Karolina is the Program Manager for the Graduate Certificate in Design Management and a lecturer in the Construction Management Program within the School of Property, Construction, and Project Management.
The Graduate Certificate program offers an accelerated, industry-based learning pathway designed to cultivate technical mastery, design excellence, and project leadership among senior design, engineering, and advisory professionals.
In parallel, Karolina is pursuing her PhD, focusing on landscape architectural and sensory design. Her research explores the impact of planting scents on restorative experiences for users of public parks and gardens. She aims to optimise planting schemes by considering the placement of plantings and user needs for restorative sensory experiences, specifically from the perspective of smell.
Prior to joining the School of Property, Construction, and Project Management, Karolina was a lecturer in the Landscape Architecture program at RMIT University, where she ran several design studios focused on addressing climate change challenges around Port Phillip Bay. She also facilitated multiple environmental technical courses that integrated landscape systems, planting knowledge, and design through the development and delivery of a series of green roof pilot projects across RMIT University.
Currently, Karolina leads the SHAPE elective, which emphasises multidisciplinary collaboration, design thinking, and innovative implementation strategies for real-world projects. This course is available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, providing a platform for built environment students to collaborate on complex urban challenges. Through the development of masterplans, students explore unconventional connections, propose innovative urban typologies, and challenge traditional design practices.
Karolina has also taught internationally at various institutions, including Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and the LandWorks program in Sardinia, Italy.
Karolina’s research interests encompass landscape architectural design, with a particular focus on green roofs, sensory design, environmental psychology, and innovative planting technologies. Additionally, she is passionate about developing techniques to enhance multidisciplinary collaboration, especially in the context of design projects.
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.