Beyond Discipline-Based Work-Integrated Learning Placements in Engineering and Science

Abstract

Drawing on the work-integrated learning (WIL) literature, particularly that which is STEM-related (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), and on the Australian census data, it was found that many Australian engineering and science graduates from Generation Y (and prior) work outside of their fields of study, and that many of them will have had to if they wished to work at all. For Generation Z (and beyond) students, it is proposed that a broader conception of WIL in science and engineering is needed if they are going to be adequately prepared for post-graduation employment. This chapter details a program example of how an out of field WIL placement, offered as an elective unit, can be implemented for engineering, science (and other contexts) without requiring major changes to existing curricula. This chapter also contributes to the very limited existing literature on out-of-field WIL.