Welcome to the first edition of the WACE newsletter for 2022. This newsletter is aimed at helping you stay connected to Co-operative & Work Integrated Education (CWIE) developments across the globe. WACE is the only international professional organization dedicated to developing, expanding, branding and advocating for cooperative & work-integrated education programs within industry and educational institutions.

The year has commenced with a surge of activity. Global Challenge #3 has just finished with 152 students from 18 institutions working in 21 teams presented their projects last week. Information about the next rounds is in this newsletter. Registrations for the International Research Symposium are opening soon, make sure you register for this symposium either in person or virtually and join colleagues to hear all the updates on recent WIL research.

WACE welcomes many new members who have recently joined the WACE community and a new Regional Office in Africa in partnership with SASCE. In this newsletter we profile a new Global Partner, UMass Lowell. There are also updates from a range of National Associations keeping us across all the developments in WIL globally and also information about upcoming conferences.

We welcome your feedback and any updates you would like to include in future editions of the newsletter and hope everyone is staying safe in these challenging times. Many thanks to all those who have contributed to this newsletter, and to Kylie Twyford for her ongoing support on the newsletter.

Judie Kay, Norah McRae, Nancy Johnston, and Jim Stellar
WACE Secretariat

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

In this newsletter you can connect with:

• the latest WACE News
• professional development opportunities
• the newest institutional WACE Member
• regional news from National WIL associations around the world
• research news from the International Research Community
• hot off the press publications in the International Journal of WIL

WACE NEWS

Global Challenge is a month-long WACE program involving students from universities across the world, working together in multi-disciplinary, transnational teams on projects for real clients to assist them progress initiatives aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The program is run by WACE, in partnership with Practera an educational technology company.

The Dates are:

• Global Challenge #4:  27 June to 22 July, 2022
• Global Challenge #5: 14 Nov – 9 Dec, 2022

Expressions of interest are now open for both programs

Information sessions will be held on 5th / 6th April. Details including times and registration for the sessions are available here.

Global Challenge has grown substantially since WACE first piloted the concept in 2020.  To date over 400 students from 31 institutions based in 18 countries have participated. Global Challenge continues to receive excellent feedback from students, clients and institutions alike.

Hear what recent student participants say about their experience with Global Challenge.

PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

WACE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM 2022

The next WACE International Research Symposium will be held in Kanazawa Japan hosted by Kanazawa Institute of Technology from 31 August to 2 September 2022.

Registration will be opening soon. The conference theme “New industry – University collaboration initiatives to realize sustainable society contributions, and expectations of co-operative & work-integrated education to the UN Sustainable Development goals”. The conference will involve both face-to-face and virtual components.

Learn more about the WACE International Research Symposium here.

ONLINE GLOBAL WIL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Global WIL modules have been offered since 2015 and have covered a variety of topics. This suite of professional development online modules have been developed for new or experienced WIL practitioners to provide the opportunity to collaborate with international colleagues around their practice. The modules are developed and delivered by representatives of four national associations: Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN); Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL formerly CAFCE); Work-Integrated Learning New Zealand (WILNZ, formerly NZACE); The Vilar Network (Sweden).

Expressions of interest are now open for Global WIL Modules occurring later in 2022:

October – December 2022

• Learning and Assessment in Work-Integrated Learning
• Industry and Community Engagement for Work-Integrated Learning

To find out more about the topics and to register your interest visit here.

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

THE UNCONFERENCE

Online: 1 July 2022 – 31 July 2023

Pearson College London is planning a yearlong international Work Integrated Learning online unconference starting on the 1st of July 2022, continuing until the 31st of July 2023, with an online day event on 27 July 2022. The theme will be ‘New Problems, New Solutions’ within the field of WIL.

