You might think students don’t get to test their ideas against real industry standards at uni. Well, we can tell you that’s not the case at Swinburne.

As part of their master degrees, international students Pamela Wolf Casallo and Diana Romero were tasked with offering innovative solutions to real challenges being faced by the massive West Gate Tunnel Project.

The pair and their classmates studying Delivering Innovation and Other High Risk Strategies were briefed by CPB Contractors and John Holland, who were jointly awarded the design and construction contract for the project.  

Program manager and lecturer, Dr Jason Thomas said: “It made sense to reach out to an organisation playing a major part in the Australian economy. An organisation who had a real life challenge we could connect to the theoretical concepts being taught in the program.”

“And, of course the students really loved it because they weren’t working on a theoretical problem, this was a real problem and they had the opportunity to present a solution back to the company.”

“I think this is one of the leading reasons why Swinburne is an attractive place to come and study because it connects theory with implementation."

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    Swinburne 2026 Study Expo

    Learn about and register for the 2026 Study Expo – the place to browse our course options and study areas across undergrad, postgrad, TAFE and UniLink.

    Tue 11 November
    4:30 PM to 6:00 PM
    Hawthorn campus, AMDC, Level 3
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