School of Business and Law

There are several WIL options available, providing flexibility to suit your organisation’s needs.

Work-based WIL

This is WIL that takes place in the work setting through a micro-placement, placement, internship or extended internship. WIL offerings follow the semester cycle: a) semester 1: Mid-February to early June, b) semester 2: Late July to late October, and c) summer session: Early December to early February.

Micro-placement:            10-25 hours in the workplace as an intensive form of work experience.

Placement:                      100-150 hours in the workplace over a 13-week semester.

Internship:                        450 hours in the workplace, typically undertaken as 2-3 days per week over

Two 13-week semesters. Students complete the internship in their final year of study, ideally as a part-paid arrangement.

Extended internship:      900 hours in the workplace, typically undertaken as 2-3 days per week over

four semesters. Students complete the internship in their second and third year of study with the same industry partner as a paid arrangement.

Project-based WIL

This is where students engage with organisations to work on real-life projects and problems. Projects support student learning and can help organisations progress shelved projects and inject innovative thinking into their business. Businesses typically develop a brief on a particular issue they or the community/sector/industry are facing, and students develop practical strategies and resources to solve the posed problem.

Consultancy WIL

The School engages students in consultancy models of WIL, such as the Northern Suburbs Community Legal Centre and the ECU Tax Clinic. These enable students to draw on their technical expertise to advise and support local community members, under the guidance of a practising professional.

Competitions

Students collaborate with industry and community partners in competitions or hackathons. For example, each year Finance students take part in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.

WIL students are available in the following discipline areas: Accounting, Finance, Project Management, Health Management, Management Information Systems, Supply Chain and Logistics, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship, International Business, Law, Marketing and Public Relations, Business Analytics, Hotel and Hospitality Management, Tourism, Sport & Recreation Management, Event Management.

The School partners with State and Local Governments, not-for-profit organisations, government agencies and private sector organisations to deliver a high quality WIL program.

Participating organisations in the School’s WIL program can:

• Access motivated, enthusiastic students with new ideas;
• Complete existing or commence new projects;
• Develop their own staff capacity through mentoring, coaching and engagement with students;
• Develop mutually beneficial links with the University and other like-minded organisations;
• Have the opportunity to trial prospective employees over a significant timeframe; and
• Provide point of difference feedback to shape what future students are taught.

How often do the WIL programs run?

WIL offerings follow the semester cycle: a) semester 1: Mid-February to early June, b) semester 2: Late July to late October, and c) summer session: Early December to early February.

What business disciplines are students studying?

WIL students are available in the following discipline areas: Accounting, Finance, Project Management, Health Management, Management Information Systems, Supply Chain and Logistics, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship, International Business, Law, Marketing and Public Relations, Business Analytics, Hotel and Hospitality Management, Tourism, Sport & Recreation Management, Event Management.

Can I connect with both undergraduate and postgraduate students?

Yes, our WIL offerings involve both undergraduate and postgraduate students. The WIL team can liaise with you on your needs and preferences and connect you accordingly.

Does the School help me to find a suitable WIL student?

Yes! We have a dedicated WIL team who liaise with industry and community partners on their needs, recruit students and match accordingly for placements and internships. For projects and consultancy WIL opportunities, industry and community partners liaise with academic coordinators on project briefs and other arrangements.

Who should supervise the student in the workplace?

It is important that host organisations provide appropriate supervision/coaching for students based in the workplace. For example, if a business is looking for help with their digital and social marketing, they will need a marketing expert to guide or provide informed feedback on the student’s ideas and completed work.

We don’t have the capacity to host a student in the workplace but would like to get involved and support students.  What should we do?

Project WIL is a great way of supporting student development and can help organisations progress shelved projects and inject innovative thinking into their business. Businesses typically develop a brief on a particular issue they or the community/sector/industry are facing, and students develop practical strategies and resources to solve the posed problem.

How do I know if our organisation is suited to hosting a student on a WIL opportunity?

All industry or community partners must complete a ‘Suitability Review’ prior to host a student. This covers detail such as work, health and safety arrangements, supervision, logistics such as work stations, and other matters.

Can students work remotely while undertaking work-based WIL?

We encourage students to attend the workplace for at least one-half of their assigned WIL hours, preferably more. While remote working is important and part of everyday life, it is important that students network and learn about professional culture through face-to-face interaction.

Would our organisation get involved in evaluating students’ performance?

We ask our host organisations, as well as those involved in project WIL, to evaluate student performance and provide feedback on their work. This is critical to student learning and typically forms part of their assessment for the WIL unit they are completing.

Who covers insurance for the student during WIL?

Any unpaid WIL experiences are fully covered by ECU’s insurance. ECU’s Certificates of Currency can be viewed here. Paid WIL experiences are covered under organisations’ normal business insurances and Certificates of Currency should be available upon request.

If I express interest in the program, will I always be assigned a student?

We strive to provide students for all organisations that offer WIL opportunities. However, we are limited by the number of students that apply from preferred discipline areas. We apologise in advance if we cannot contact you with a suitable candidate.

For further information and more detail on host responsibilities please download our Guidelines and/or contact the WIL team on businessWIL@ecu.edu.au

If you wish to explore the possibility of getting involved as an industry partner in our WIL program, please contact:

Work-Integrated Learning Team
School of Business and Law
Email: BusinessWIL@ecu.edu.au

There are different ways you can experience and get involved in work-integrated learning (WIL) while you study, read more about project-based WIL and work-based WIL below.

If you are a current School of Business and Law student, please login to the SBL WIL student portal for more info on:

• Available WIL programs
• Prerequisites
• Application process
• FAQ

Project-based WIL

Students interested in participating in project-based WIL can find out available options in their course from the Course Coordinator or Student Hub.

Work-based WIL

The work-based WIL program (placements and internships) is linked to academic units which have the same assessment requirements as traditional academic units. Participating in a work-based WIL academic unit requires completion of mandatory number of hours on work placement or internship, as well as participation in learning activities and assessments.  

You cannot self-enrol into a work-based WIL academic unit. Instead, you will need to apply in the semester prior to when you wish to complete your work-based WIL experience. This allows enough time for your application to be processed and for you to be screened, interviewed and assigned to a suitable WIL opportunity before the start of semester. If you wish to source your own internship/placement, you will be able up to apply up to one month prior to the start of semester.

Academic units

The following table shows which academic units are associated with the work-based WIL program.

For further details on these units, please see the latest ECU handbook.

Application Information

For details on how to apply for one of the WIL programs, please login to the SBL WIL student portal or email businessWIL@ecu.edu.au.