"Is it time to rethink interdisciplinarity?": A case study of module NG4S703 (Construction Laws and Practice)

The pandemic has demonstrated that a significant culture change is required to build upon the accelerated progress made in terms of digital provision during the last academic year at USW. Without question a collaborative ‘bottoms up’ approach from teams across the university was central to the success and implementation of DEAL. The traditional boundaries of academic fields of study felt unfit for the digital environment as students moved into an integrated learning space with enhanced accessibility and digital learning needs. Guidance and support from departments across USW was essential from consistency in module design as well as input from the design and print team, learning resources, student admin, CELT, external experts to bring the real world of work directly to the digital classroom. I have selected one masters module (specifically selected as the module went through the March 2021 board so questions of conflict of interest are reduced) namely NG4S703 to demonstrate the collaborative approach from inception to completion for the delivery of this fully online module. At each stage of the module whether from design at inception through to assistance with running online assessments it was clear that all stages were interdependent on the work of others beyond the immediate academics responsible for educational delivery. The presentation will demonstrate how this interdependence worked whilst questioning the need to revisit archaic hierarchical structures and ‘traditional’ fields of study. A unifying approach to delivery and research beyond established fields of study should enable meaningful research to flourish that reflects the reality of digital delivery.