportunity to connect with the greater issue and come up with big and innovative ways to solve the problem.  We can’t wait to see the results.”

Connection with industry

 “We’re very excited about arming the next generation of designers with newer, better ways of working,” says Tim Kotsiakos, Creative Director and founder of MASS.

“We’re interested in reshaping the role of the designer by using new globally progressive methods of working.

“As a Swinburne alumnus, I am personally invested in taking what I’ve learnt in my career and sharing that with the next generation of design thinkers.”

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by all parties to further strengthen industry relationships. The MoU provides opportunities for professional development, education and industry engagement across all parties.

For more information, see: Make it. Break it.

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