Participants will engage in discussions throughout July using ‘Bubl’ challenges (an online forum App), podcasts, video profiles, digital reels and academic abstracts, polls and digital posters/reels. Discussions will culminate in a day event on 27 July. On the day we will have a region A day event 0900-1200 GMT (Australia region) repeated 1700-2000 GMT for region B (USA region). Confirmed speakers include Prof Tony Wall and a GenZ Talks panel. Discussion groups will revolve around WIL publications, industry, institutions and students.

For more information visit here.

To book your place visit here

WACE MEMBER

PROFILE

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL 

The  University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell) is a national research university committed to preparing students for work in the real world— solving real problems and helping real people— by providing an affordable, high-quality education.

Throughout the university’s proud 125-year history, our students have pursued their purpose in the classroom and beyond. Through Career Connected Work and Experiential Learning opportunities (cooperative education and internships, student research and projects, service learning, entrepreneurship and creative endeavours, and global experiences) students connect what they learn in the classroom to the real world. Whether on campus, in the community, or across the globe, River Hawks learn how to find solutions to real world problems, advance humanity, and prepare for successful careers.

When students graduate, they will be more than ready for what’s next.

Hear from finance student, Thomas Strandburg, on his co-op with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

REGIONAL NEWS

NEWS FROM WACE’S NETWORK OF PARTNERS

WACE is a network of networks and we were pleased to share news from national associations and strategic partners linked to WACE, and provide updates on developments and achievements in WIL from around the world.

AUSTRALIAN COLLABORATIVE EDUCATION NETWORK (ACEN)

Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) Conference: Beyond 2022

Melbourne, Australia: 24-25 October, 2022

Register NOW to attend the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) Conference Beyond 2022: Creating the future with WIL, at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on 24 & 25 October 2022. With a diverse range of sessions, this is a conference not to be missed. Presentations on Enhancing employability through WIL, Innovative, scalable and sustainable WIL, Delivering Quality WIL, Globalising WIL, WIL Leadership: shaping the future, Collaborative stakeholder engagement, Indigenous engagement: Building capacity through WIL, Diversity in WIL – Inclusive WIL Practices, and Service Learning and Community Engagement.

To learn more visit the conference website here

Register here

Associate Professor Franziska Trede
President, ACEN

CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION AND WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING CANADA (CEWIL)

March 2022 marks a full month of celebrations for co-operative education and work-integrated learning for CEWIL Canada. Throughout the month, under the theme “Inspired WIL”, institutions, educators, employers and community partners, students and government, will be sharing their stories. Follow @CEWILCanada or #inspiredWIL on all our social. Want to get involved? Our toolkit is available for download.

We are also pleased to share the recent publication of “The Practice of Co-op and Work-Integrated Learning in the Canadian Context”, edited by Drs. Ashley Stirling & Judene Pretti. The intent of the book is to highlight the body of research that is building in the field of WIL in Canada, to inspire researchers and practitioners in the field to apply research to their WIL practice, as well as to invite the WIL community at large to ask more questions and further propel WIL research across Canada. A series of webinars were hosted throughout February from the various contributors. Catch up on missed sessions on CEWIL’s Youtube channel.

CEWIL’s Innovation Hub (iHub) continues to bring together passionate WIL experts from across the country in dynamic ways. Join Dan Lonergan every Tuesday for all things WIL on CEWIL’s podcast “into the WILderness”. If you are interested in learning more about innovative WIL stories in Canada, you are welcome to drop by our weekly Ideas Cafés on Tuesdays at 2:30PM EST. Contact seane@cewilcanada.ca for more information.

It’s National Co-op and WIL Month in Canada!

Each year, CEWIL Canada celebrates the successes and promotes awareness of co-op and work-integrated learning programs across Canada. From March 1 until March 31, we will be sharing stories, events across the country, best practices, tools, partner information, and much more. Please join us in using #inspiredWIL throughout the month as we continue to build the capacity for work-integrated learning opportunities in Canada!

Learn more about Co-op and WIL Month and how you can get involved here!

