Year
2019
Units
4.5
Contact
5 x 3-hour intensive workshops per semester
Prerequisites
18 units of topics completed at postgraduate level
Course context
Master of Arts (International Relations), Master of Arts (International Development), Master of International Development
Topic description
This topic will usually focus on a case study that enables students to analyse a variety of political, economic, cultural and social challenges faced by a country or region. You will explore themes that cut across international relations and international development. This topic aims to equip you with the skills that enable you to perform professionally and socially in an international and multicultural context, as well as building discipline knowledge in international relations and international development.

Central to the learning experience is i) an intensive workshop at which researchers from Flinders and other institutions explore key themes; and ii) a synchronous in-person and online simulation of a realistic international policy scenario. The topic takes the form of a blended learning intensive held on the Flinders campus in which distance students participate in real time using educational ICTs including Skype, Flinders Learning Online (FLO), live-streamed video and chat.
Educational aims
This topic aims to:
  1. provide an opportunity for students to engage in professional analysis of issues and problems in international relations and international development
  2. introduce students to complex problems and problem solving skills in international relations and international development using a simulated realistic workplace scenario
  3. provide students with opportunities to develop professional communication skills - oral and written - with special attention to communicating across cultural, linguistic, disciplinary and physical boundaries through the use of ICTs
  4. further develop students' skills in academic research, bibliographic analysis and professional writing
Expected learning outcomes
On successful completion of this topic students should be able to:
  1. produce a well-informed analysis of advanced-level academic and policy literature in an area of international relations and international development
  2. demonstrate an awareness of the complex challenges faced by countries and of productive ways to approach them
  3. demonstrate advanced and effective communication skills, both face-to-face and mediated through ICTs
  4. collaborate constructively with others in complex professional environments
  5. evaluate their own progress towards meeting their learning and professional goals