Heathfield had entered into a school–business partnership, brokered by the Australian Industry Group, before this project began. The school used this partnership to set the direction for the project and the project brief for students: to create a new product that would appeal to the youth market.
Two Year 9 classes participated in the project. Explicit teaching occurred in learning areas, with teachers making connections between the content being taught and the project. Joint teaching sessions occurred from time to time to allow students to consolidate their work.
The Heathfield project involved intensive engagement with a single industry partner. The project processes closely followed those used by the industry partner. For example, students worked in teams of 5 to 6, with each member being assigned a specific role that reflected the team roles of the industry partner, and timelines and deliverables were specified well in advance.
While the school set individual learning area assessment tasks throughout the project, the project's culmination was a presentation to a panel of judges made up of staff from the industry partner. The project ran over a period of 10 weeks.