CEWIL Virtual Conference 2022
Dates: June 13-14 & June 20-21

CEWIL will be hosting its first virtual conference on June 13, 14, 20, 21 (half days). This year’s theme is “Growing the Future of WIL/Cultiver l’avenir de l’AIT”. Registration is open in early March. Visit here to register. Hope to see you there!

Learn more about what’s coming up at CEWIL Canada here.

Charlene Marion
Director, WIL, CEWIL

SOUTHERN AFRICAN SOCIETY FOR COOPERATIVE EDUCATION (SASCE)

SASCE WELCOMES ITS NEW EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SASCE is proud to announce that it has elected a new Executive Committee that will serve from 2021 – 2023. The SASCE Exco membership combines individuals from various stakeholders from universities, Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) as well as independent members.

The new EXCO members are:

• President: Mrs Nombulelo Nxesi. Mrs Nxesi is the CEO at the Education and Training Development Practices SETA (ETDPSETA)
• Deputy President: Mr Rre Elijah Litheko. Rre Litheko is an independent member
• General Secretary: Dr Fundiswa Nofemela. Dr Nofemela is the Director for Co-operative Education at the Mangosuthu University of Technology
• Treasurer: Mr Sibusiso Dhladhla. Mr Dhladhla is the Executive Manager, Corporate Services at the Services SETA
• Ex Officio member: Mr Andile Sipengane. Mr Sipengane is SASCE’s past president and is the Chief Operating Officer at the Services SETA

SASCE BECOMES THE WACE REGIONAL OFFICE IN AFRICA

We are proud to announce that SASCE has signed an agreement to be the WACE Regional Office in Africa. As a WACE Regional Office, SASCE will be responsible for:

• Supporting the general promotion of WACE programs and services with African colleagues, an expertise that already exists within SASCE.
• Assisting with the development of business and industry partnerships and membership within the region.
• Co-hosting WACE projects or events within the region (e.g.  conference, institute, special event).
• Working cooperatively with other local CWIE associations in the region in support of local and global CWIE growth and development.
• Serving as a member of the WACE Global Strategic Council.
• Contributing to ongoing WACE communications and programs (e.g. WACE World Conferences, WACE International Research Symposia, Global Conversation Webinars, etc.).

Universities in the African region embrace online experiential learning through participation in the WACE Global Challenge

The year 2021 saw twenty-four students from universities in the African region, participating in the 2021 WACE Global Challenge. In total, 24 students from Mangosuthu University of Technology (South Africa), Namibia University of Science and Technology (Namibia) and Walter Sisulu University (South Africa) worked with students from other countries on online student-industry consulting projects. The three African institutions attract students from rural areas and as such the opportunity to participate in the WACE Global Challenge opened up their horizons with respect to the global community. Students were appreciative of their involvement in the challenge, the opportunity to interact with students from other countries as well as the experience of operating in different time zones. Participation in the Global Challenge was hailed as real-life experience as it gave students an opportunity to research and understand Sustainable Development Goals (Student from Walter Sisulu University, South Africa). For Namibian students, the program provided a platform to apply their training into practice and make positive contribution to selected industry while enhancing their employability skills. “The highlight of the WACE Global Challenge was a chance to engage with people from different backgrounds and got a little glimpse of international systems, both academically and professionally” (Student from Namibia University of Science and Technology). A student from Mangosuthu University of Technology (South Africa) appreciated the opportunity to understand different cultural backgrounds globally as well as the opportunity to practice project management and research skills. SASCE is proud of the participation by its member institutions and appreciates the involvement and the mentoring that Practera provided to our students.

Mangosuthu University of Technology adopts Student Consulting projects, as a Work-Integrated Learning modality in Management Sciences

For Mangosuthu University of Technology, Project-based Learning is one of the WIL modalities that is available as an option to students where placement opportunities are not available. The outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic and the subsequent national lockdown, provided the university with an opportunity to explore various avenues to help students to complete their WIL.

