Continuing education courses in urban planning, design and management

A wide range of education activities is being devised and carried out under the Urban Design Training Courses project. This project is one of the five independent projects forming the Urban Design and Education Programme, (UDEP), which was established jointly by the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education (UICEE) and the Urban Design Unit within the Department of Infrastructure of the State Government of Victoria, in 1999. Two continuing education courses for professionals working in urban planning, design and management have been recently designed, developed and implemented under the common title Leading by Design. The first course is especially tailored for top executives and practitioners working in the Local Government sector, whereas the second course is intended for middle level practitioners in local councils, development agencies and private industry. The assessment of the courses was carried out with the help of specially designed survey questionnaires, administered on completion of each course. Feedback obtained from the participants has provided developers with useful information concerning the courses. The paper endeavours to present and discuss the philosophy, structure, content and execution of the two courses.