CIFAL Certified Courses

What makes a course CIFAL Certified?

Courses carrying the CIFAL name:

1. Are developed in partnership with CIFAL Newcastle, UNITAR, and the frameworks and guidelines that inform the whole global CIFAL Network and CIFAL Initiative.

2. Follow a facilitative, practical, and interactive learning approach.

3. Focus on strengthening human and institutional capacity to tackle real development challenges.

4. Support the broader mission of advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals through education and leadership development.

Why it matters

When participants complete a CIFAL Certified course, they gain:

1. Training recognised across an international network of UN‑affiliated centres.

2. Skills and knowledge grounded in global best practices.

3. Opportunities to connect with experts, practitioners, and leaders around the world.

Explore our full list of CIFAL certified content at the University of Newcastle

Courses

Performance and Sustainability of the Built Environment

ARBE3101

This undergraduate course uses the knowledge of First Nations Peoples and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to explore and evaluate the modern and future built environment on a local, and global scale. When undertaking this course, you will have the opportunity to engage with aspects of sustainable construction practices, from Indigenous perspectives, sustainable design and community and the built environment.

Disaster Resilience Economics and Business Resilience

ARBE6617

This course is designed to help you develop professional skills and career readiness in the business sector. You will have the opportunity to gain real world experience through multiple avenues, such as working on projects, leadership training, stakeholder engagement and professional presentations. The aim is to bridge academic theory with professional practice, enhancing employability and providing invaluable work experience.

Disaster Governance and International Frameworks

ARBE6618

This postgraduate course explores disaster risk reduction and its interactions with governments. Using UN frameworks and perspectives from international, national, state and local governments, you will apply disaster risk reduction assessments to these contexts.

Methods for Evidence-Based Decisions in Disasters

ARBE6619

This post-graduate course is designed to provide you with methods, evidence-based decision-making skills and research ethics training, focussing on both qualitative and quantitative methods to engage with topics and issues relevant to Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience.

Disaster Risk and Resilience Capstone Project

ARBE6620

This post-graduate course allows you to undertake a supervised individual research project on topics relating to disaster risk and resilience. You can utilise both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to design your own project and submit a thesis of your findings.

Career-Ready Industry Led Project Lab

BUSN3004

This course is designed to help you develop professional skills and career readiness in the business sector. You will have the opportunity to gain real world experience through multiple avenues, such as working on projects, leadership training, stakeholder engagement and professional presentations. The aim is to bridge academic theory with professional practice, enhancing employability and providing invaluable work experience.

K-6 Curriculum Contexts: Integration and Inclusion

EDUC4750

This undergraduate course addresses skill development needed for curriculum design, focusing on professional engagement, community asset analysis and reflection. This course gives you the opportunity to learn how to effectively create curriculums with engagement from local communities.

The Global Primary Professional

EDUC6918

This postgraduate course is for Primary Initial Teacher Education Students. You will learn how to design a curriculum using multi-level pedagogies, during a 40 day block of full time professional experience in a school. You will have the opportunity to engage in numerous aspects of teacher life, while learning about the legal, social and ethical responsibilities of the teaching profession.

Degrees

Bachelor of Environmental Science & Management

The Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management offers four majors so you can tailor your degree to suit your interests and career objectives. Studying a major allows you to gain detailed skills and a strong understanding of key principles in your chosen environmental science speciality.

Events

National Science and Engineering Challenge

The National Science and Engineering Challenge is a nationwide competition for primary and high school students, hosted by the University of Newcastle and in collaboration with local communities, Rotary clubs and other universities. The National Science and Engineering Challenge offers a vast range of science and engineering challenges, fostering an environment of teamwork, out-of-the-box thinking and complex problem-solving.

Workshops & Programs

Cultural Capability Training Program

This training is designed to help create a culturally responsive work environment through a better understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and contemporary issues.

Children's University

Children between the ages of 7 and 14 years are encouraged to discover new learning experiences outside of the classroom, in their local and regional community and on campus. The children build their own learning program by engaging in extracurricular activities throughout the year, recognising that learning happens everywhere and doesn’t have to be constrained by curriculum.

Field Epidemiology in Action

Field Epidemiology in Action (FEiA) partners with governments and national teams in the Pacific to train health professionals in preventing, detecting, and responding to public health threats. There is a string focus on field training, rapid response training and gender-sensitive training to enable health professionals to provide efficient and effective responses and care in the face of health emergencies.