#work integrated learning

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is a term used to describe educational activities that combine academic learning in a domain with practical application in the workplace. The goal is for students to gain the ability to link their education with their work.

The most common types of Work Integrated Learning entail spending time in a workplace learning skills and performing tasks related to your field of study. Clinical placements, internships, practicums, and fieldwork are a few examples. These are common in fields of study such as medicine, education, law, and engineering. You can do these during the semester or on your vacation for a few weeks to a year. Because you go into the workplace, these programmes are external. However, there are also internal WIL activities on campus. There are two kinds of internal WIL.

• Industry projects require you to complete a project or develop a product for a client (as part of a team). Industry projects, which are popular in IT and business degrees, are graded as part of your coursework.

• Simulated and virtual experiences allow you to perform work-related tasks on campus in a simulated work environment. They are common in many fields of study, from medicine to information technology.

WIL is common and sometimes required in certain fields of study but not in others. True Work Integrated Learning refers to activities that are either required or optional as part of a course and can be graded.

Other types of work experience can provide you with valuable hands-on experience, but they are not always a type of WIL. Internships are a popular example.

JCU Business students gaining valuable work-ready experience

Finding a job in a tight employment market can be difficult, but JCU Business students are getting a head start by completing work experience as part of their studies.

During her studies, mature-aged student Kerry Orro said she had a concentrated introduction to her goal of becoming an accountant with local firm Concord Tax Kirwan.

Ms Orro undertook one of her subjects in block mode at the business, where training was more concise and the practical skills were easier to acquire with intense application, as opposed to sporadic, once-a-week contact.

“I was able to work in a very hands-on role from the start, which gave me an honest reflection of the tasks and workload that I would encounter as an accountant in a smaller practice,” she said.

“As I started employment at Concord throughout the third year of my degree, there were so many relevant and direct correlations between my work and studies.

“At work, I was learning the ‘how’ and at JCU, I was learning the ‘why.’ This was very beneficial when it came to having real life examples with which to connect and helped with greater understanding.”

For the past three years, the refreshed Bachelor of Business degree has included a work integrated learning (WIL) program where students complete one of three capstone WIL subjects in the final year of their degree.

One of the capstone subjects on offer is a professional internship, which involves 100 hours of workplace experience.

Gaining your degree is the first step to getting the career you want. 

Another important step that sets you apart as a graduate is your practical experience.  All of our business courses allow you to study in Australia or overseas, gaining work experience and credit towards your degree.