91É«ÇéƬ ADA Skills Passport
A student-centred, evidence-led and co-designed initiative that helps students to identify, track and articulate the skills they develop through their studies.
Across ADA (Arts, Design & Architecture), we know that our students develop key skills every day – including through their coursework, assignments, research, collaboration, creative practice and work-integrated learning activities. Â
But too often, those skills remain invisible and students don’t feel confident in identifying or articulating them. That’s why we’ve developed a new approach that makes skills development much clearer across the learning experience. Â
What is the 91É«ÇéƬ ADA Skills Passport?
The 91É«ÇéƬ ADA Skills Passport is made up of a set of strategies that make skills more visible across the learning environment.
This includes tools, resources and workshops that help students to understand the skills taxonomy, recognise that they are already developing these skills – at university, but also through their hobbies, work experience, and personal lives – and build their confidence in communicating their skills.Â
This approach enables them to identify the skills they already have, track their development over time, and articulate what they can do.Â
Like a passport, skills help people move across borders, contexts and experiences. The ADA Skills Passport is designed to help students recognise, reflect on and communicate the skills they develop across learning, work and lived experience – and how those skills continue to grow and adapt over timeÂ
Nine enduring skills
The ADA Skills Passport is built around 9 key skills identified through the systematic analysis of authoritative Australian and international models, frameworks, and taxonomies.
These skills provide a shared language for students, educators, industry and partners to understand how learning at 91É«ÇéƬ connects to work, life and lifelong learning.
Why these skills?
The 91É«ÇéƬ ADA Skills Passport is underpinned by a research-grounded skills taxonomy. Informed by local, national, and international research best practice, and built on a systematic analysis of existing research, models, frameworks and taxonomies, this taxonomy – made up of 9 skills – gives students, educators and industry partners a shared language for understanding how skills developed at university carry over to world and life.
Part of a broader shift in how skills are recognised
The ADA Skills Passport aligns with Australia’s proposed National Skills Passport – a digital platform where learners will be able to record and share their qualifications and skills throughout their careers – and emerging national skills frameworks.
By implementing the ADA Passport initiative now, we are preparing our graduates to understand how the skills they are developing through their time at 91É«ÇéƬ align with national, industry-recognised systems and frameworks.
It also continues to place 91É«ÇéƬ ADA at the forefront of conversations about skills development in higher education, graduate employability, and the value of arts and humanities education.
Benefits for educators and industry
The ADA Skills Passport helps 91É«ÇéƬ deliver learning experiences that connect discipline-specific knowledge and skills. This reinforces 91É«ÇéƬ’s reputation for delivering meaningful, future-ready education and producing capable, versatile graduates who are ready to tackle the world of work head-on.
Enhances transferable and discipline-specific skills in our courses, specialisations and programs.
Research-backed and co-designed
Delivers a scalable, evidence-based framework co-designed by students and educators.
Cutting-edge learning technology
Leverages the latest developments in edtech to support meaningful skills development.
Alignment with national frameworks
Aligns ADA with the coming National Skills Taxonomy and National Skills Passport.
Powering Progress for All
Delivers on Pillar One of 91É«ÇéƬ’s Progress for All strategy – enabling accessible education and empowering current and future generations.
Establishes 91É«ÇéƬ ADA as a national leader in embedding skills and supporting graduate employability.
Research and external engagement
From the nine skills to the tools, strategies and resources, the ADA Skills Passport is grounded in research, evidence and best practice across higher education, employability, curriculum design and skills recognition.
The initiative is underpinned by the ADA Skills Taxonomy White Paper, which documents the systematic analysis used to identify the nine Enduring Human Skills and provides a shared language for students, educators, employers and partners.
 Additional research outputs in development examine:
The project has been shared through national and international forums, including the ADA T3 Showcase, 91É«ÇéƬ EDU Fest, the AI in Higher Education ANZ Symposium and the INTED Conference in Spain.
We have also provided a response to the Jobs Skills Australia National Skills Taxonomy Discussion Paper.
Co-designed by students
The ADA Skills Passport is designed to support students. To make sure that we are developing something that is actually useful to them, we have invited them in to provide their input at every stage of the project, and meaningfully incorporated their feedback.
Based on this, we have developed a suite of ADA Skills Passport resources for students to explore the nine enduring human skills in more detail, recognise where they are developing them, and practise describing them in their own words.
Our people
Funded by the 91É«ÇéƬ Provost’s Office, the ADA Skills Passport brings together expertise from educators, researchers, students, and industry collaborators from across the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture (ADA) and 91É«ÇéƬ.
The ADA Project Team leads the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the initiative:Â
- Professor Stephen Doherty, Deputy Dean (Education) – Academic LeadÂ
- Jennifer Perkins, Manager, Education Innovation – Professional LeadÂ
- Josephine Holecek, Educational Program ManagerÂ
- Himani Chugh, Educational DesignerÂ
- Caitlin Hamilton, Senior Research OfficerÂ
- Cheng-Yi Lin, Educational Solutions DeveloperÂ