The role of work-integrated learning in preparing students for a corporate entrepreneurial career

PurposeIn the literature there is limited knowledge about how to prepare students for a corporate entrepreneurial career. The purpose is therefore to develop a framework for understanding the role corporate development projects play in corporate entrepreneurship education, and to examine the potential role of the design of the project. The study defines a corporate development project as a project being part of an academic education to provide students with working experiences situated in an experiential learning process.Design/methodology/approachBased on work-integrated learning literature, the authors first develop a conceptual framework. Thereafter, they undertake a multiple case study using data from a Master's Program in Corporate Entrepreneurship. Starting from the conceptual framework, the authors employ deductive thematic analysis in order to analyze data and finally to develop an elaborated framework.FindingsIn the framework, the authors identify and label five categories of learning outcomes from the corporate development project. The framework helps understand the interplay between the different learning outcomes in students' learning process and shows how the design of the project shapes the learning process.Practical implicationsThe framework can assist educators in designing and integrating the corporate development project as a key module within a corporate entrepreneurship academic program.Originality/valueBased on the framework, the study develops the knowledge about the design of corporate entrepreneurship education. Future research should test the framework using data from other academic programs in corporate entrepreneurship.

A Post-Pandemic Strategy to Support Lifelong and Work-Integrated Learning

Lifelong work-integrated learning is a key challenge in the growing knowledge society, with the Corona pandemic as a catalyst for technology enhancement. This chapter argues for the need of a post-pandemic strategy that rethinks not only the pedagogical aspect but also the technology enhanced and collaborative aspects of lifelong and work-integrated learning. The strategy that is presented in this chapter is based on the author's experience from the BUFFL initiative, a pilot project for industry development at banks and insurance companies through technology-enhanced lifelong learning. The recommendation is a strategy tailored for the target group that supports the work-integrated learning aim of academia providing useful theories for real-world tasks in the industry. Some important components in the strategy are 1) to extend pedagogy with andragogy and heutagogy, 2) the design of user-friendly hybrid environments, and 3) blended communities of practice.

Work-Integrated Learning

Work-integrated learning (WIL) continues to be an essential topic of conversation among governments, educators, employers, and students. By various names and definitions, WIL attempts to inject the realism of workplace employment tasks into the post-secondary learning environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced stakeholders to innovate in the WIL space often using the advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) to build further bridges between learners and real work experiences. The chapter provides an overview of WIL followed by three specifics cases from marketing faculty at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). In each of the three cases, faculty used different ICT to provide engaging learning environments linking business, industry, consumers, and the learners.

Teaching Reform of “Work-Integrated Learning” in International Trade Practice from the Perspective of BDaaS

To improve the reform performance of international trade practice, the method with perspective of big data is researched in this study. The international trade professional is developing rapidly to keep pace with social development gradually. With the further development of the society, the traditional international trade major exposed some shortcomings, such as course training target, content and teaching method, and so on, which have fallen behind the progress of society. However, the perspective BDaaS is applied in this study to solve this problem, and the experiment results show that the proposed method will effectively improve the ability of cultivating international trade professionals.

Bridging the employability skills gap: going beyond classroom walls

Purpose Employability skills are critical for success in the workplace, even more so in this era of globalisation of economies and advancement in technologies. However, there is ample evidence of the gap between the skills acquired by graduates at universities and the skills expected by employers in the workplace. Applying the modes of grasping and transforming the experience embodied in Kolb’s experiential learning theory (ELT) (1976, 1984), the purpose of this paper is to examine the development of employability skills of accountancy students through their involvement in two extracurricular activities: community accounting and an accountancy club. Design/methodology/approach Underpinned by Kolb’s (1976, 1984) four modes of ELT and work-integrated learning to develop professional competencies required for future work, an online survey of accounting students was conducted to assess their reflections on involvement in these two aforementioned extracurricular activities over a two-year period. Findings The findings indicate that the students had developed useful cognitive and behavioural skills from their participation in these extracurricular activities. These findings are consistent with the literature on internships and service-learning, both of which have been associated with transferable skills development. Originality/value Prior studies focused on in-classroom learning activities or internships to help students develop various essential skills required in the workplace. However, extracurricular activities have received little attention in the accounting education literature. This study provides insights into skills accounting students can gain from extracurricular participation in community accounting and an accountancy club.

Academic's perceptions of work-integrated learning in non-vocational disciplines

PurposeWork-integrated learning (WIL) is a strategy that enhances student learning and employability by engaging students in real-world settings, applications and practices. Through WIL, tertiary education institutions forge partnerships with industry to provide students with access to activities that will contribute to their career-readiness and personal growth. The purpose of the paper is to explore academics perceptions of WIL from non-vocational disciplines, where WIL opportunities are less prevalent.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a qualitative, case-study methodology to unpack academics' reflections on the question “What does WIL mean to you?” Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 subject coordinators across a number of non-vocational degrees at one university in Australia. Open coding and thematic analysis was used to explore qualitative data and identify common themes.FindingsData suggest that academics largely have placement-based understandings of WIL that cause tensions for embedding WIL meaningfully in their courses. Tensions surface when WIL is perceived as a pedagogy that contributes to the neoliberal agenda that sits in conflict with theoretical approaches and that restrict notions of career.Originality/valueAlthough WIL is not relevant in all subjects, these understandings are a useful starting point to introduce WIL meaningfully, in various ways and where appropriate, in order to provide students opportunities for learning and employability development. The paper has implications for faculty, professional learning and institutional strategies concerning WIL for all students.

Advancing Nursing Informatics Through Clinical Placements: Pilot Study

Work integrated learning in the space of nursing informatics is a new concept in Australian nursing curriculum. This study examined nursing students’ experiences in the pilot nursing informatics clinical placement centered on electronic medical records, their use in patient care and clinical decision making. Students completed reflective diaries of their learning during the four-week placement. Data was explored by thematic analysis. Emergent themes included: importance of adequate training in using EMR; impact of EMR on nursing workflow and patient care; shaping future career choices; forming rewarding relationships; and potential for improvements. These themes will be used to enhance teaching and learning opportunities as this pilot placement evolves into permeant part of the nursing curriculum.