Universities Should Be Doing More Of THIS (Inside the QUT You Program)

When I first heard someone mention QUT You, I thought, “That sounds interesting…” But nothing prepared me for what I’d find when I looked into it.

In this episode, I chat with Professor Gene Moyle—psychologist, former ballerina, and now the driving force behind one of the most exciting innovations I’ve seen in higher education in a long time.

QUT You is a brand-new part of every undergraduate degree at QUT, and it’s designed to prepare students not just for their first job, but for whatever life throws at them next.

Instead of just focusing on traditional academic content, students at QUT now get to choose four short, future-focused units from a list that includes things like:

• Fighting Fake News

• Walking on Country

• Data Science for Society

• The Art of Pitching

• People with Robots

They’re practical, creative, collaborative, and—get this—deliberately structured to be pass/fail (rather than a graded mark) so students feel free to take risks and try something completely new.

What really stood out to me is how these units bring together students from all degrees and year levels. It’s not just about skills—it’s about belonging, confidence, and connection. And as someone who took a couple of random music units during my science degree and unexpectedly ended up using those skills in podcasting 20 years later… I get it.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why QUT felt it was time to rethink what a degree looks like

• How they actually pulled off such a huge curriculum shift

• What students are saying about the experience so far

• And how the QUT Festival (yes, there’s a whole festival!) helps students feel part of something bigger right from week one

This is the kind of thing I wish every uni was doing. If you’re a student (or a parent of one), this is a conversation worth listening to.

This episode is supported by Choosing Your Uni, Australia’s unique, AI-powered platform that is like a matchmaker for students and unis, helping students to find the right field of study, and institution, for them.

Our editor is Len Zamora and our distribution specialist is Gelo Ablao. Rob Malicki is the executive editor and host.