Work-Integrated Learning Design for Undergraduate Business Degrees: Stakeholders' Perspectives

Work-integrated Learning (WIL), where the theory and practice of work are integrated through various activities in the curricula, provides several benefits to stakeholders if designed and implemented correctly. This study explored the views of undergraduate students and academics in relation to the potential implementation of a Work-integrated Learning program in the undergraduate degrees of a business school at a regional university through the lens of stakeholder theory. A total of 50 students and 24 academics participated in the study. The findings suggest students and academics hold different views to the effectiveness of on-campus and off-campus WIL activities, structure of a WIL program, importance of WIL components and the ideal number of hours of work placements to achieve work-ready knowledge and skills. These findings have implications for the development and implementation of WIL for business school educators and university policy makers.