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This paper details a new dimension to an existing internship program developed in response to the effects of COVID-19 in a creative industries faculty at a large Australian university. Recent changes to workplace activities, as a result of the pandemic, have offered an opportunity to test a mode of internships in which students work and engage remotely, via on-line modes, with a workplace. Analysis of the offering is conducted using the Community of Inquiry framework. Outcomes confirm the concept of remote internships as appropriate strategies that can not only support improved student retention in the short term, but offer new opportunities for enriched, broadened and more equitable internship experiences. Workplace-based internships, while offering high impact and authentic experiences, are often difficult for many students who are unable to attend workplaces to complete the required hours due to a range of other work, study, and life factors. The new remote internship, seeks to overcome these barriers.

There is a significant amount of research into gender differences in academic performance in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields. This has identified important differences between the academic achievement of men and women as measured through grade point averages and time to completion. However, the specific STEM fields of design have not been thoroughly explored. This research investigates the long-term academic performance of a large group of architecture, industrial design, interior design and landscape architecture students at a major Australian university. The study followed the progress of 472 students over an 11-year period. In most fields the academic achievement of students follows expected patterns; the difference in academic grades for male and female students reduces over time. However, in interior design, there are significant differences that increase with time, to the favour of women. A range of social, cultural and contextual influences are discussed including the signature pedagogy of the design studio and the hidden curriculum of design education.

This article presents a longitudinal study, over eleven years, of the academic progress of a cohort of design students (n = 475) at a major Australian university. The students were from four different spatial design disciplines: architecture, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. The article identifies cognitive variables that may predict future academic success. This research uses regression analysis to identify correlations across a range of variables, in particular exploring the relationship between university entrance scores, subjects studied at school (art and graphics) and academic success as defined by university grade point average and time to completion. This study shows that prior knowledge in art and graphics is not a useful predictor of future academic success, while university entrance scores and first year performance are related to ongoing academic success. These results suggest that for the design disciplines explored here, discipline-specific prior knowledge is not an important requirement for university entrance.