WIL[ling] to share: an institutional conversation to guide policy and practice in work‐integrated learning

Abstract

Teaching in universities can be a solitary pursuit, with academics designing and delivering learning and teaching experiences, and even units, in relative isolation. Even course design can involve only a small, discipline‐specific team that rarely extends to colleagues outside their specialisation. The challenges and possibilities provided by introduction of work integrated learning (WIL) to universities offer an unprecedented opportunity for staff to share knowledge and experience across disciplines to enhance student learning. This paper focuses on an opportunity for such cross‐discipline collaboration on the issues of WIL through a roundtable event at the University of Tasmania. The roundtable allowed staff from across the institution to share successes, challenges and resources and then to make recommendations to address identified issues.

Keywords:

• internship
• partnership
• professional experience
• roundtable
• work integrated learning
• work placement

Acknowledgements

Carol‐joy Patrick for her valuable input throughout the day, the roundtable participants who generously shared their experiences and Jillian Smith for proof reading this manuscript.