The impact of work integrated learning on engineering education

Universities around the world are shifting to a learning style which combines theory and practice. Work Integrated learning (WIL) is therefore an attempt to explore an academic avenue which employs an educational approach that could enable better alignment of academic and work place practices for the mutual benefit of both the students and their employers. This paper examines the potential employability, the practical implementation and the overall impact of WIL on selected Operations Management Engineering students. Sixty students from the Operations Management class volunteered to participate in the study. Questionnaires were administered to these students and the results revealed that WIL has a direct impact on the teaching and learning of engineering courses. The students were reported to enjoy the work experience and were aware of the benefits of WIL, such as developing skills, attitudes and behaviors essential to improve employability. Support from university, mentors and supervisors were considered to be crucial in WIL programmes. The students reported being assigned to non-engineering tasks, such as business, science, education, etc., hence a lack of better placement for engineering students was observed. The students also seemed to be concerned about the lack of university assistance and lecturer visits during the WIL period. Recommendations were then made to university policymakers and companies who are expected to be the main targeted audience.