News edition for 28 July 2026. Added to Nungya on 22 October 2026 as part of our retrospective news archive. Reporting reflects information available by the edition date.
A building, a public space or a designed object begins with decisions about what matters. At the University of Technology Sydney, a new institute is putting First Nations relationships with Country at the beginning of that process.
UTS reported on 28 July that its Indigenous Institute for Designing with Country officially launched the previous day. The institute is a cross-disciplinary design laboratory focused on Country-centred thinking, drawing on First Nations knowledge systems, storytelling and connections to place.
Director Alison Page, a Professor of Practice in the university’s Faculty of Design and Society, described opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, researchers and communities to help shape design. Collaboration across sectors and disciplines is part of the institute’s purpose.
The development matters beyond the university setting. Design influences the places where people learn, work, travel and gather. Bringing First Nations perspectives into that work creates a setting for questions about place, responsibility and cultural knowledge to be considered while ideas are taking shape.
This is a launch announcement, so the institute’s future projects will be the next things to watch. Its starting point is clear: Country has an active place in design thinking.
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