Online Interdisciplinary Work-Integrated Learning: An Undergraduate Course Review

The landscape of work continues to evolve post-pandemic, leading to a shift in focus within higher education from discipline-specific knowledge and skills to capabilities that are transferable and reflect real-world complexities. A review of higher education to meet future economic and social trends and skill sets is a feature of many countries including Australia, where work-integrated learning (WIL) has been identified as a priority. This research identifies how to successfully involve online students in interdisciplinary WIL to develop complex problem-solving skills, resilience, and adaptability -- all imperative for competing in a constantly changing and digitally reliant economy. Adaptable and scalable, online teaching provides an alternative to traditional student placements while supporting student collaboration on authentic real-world projects. This study reflects on student and industry feedback of an online, interdisciplinary WIL course over four years. The key learnings and, challenges of online interdisciplinary WIL are identified along with recommendations for further research.