Get started with WIL
Bring real-world relevance into your course. We work alongside other academic support units to provide cohesive guidance that supports your teaching and continuous improvement goals.
Our Success with WIL section showcases how À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ instructors have done just that, sharing strategies that work and the impact on student learning.
Why integrate WIL?
WIL enriches students' academic journeys by bridging the gap between theory and practice. It allows students to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings, build valuable professional skills and engage with industry and community leaders.
These experiences foster critical thinking, problem-solving and transferrable skill development, preparing students to meet the demands of today’s workforce. Through WIL, students acquire valuable insights into their chosen fields, enhancing their education with practical, career-related experiences that they can put on their résumé and speak about during networking opportunities.
WIL is a way to give students a significant alternative experiential educational opportunity while also having the potential to be a strong recruiting tool for some programs.
What we offer
Consultation and support
We offer personalized guidance on WIL course design, external partnerships and student engagement strategies.
Self-guided resources
Access a comprehensive suite of tools, guides and templates to help you independently explore and integrate WIL into your courses.
Quality WIL components
Learn about the key elements of high-impact WIL, like alignment with learning objectives, assessment strategies and strong partnerships.
Partnership opportunities
Discover how to collaborate with industry and community partners to create mutually beneficial WIL experiences.
Quality WIL components
WIL is a powerful pedagogical approach that combines academic learning with practical, real-world experience. Integrating WIL into courses can enhance student engagement, deepen learning and better prepare students for their future careers. A quality WIL experience is grounded in two interrelated foundations: a structured progression through the before, during and after WIL phases (Khampirat & McRae, 2016), and the intentional application of the PEAR framework elements. Together, these frameworks support intentional preparation and active engagement, ensuring that learning is both academically grounded and aligned with real-world standards.Â
Pedagogy
Define when WIL happens, how it’s taught, for what duration and its connection across the curriculum. This includes crafting learning outcomes to guide WIL experiences that align with course objectives to ensure students understand the skills and knowledge they are expected to develop. Providing comprehensive support, including pre-WIL preparation, ongoing mentoring and access to resources during the experience, as well as intentionally considered post-WIL opportunities to critically evaluate and reflect upon the experience, will help students navigate challenges and maximize their learning.
Experience
Facilitate genuine workplace experiences that are closely aligned with course content, allowing students to apply academic knowledge to real tasks and projects in their field of study. By prioritizing authenticity, students can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring meaningful engagement and maximizing value for both the student and the employer partner.Â
Assessment
Design assessments that focus on actioning WIL learning outcomes and engage industry and/or community partners in assessing student performance at multiple points during the WIL experience. Industry and/or community partners must assess either a product or a process of the students’ WIL experience. This level of partner engagement offers authentic work experiences that align with academic learning outcomes while ensuring that evaluation criteria reflect real-world standards and expectations.Â
Reflection
Embed reflection across all WIL phases to guide students in making deliberate connections between theory and practice in their learning, contribute to their career trajectories and shape their long-term goals. Targeted reflection helps students assess their experiences, grow their skills and develop a mindset of continuous improvement and lifelong learning.Â
Welcome to the when to make it WIL decision guide!
We're excited to help you explore whether work-integrated learning (WIL) is the right fit for your course. WIL integrates a student's academic studies with authentic workplace experiences, creating valuable partnerships between you, students and employers to enhance learning through hands-on practice.
This decision-making guide will walk you through a series of questions designed to provide valuable insights and support your decision-making process.
- Are you, as an instructor, okay with a bit of structured chaos? Consider WIL if you are open to a dynamic learning environment where students tackle real-world obstacles that may bring unique challenges.
- Is a WIL project a suitable fit for your course? Consider whether a WIL experience aligns with your course objectives by exploring its potential to enhance learning outcomes, foster real-world application and meet the needs of your students.
- Do you have accreditation or programmatic requirements that may impact or influence your ability to integrate a real-world project into your course? Is your course subject to accreditation or program requirements that could influence the integration of a real-world project? These guidelines may affect elements such as learning outcomes, assessment methods or required content coverage. Understanding or inquiring with your program head about these constraints can help you design a project that aligns with academic standards and practical learning goals.
Try out our when to WIL decision tree
Navigate the world of WIL with ease using the when to WIL decision tree. It guides you through the decision-making process to determine when and how to incorporate WIL into your projects or programs. Perfect for educators, employers and program designers, this resource ensures your approach aligns with best practices and delivers meaningful, real-world learning experiences.