The university explored the concept of student consulting as a form of Project-based Learning. Through this modality, Office Management and Technology as well as Public Administration students worked with external and internal stakeholders over 2 months to address real-life challenges. For Office Management and Technology, the projects entailed assisting clients to address administrative challenges such as using digital filing systems for operational effectiveness during the remote working as well as setting up home office layout for SMMEs.

On the other hand, Public Administration students undertook projects aligned to Sustainable Development Goals such as education on gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy as well as poverty alleviation and a ‘Keep the girl-child in school’ sanitary pads drive, at local schools.

In both instances, students reflected that the projects helped them to enhance their project management skills as well as graduate attributes such as working in teams, solving problems, managing time as well as their professional values relating to society.

Majuba TVET College (South Africa) launches an Entrepreneurship Unit to address youth unemployment

The unemployment rate for graduates in South Africa stands at approximately 10% of the country’s total youth unemployment. Of this figure, 8% is attributed to graduates from tertiary institutions such as Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.

In response to the graduate unemployment rate, the Majuba TVET College recently launched its Entrepreneurship Unit that will assist the youth that want to start their own businesses. Spearheaded by the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Unit at the college, the key focus of this unit will be Entrepreneurship Education provided to the community and the college students to assist them in understanding business concepts, development of business plans, and more importantly to access grant funding.

The Majuba TVET College is situated in Newcastle, a rural area in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The College creates access to education and training opportunities for local students and empowers students with the relevant knowledge and skills to become economically active citizens.

Work-integrated Learning preparedness and coordination embrace technology amid the Covid-19 Pandemic at Namibia University of Science and Technology

The Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) has embedded Work Integrated Learning (WIL) in all its undergraduate programmes. NUST has four faculties namely:

Commerce, Human Sciences and Education, Computing and Informatics, Engineering and Spatial Sciences and Health, Applied Sciences and Natural Resources. Work readiness and employability is at the heart of the institution, as it aims to strengthen the employability of its graduates. NUST, through the bilateral cooperation between the governments of Namibia and Japan, has extended its cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the implementation of the Employability Improvement Programme (EIP). The objective of the EIP is to prepare university graduates with 21stcentury skills.

The extension of the EIP project was officiated at NUST. From the left to right are Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching, Learning and Technology at NUST: Dr Andrew Niikondo, Mr Susaki Takehiro, JICA Namibia Resident Representative, NUST Vice-Chancellor: Dr Erold Naomab, and his Excellency: Mr Hideaki Harada Ambassador of Japan to Namibia.

The Covid-19 pandemic prompted NUST to shift gear from face-to-face Pre-WIL Readiness and Employability Improvement courses to an online mode of delivery for these interventions. The ePre-Work Readiness and the Employability Improvement Programmes are now on the Institution’s eLearning platform with a practical simulation aspect offered in person.

WORK-INTEGRATED LEARNING NEW ZEALAND

(WILNZ

The Work-Integrated Learning NZ (WILNZ) conference 2022 Opportunities for WIL in an ever-changing world welcomes either in-person or online attendance. (For people outside New Zealand online is still most likely). A two-day conference 27 – 28 April for practitioners and researchers from tertiary education, industry and community.

Our keynote presenter is Dr Jarrod Haar, speaking about training and development in firms. Dr Haar is a Professor of Human Resource Management at Auckland University of Technology and has Māori tribal affiliations of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Mahuta. His research focuses on wellbeing (especially job burnout), work-family-life issues (especially work-life balance), indigenous (Māori) employees, leadership, and innovation.

He is ranked a world-class researcher; has won industry and best-paper awards; and won multiple research grants. His current grants include Health Research Council (wellbeing and the precariat), a National Science Challenge (Science for Technological Innovation), and Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga (Māori and Work). He has over 400 refereed outputs (including 128 journal articles). He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi.

The conference fee is the same for either type of registration, due to the associated technology and catering costs unique to each mode. One day, student and other prices are on our website.

On registration, we ask for indication of likely attendance (in-person, online or unsure). In late March we will ask for confirmation of mode of attendance.

