With a unique focus on the Australian Design & Technologies Curriculum, the Creative Futures program provides opportunities for teachers to expand their skills, knowledge, and confidence regarding contemporary Design Thinking practice.
Design Thinking is a dynamic, iterative process that emphasises collaboration between designers and users. It transforms innovative concepts into reality by aligning with the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours of real users. This human-centered design approach comprises five fundamental stages: Empathise, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test.
Creative Futures Annual Design Workshop
This workshop uses museum collections and design thinking practices to enrich school-based design education. Delivered on-site at Melbourne Museum in the Learning Lab Studio, teachers will be led through a series of talks and activities by industry experts, alongside opportunities for collaboration and resource sharing utilising the Museum collection and digital spaces.
The main aim of these workshops is to provide a short-term solution to the critical shortage of qualified design & technologies (D&T) teachers. Until there are more opportunities established in Initial Teacher Education, this masterclass supports out of field teachers to deliver the design and technologies curriculum in a progressive, dynamic, and safe way – and the program is delivered to teachers in regional Victoria to enable greater access across the state.
Upcoming workshop
Coming soon!
Design education partners
DATTA VIC is the professional association for teachers of Design and Technologies in Victoria. Their members come from the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors and teach STEAM, Product Design, Textiles Design, Electronics, Systems Engineering, Food & Fibre, Sustainability, and Emerging Technologies. DATTA VIC delivers teacher professional learning programs throughout the year, including conferences, workshops, regional networking groups, and webinars. DATTA Vic also advocates on behalf of our learning area to state and federal government and industry and develops partnerships that benefit teachers and students.
Museums Victoria partners with DATTA Victoria to run Creative Futures workshops to address the shortage of design and tech teachers.
For over 20 years, Museums Victoria has partnered with the Victoria Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA) to present Top Designs at Melbourne Museum. Part of the VCE Season of Excellence, the exhibition displays some of the brightest VCE and VCE VET students from across Victoria. With over 1000 submissions, the final selection of works offers a glimpse into the future of Australian design and presents works created by students who have completed Design and Technology and Visual Communications Subjects for VCE and VET the previous year.
Held every year between April to July, the exhibition attracts over 10,000 education group bookings to the exhibition. Top Designs also delights other visitors, providing insight into the impressive works of Victoria’s future designers. The exhibition is complemented by the Top Design Education Forums – A program featuring talks from leading design industry professionals and Top Designs alumni as they share their pathways, insights, and expertise across the design world. In 2026 we saw over 2000 students and teachers attending these forums. On average, a third of Top Design Education Forum attendees are from regional and rural schools.
Creative Futures Ltd was established with the following principal objectives and purposes:
- to support the advancement of design education and culture
- to promote the integration of design and innovation within and for the benefit of the broader community
- to foster a supportive environment and culture for future creative thinkers.
Creative Future’s four core values are Enterprise, Innovation, Creative Education, and Support.
As part of its mission, Creative Futures supports design education institutions and organisations. It distributed major gifts in December 2020 to:
- Museums Victoria to develop programs and exhibitions for design students and teachers
- University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Design to develop award programs for design teachers in conjunction with the Melbourne Graduate School of Education
- Geelong Art Gallery to develop design support programs and exhibitions for students in the Bellarine and Surf Coast region.
CFL also provided Teacher Development Grants to the Design and Technology Teachers Association (DATTA) Victoria.
Robert Treseder, Founder, and Chair, Creative Futures Foundation is a passionate entrepreneurial leader within the Australian creative industries, having established the Australian Centre for Design and Innovation (ACID), Geelong, and the Academy of Design Australia (Melbourne).
