In the world today, digitalization can support dialogue, collaboration and research, but the opportunity to meet in person and being able to reflect together is crucial for a cross-cultural understanding of WIL.

CIWIL/KAM AIL arranged a networking conference aiming to establish a Southern Africa Nordic WIL (SANWIL) network and to conduct progression seminars for two of our third-party PhD students from South Africa. Twenty participants from six universities attended the conference that was held in Cape Town 17-18 November (University of Free State, Central University of Technology, University of Western Cape, Tshwane University, University West and Mälardalens University.). Researchers, PhD students, deputy vice chancellors and other key representatives contributed to fruitful discussion on WIL in research and education.

Meeting researchers from South Africa and Sweden provides opportunities for innovative research ideas and contacts within each other’s settings, but the most important outcome is providing a shared understanding of the diversities and similarities of WIL. Together we shared the understanding of the importance of continuous integration of work and learning, and the benefits of doing so. We also share the acknowledgement of what WIL can accomplish when it comes to employability and meeting societal skill demands.

Despite the shared view of the potential value of  WIL, in conversations with each other, we explore and uncover important differences. The differences concern policies, demographic challenges, laws, but also expectations, structures and conceptual understanding of WIL. It is not possible to see one’s blind spots, unless someone shows them to us. It is first in the conversations about a concept, that we learn if there are other ways to understand it than we thought. When reading and discussing publications of WIL from diverse settings around the world, we still translate them from our own knowledge lens and thus we may miss relevant nuances of WIL from the specific context.

The complexity of understanding WIL is further enriched by WIL contextual variation, across disciplines and professions and the language of publications. How can we really explain to one another what the essence and meaningfulness of WIL is in our context? How can we truly understand the structures framing the doing of WIL where we work and learn? What are the most important challenges to WIL where we work? What are the major impacts of WIL in our setting? And what are the issues that we are currently addressing?

We need to look beyond the publications, to create formal and informal ways of discussing how WIL works in our world to understand how WIL works in other people’s settings. We encourage not only higher education institutions, but also individuals to engage, reach out and be active in discussing WIL across cultures. The conversations and knowledge of our differences related to WIL, supports development of WIL both in theory and practice.

Kristina Areskoug Josefsson
Professor in Work-integrated Learning
Faculty of Health Sciences
University West, Sweden

Ulrika Lundh Snis
Professor in Informatics and Director of the Complete Academic Environment WIL
University West, Sweden

Anna Karin Olsson
Professor in Business Administration with a specialization in Work-integrated learning
University West, Sweden