Dr. Jenny Fleming
President, WILNZ

WIL SOUTH AFRICA (WILSA)

We are delighted to announce the launch WIL South Africa (WILSA) at the THENSA International Conference entitled University, Business and Partnerships: A Driver for the 4th Industrial Revolution Post COVID 19. As a new member of WACE, we are excited to share our Vision and Objectives with our global partners.

Work-integrated Learning South Africa (WILSA) is a Network of Excellence (NoE) for WIL that is research focused and is established under the auspices of Technology Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA). The aim of WILSA is to promote research, training capacity building and practice of WIL in the country and the continent by doing the following:

• Bringing networks of excellence together for benchmarking and strategic intervention design and implementation – to benefit the sector as a whole.
• Evaluating and designing WIL curricula that are fit for purpose through applied research.
• Tapping into existing expertise and platforms locally and internationally to benefit our members and the broader sector to gain international recognition.
• Informing WIL policy design and driving implementation around the development and application of WIL as an effective pedagogy.
• Designing, facilitating and gaining access for members to WIL training.

Extending the benefits of WIL to other HE and industry sectors that could benefit from its innate values and the establishment of a rotational WIL satellite office for Africa linked to WACE.

Dr Henri Jacobs (chair of WILSA) and Prof Roelien Brink (partner) are currently steering the WILSA project which was launched at the THENSA conference on 16 March 2022.

See this World University News item for more information.

Dr.Henri Jacobs
Chair WILSA

SCHOLARSHIP OF

WIL

WACE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH COMMUNITY (IRC) NEWS

The International Research Community was excited to see such a strong international response to the call for abstracts for the upcoming International Research Symposium in Japan. Our executive committee members Dr. Jenny Fleming and Dr. Judene Pretti will be working with authors and reviewers over the next couple of months to coordinate the blind peer-reviewed process for the conference papers.

I am pleased to be assuming the role of Executive Chair for the International Research Community. A huge thank you to Dr. Judene Pretti for her leadership and commitment to the WACE-IRC over past two years as Executive Chair. She will continue to serve on the Executive Committee as Past-Chair. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr. Norah McRae for her many contributions to the WACE-IRC which included a two year term as Executive Chair and a two year term as Past-Chair.

I look forward to taking this leadership role and continuing to foster and support a community of international WIL researchers.

Assoc. Prof. Karsten Kegwaard
Executive Chair, WACE IRC

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WIL

The latest issue of the International Journal of WIL has been released the (Volume 22, 2021, Issue #4). The edition features nine excellent articles with an array of topics relevant to a wide audience.

Topics covered include:

• The contribution of social work field education to work-integrated learning
• Foundational-WIL for employability awareness: A faculty-wide approach
  ePortfolios as a platform for evidencing employability and building professional identity: A literature review
• Looking to GROW: The absence of goal setting in post-lesson mentoring conversations on work-integrated learning placements
• Industry facilitated case-based learning in accounting education
• The construction and testing of a framework to assure the institutional quality of work-integrated learning
• Social media mining to understand the impact of cooperative education on mental health
• Keeping students safe: Understanding the risks for students undertaking work-integrated learning
• Strategies for managing risk in work-integrated learning: A New Zealand perspective

These and past articles can all be accessed here.

IJWIL is excited to share that the Special Issue on Indigenous Perspectives on WIL will be published in the next month or so.

To receive notification of other IJWIL publications, please go to the IJWIL website, click on ‘notifications’ at the top right, and enter your details.

Assoc. Prof. Karsten Kegwaard
Editor-in-Chief

SHARE YOUR NEWS

Do you have something you would like to share? A resource, some news, an award Do you have something you would like to share? A resource, some news, an award or achievement? Would you like to sponsor a WACE event? If so, please contact Kylie Twyford, WACE IRC Chair Communications, with the subject line ‘WACE Newsletter’ to: wacecomms@gmail.com