Exploring Curriculum Design in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World
In April 2025, the DECART UKZN team — Dr. Cecile Gerwel Proches, Prof. Angela James, and Dr. Macdonald Kanyangale — successfully conducted a workshop at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. The event was hosted in collaboration with the UKZN Teaching and Learning Office (UTLO).
The workshop aimed to help participants explore how VUCA-like events (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) can impact curriculum design. Through an interactive and hands-on approach, participants were guided to construct an agile curriculum canvas that integrates VUCA considerations — a tool developed as part of DECART’s first work package on curriculum design.
Participants engaged deeply with the curriculum canvas, using it to design their own responsive and resilient curricula. They gained a clear understanding of the key components required in curriculum construction and reflected on the ways VUCA conditions can disrupt traditional educational frameworks. The workshop provided valuable opportunities to consider how adaptability and resilience are essential in creating curricula that can withstand and respond to changing contexts.
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Participants described the workshop as informative, empowering, and engaging. Many appreciated the opportunity to reflect on what VUCA entails and how it affects curriculum planning and delivery. The session was especially noted for enhancing participants’ understanding of how to thrive in uncertain times by embedding agility and resilience into educational design.
This workshop marks an important milestone in DECART’s ongoing efforts to promote innovative and sustainable curriculum design across global educational contexts.
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