How Queensland University of Technology used its business school as a launchpad for institution-wide digital capability development

Context and challenge

Digital capability has become a core expectation of business graduates, yet translating that expectation into consistent, meaningful learning experiences across large undergraduate programmes remains challenging. At the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Business School, this moment was recognised as an opportunity. Preparations for AACSB reaccreditation and a comprehensive course review in 2023 prompted Associate Professors Annetta Spathis and Elliroma Gardiner and Professor Paula Dootson to take a more deliberate, programme-level approach to how digital capability was being developed and articulated across the Bachelor of Business.

The review highlighted a familiar tension. Digital transformation, including the rapid emergence of generative AI, was reshaping business practice faster than curricula could typically respond. While many units already incorporated digital tools and authentic, industry-facing assessment, the school recognised an opportunity to adopt a shared language and framework that could more clearly describe, map and deliberately develop students’ digital capabilities at a programme level.

With over ten study areas contributing to the Bachelor of Business, and large first-year cohorts often exceeding 1,500 students per semester, the business school needed an approach that was coherent, scalable and meaningful to students as emerging professionals.

Choosing a shared framework

The decision to adopt our building digital capability framework was driven by the need for a clearly articulated, higher education specific model that could support curriculum design rather than sit alongside it.

The framework offered a way to move beyond generic references to “digital skills” and instead break capability down into distinct, intersecting areas, such as ICT proficiency, digital communication, digital participation, data and information literacy, and digital identity and wellbeing. Importantly, it also aligned with institutional priorities around ethical practice, professional judgement and responsible use of emerging technologies such as generative AI.

Rather than treating AI as a standalone skill, the business school framed it as a transversal capability, woven across learning outcomes and embedded within broader digital literacy. This positioned AI not as a shortcut or threat, but as a tool that required evaluative reasoning, ethical awareness and contextual decision-making.

Mapping capabilities across the curriculum

Using the Jisc framework, the business school began work to explicitly align digital capabilities to course learning outcomes, mapped against Australian Qualifications Framework level 7 expectations for bachelor’s degrees.

This allowed academic teams to identify where and how capabilities were introduced, developed and applied across the programme. In some units, digital capability was already explicit within learning outcomes. In others, it was present but implicit, embedded within authentic assessment practices without a shared language to describe it.

The framework enabled a more granular view. A single unit learning outcome could be mapped to multiple digital capabilities, helping staff understand the complexity of capability development rather than reducing it to isolated skills.

The work remains iterative. As technologies evolve and workplace expectations shift, the mappings are refined. However, the framework now provides a stable foundation for curriculum conversations across disciplines and teaching teams.

Embedding capability development in the first year

To introduce students to this shared language early, the business school embedded the framework and Jisc discovery tool into a large first-year core unit, BSB105: The Future Enterprise.

The unit focuses on digital transformation and how organisations use technology to address real-world problems. This made it a natural home for structured reflection on digital capability, alongside guided use of generative AI tools within assessment.

Students were asked to complete the Jisc discovery tool during class time, typically taking 10 to 15 minutes. The tool prompted students to reflect on their confidence across different areas of digital capability and provided a personalised visual report, suggested next steps, and links to relevant resources.

Crucially, staff emphasised that the tool measured self-perception and confidence rather than technical competence. This framing helped students engage more honestly with the activity and prepared them for reflective assessment.

From self-assessment to structured reflection

The discovery tool was integrated directly into assessment through an 800-word reflective task. Students were asked to:

• Identify the digital capabilities most relevant to their chosen major, supported by external evidence such as industry reports.
• Relate those capabilities to their discovery tool results, noting areas of strength and areas for development.
• Analyse gaps between current confidence levels and future professional expectations.
• Develop a concrete, time-bound action plan for building specific capabilities during their degree.

Students submitted their discovery tool report alongside the reflection, allowing markers to validate interpretations and support consistent assessment.

For many first-year students, some of whom were in their first week of university, this was their first explicit opportunity to connect personal digital practices with professional identity. Reflections showed students identifying unexpected gaps, such as strong confidence in everyday digital communication but lower confidence in digital participation within professional networks.

Insights from data at scale

Across semester one and two of 2025, 2,396 first-year business school students completed the discovery tool. Aggregated and anonymised data provided valuable insights at cohort level.

The results revealed relatively high confidence in areas such as digital communication, often linked to familiarity with social media platforms. In contrast, digital participation, including contributing to online discussions and professional communities, was lower. When compared with sector benchmarks provided through the tool, these patterns broadly mirrored wider higher education trends.

For educators, the data highlighted the gap between informal digital fluency and the confidence required to participate professionally and visibly online. These insights are now informing conversations about where capability development needs to be strengthened later in the course, including potential use of the tool in capstone units closer to graduation.

Lessons learned

Several factors contributed to successful implementation at scale.

First, capability development was intentionally designed into the unit, not added retrospectively. This ensured alignment between teaching activities, assessment and the reflective use of the tool.

Second, consistency across a large teaching team was critical. All tutors completed the discovery tool themselves before teaching, discussed their experiences, and received clear guidance on how the activity linked to learning outcomes and assessment.

Third, completing the tool during class time significantly improved engagement and reduced confusion. Dedicated time allowed students to reflect properly, ask questions, and immediately discuss results with peers.

Finally, linking the activity to assessment gave it credibility. Students took the exercise seriously because it was clearly connected to their progression as emerging professionals, not positioned as an optional extra.

From pilot to institution-wide adoption

Following the successful use of the building digital capability framework and discovery tool within the business school, QUT has committed to commission the service for rollout across the whole university.

What began as a course-level intervention has demonstrated value at scale, providing a common language for digital capability that can be applied across disciplines. Institution-wide access will allow faculties to adapt the framework to their contexts while maintaining consistency in how digital capability is articulated, developed and evidenced.

Looking ahead

While still early in the journey, QUT’s experience demonstrates how a shared digital capability framework can bring coherence to curriculum design, support reflective learning at scale, and generate meaningful data for programme-level planning.

The business school is now exploring how to use the discovery tool at multiple points across the degree, enabling students to track changes in confidence and capability over time. There is also growing institutional interest in adapting similar approaches for staff digital capability development.

For QUT, the value of our service lies not simply in the tool itself, but in how it has enabled shared conversations about digital capability, professional identity and what it means to prepare graduates for an increasingly complex, digitally enabled world.

Want to know more?

• Explore our building digital capability service
• Request a demonstration of our discovery tool