Student Profiles

Michael Willcock

Senior Planner, Taylor Burrell Barnett
Bachelor of Arts (Urban and Regional Planning)(Honours)

When I was selecting my course, by default the only university in Western Australia that offered the Urban and Regional Planning degree, was Curtin University.  UWA, Murdoch and ECU I understand created their planning degrees about 3-4 years ago.

I believe the lecturers and staff that assisted in presenting the degree to students were highly experienced and knowledgeable.  Curtin experienced staff changes and curriculum changes to the planning degree due to, in my opinion, the opening of courses by competing universities.  I think that my graduating class had overall a good experience with staff and I still have very good memories of the course and of the University.

The various social events held both by Student Associations and the Guild presented opportunities for socialising and networking, in addition to study, were the highlights. I remember how Guild used to organise beer appreciation nights and particularly the end of year events. I also loved the field trips; they we were able to go on, including Kalgoorlie, Rottnest Island and Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Penang, helped make the university course memorable.

Dr Shane Grieve, David Hedgcock and Julie Brunner were notable lecturers that I have continual respect for. I find their integrity as professional planners came through in their lecturing styles. I also believe that the lecturers had a keen interest in their students. I still have infrequent contact with lecturers, particularly Dr Grieve, and feel that the lecturers are very approachable. I would consider seeking their advice about future study.

I was successful in attaining a planning cadetship at the City of Mandurah in the second semester of my first year in uni. I still remember receiving a phone call from Curtin University, as they had received a phone call from the City of Mandurah asking about me (as they found out there was a Mandurah student studying at uni).  So basically, Curtin kick started my career. After I graduated I was made full-time at the City of Mandurah and over the following two years was twice promoted to more senior positions.  In 2010, I moved from the City of Mandurah to the City of South Perth as a senior strategic planning officer, before moving to the boutique town planning and urban design firm Taylor Burrell Barnett in October 2010, as a Senior Planner.

I found it extremely beneficial to study Planning at uni and also to work in my field, as I got first-hand experience of both the academic and practical application of my degree. I believe this helped expedite my career path and has enabled me to mature as a planning practitioner.

I believe that Curtin’s planning degree is well regarded, especially since it is formally recognised by the Planning Institute of Australia.  Anecdotal discussions with more recent planning students from Curtin suggest that there is some room for improvement, particularly with some of the repetition of coursework and some of the intermittent employment of lecturers.

Overall I think that I would recommend the planning degree on offer at Curtin to others.  In turn, I would also look into postgraduate urban design courses also on offer at Curtin, because I know that Curtin offers planning courses that create high-quality planners.