Intensive study: CDU’s short trips for big career gains

Starting her Graduate Diploma of Environmental Management at Charles Darwin University (CDU) while working full-time for WA's Parks and Wildlife Service, Ailsa initially saw her intensive unit as just a practical scheduling option. 

She soon realised, however, that combining flexible online units with concentrated, week-long face-to-face intensive experiences was actually the perfect way to fast-track her professional commitments and enhance her learning in a way she hadn't expected. 

“The way I structured my study is one online unit, then an intensive,” Ailsa says. This approach lets her take the knowledge she learns online and apply it through a concentrated, real-world experience. 

Ailsa recently finished a week-long intensive titled ENV517 Natural Resources and Indigenous Livelihoods, an on-site, hands-on concentrated course based at CDU’s Casuarina campus, and says the format has seriously enhanced her postgraduate studies. 

The unit, which is open to both undergrad and postgrad students, mixes intense classroom learning with two days on Country in Kakadu National Park. Instead of reading course material, students dive into real-world case studies looking at First Nations peoples' contributions to natural resource management, and look at the factors affecting enterprise development, including governance and business models. 

How this intensive helps Ailsa’s work 

Ailsa's day job involves visitor management, public communications and working with Traditional Owners to develop interpretative materials across jointly managed parks. 

“What I'm learning in this intensive is very relevant to my workplace,” she says. 

She found the intensive format was much better for her learning style. “I work so much better face-to-face,” she says. “Having the intensive over a week is easier to manage than trying to balance weekly lectures with everything else.” 

Her employer has been fully supportive, providing study leave and time to travel to Darwin so she could focus entirely on learning. “This really gives an opportunity to drill down into concepts and think more deeply about them,” Ailsa says. 

Apply early, be present 

Ailsa admits she missed the first intensive of the year because she applied too late, but her positive experience with this one has exceeded expectations and changed all her future study plans. The face-to-face discussions and team learning have enhanced her understanding of the online units. 

She now plans to enrol in more intensives next year, sticking to a study pattern that balances online flexibility with these immersive experiences. 

Ailsa was even surprised to learn that her work colleagues could have joined the intensive as professional participants, even without being CDU students – they'd just sit out the assessment part. “I didn't know you could do that – I would have invited more people from work,” she says.