In this seminar, three researchers from the Work/Industry Futures Research Program will present recent research in the field of work integrated learning (WIL), open market internships and student equity in postgraduate access.
This will be followed by panel discussion and networking.
Speakers include:
- A/Professor Robyn Mayes
- Dr Deanna Grant-Smith
- Professor Paula McDonald
A central feature of work and workplace transformations globally has been the rapid expansion of internships and educationally-focused work experience. Such experiences are now widely considered foundational in facilitating ‘employability’ and as a pathway into a reconfigured labour market.
Widening participation or widening the gap in postgraduate access by equity groups
Given the growing importance of postgraduate education as an employability-enhancing strategy there is an urgent need to understand how postgraduate study intersects with broader equity goals and outcomes. Each Australian university grouping has a specific history, priorities and emphases which are shared within the group and which shape how the widening participation agenda manifests within groups and across the higher education sector. It is crucial that participation is examined in relation to these university groupings to understand stratification/clustering effects and uneven opportunities in relation to each equity group. Sharing the findings of the first national report to address widening participation outcomes in postgraduate education in Australia this presentation explores equity trends in domestic student participation in postgraduate study across the enrolment lifecycle. It finds that while there has been steady growth in overall undergraduate, postgraduate coursework, and postgraduate research enrolments and completions in the past decade this growth has not been consistent for all equity groups or all institutions. This disparity will be discussed.
WIL Wellbeing
Australian universities are under increasing pressure to support students to develop the graduate skills and knowledge required to transition from education into professional practice. Despite the wide scale adoption of WIL as a learning pedagogy in higher education there has been limited exploration of student experiences of WIL through a wellbeing lens or an explicit focus on equity considerations. Examining the equity implications of WIL this research reveals new insights about participant experiences and has the potential to inform WIL policies and practices to support student wellbeing. Explicitly foregrounding the experiences of WIL participants we highlight the contribution of personal coping strategies (many of which are taken into post-graduation professional practice) to managing a successful WIL experience. We also discuss how universities and WIL placement workplaces can better support students in preparation for and during their WIL experience.
Open Market Internships: What do intermediaries offer?
Participation in open market internships by higher education students and graduates has significantly expanded in recent years. This has created growing opportunities for intermediaries or brokers to enter the field and organise and charge fees for placing students or graduates in organisations, either in their home country or abroad. Despite being voluntary, open market internships may be promoted or endorsed by universities increasingly motivated to demonstrate their responsiveness to the needs of industry. This form of (usually unpaid) work experience has been the subject of significant public concern and growing controversy. The study examined 25 international intermediaries to reveal new insights into their corporate functions and the nature of the open market internships they offer. The findings show the majority of firms offer placements in a wide variety of mainstream disciplines, partner with prestigious universities and organisations, and promise a plethora of employability capacities. The high program fees charged to participants may constitute a significant barrier to participation for those from less advantaged backgrounds.
