Allan Johnstone

Biography

I chair the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Sustainability and also International Aid and Development. Murdoch University was one of the first universities in the world to offer an undergraduate degree in Sustainable Development (we’ve been offering the course since 2000) and also one of the first to provide postgraduate courses tailored to professionals’ needs. I’ve been teaching at Murdoch since 1998 and it has been a great privilege to see our courses evolve and flourish during this time. It’s been inspiring sharing ideas with our students and seeing them become the next generation of sustainability leaders and practitioners. One of the benefits of having well-established courses is that we can track the careers that our graduates pursue – and ensure that new and current students can benefit from their experiences. We have a high-achieving alumni who are enjoying ‘world-changing’ careers both within Australia and overseas. You’ll find our alumni working as Members of Parliament (State and Federal), throughout state government agencies (such as the Departments of Planning, Environment and Conservation, and Transport) and across local government (from Stirling to Cockburn). Our alumni are making a difference within organisations ranging from large corporations (such as Rio Tinto) to dynamic N.G.O.s (such as the Conservation Council). Other alumni are successful ecopreneurs who have established innovative green businesses. One of the most important roles I have as an Academic Chair is to connect new and current students with our alumni and with the many industry partners we have developed over the years. We do this by asking our alumni back onto campus to give guest lectures and seminars, by using lots of inspiring case studies in our courses, and by trying to ensure that our students learn about cutting-edge Sustainability ideas and practices. And, importantly, we try to provide career pathways for students by helping them to take internships (‘work-integrated learning’) with relevant organisations and mentors while they study, for academic credit. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to teach and chair in such an important area, with such an outstanding community of globally-aware staff and students!

Research Interest

Urban sustainability Urban economic development Creative cities