Your ideal partner for community engagement
UTS Shopfront is dedicated to supporting the work of committed academics from all UTS faculties who supervise or contribute to community projects or research.
We are expert project 'matchmakers' with 12 years of experience and an international reputation for community-university project management and community-engaged research. Our experience means we know how to make life easier for you.
Shopfront keeps records of all the projects you supervise or contribute to, and publicises the outcomes to make sure your work is properly acknowledged and promoted.
Key features of our process:
- Community-initiated projects
Ensures real need (and therefore real commitment) from the community client - to the work and to the project timeline.
- Diverse range of projects
Diversity adds interest for your students as they see other community projects developing through various stages to completion. It also demands versatility in their approaches to working for different clients and target audiences.
- Project scoping and identification of other disciplinary inputs
Shopfront provides continuity in UTS's partnerships with communities; allowing larger, multi-disciplinary projects to be defined, planned, broken down and completed across faculties and over time. If required, your students' projects will be linked to other courses and students, industry expertise and technical support.
- Project breakdown and monitoring
UTS Shopfront's brokerage ensures that projects are student-ready and manageable within a semester timeline and that participants understand their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, Shopfront will quality monitor project progress and relationships during the semester.
Why work with UTS Shopfront?
You will receive internal and external recognition for your efforts, have a demonstrable record of community work with real outcomes to assist with academic career progression, add value to your CV, and get to work with worthwhile community groups.
Other outcomes include:
- working with your students in a range of organisational settings
- new networks, research opportunities and potential resources, and
- the opportunity to address ethical and equity issues with your students.
How do community groups find out about Shopfront?
After more than 450 successful community projects, nowadays most groups in the community sector hear about Shopfront through word-of-mouth. We have over 1000 community groups on our database that receive our newsletters. Peak bodies, NGOs and government departments also refer community partners and distribute information about UTS Shopfront.
Where do project ideas come from?
Projects are initiated by the community based on their need.
As an academic supervisor, what is my role supervising a community project?
You will:
- be responsible for all academic and subject related activities
- assess the content of each project to ensure it meets your subject's objectives
- assess whether students require additional training (cultural sensitivity, familiarisation, ethics), and
- supervise the student(s) within subject requirements.
What are the roles for community clients, students and UTS Shopfront?
These are outlined in our Roles and Responsibilities for Project Stakeholders.
How do I keep informed about projects?
New projects are listed on this website and advertised in UTS Staff Notices each semester.
Look at current available projects, add an RSS feed to keep informed about new projects, or sign up to receive our quarterly e-newsletter.