Through Work Integrated Learning (WIL), Swinburne Online partners with industry and community organisations to give students practical experience while they study. One of these partners is Access Health and Community (AccessHC), where Media and Communication students can apply their learning in a real-world setting.
Access Health and Community (AccessHC) is a not-for-profit community health organisation that has supported communities across Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country for more than 150 years. With caring at its core, AccessHC’s mission is to build healthier lives within the community by providing a diverse range of health and community services at 18 locations. Their services include GP visits, dental care, allied health, child and family services, mental health services, as well as alcohol and other drug services.
AccessHC works within the community to address issues that can lead to ill health and operates a range of health education and disease prevention programs.
A partnership for the community
With a better understanding of what the project entails and the skills students gain through it, we wanted to find out more about AccessHC. We spoke to Emma Schreiber, the Communication & Marketing Manager at AccessHC, about their experience with the WIL Program and partnering with Swinburne Online.
What motivated your organisation to partner with the Swinburne Online WIL Program?
Members of our team had personal experiences as interns early in our careers. These positive experiences helped shape our future career pathways. With this knowledge, we were motivated to partner with the WIL Program to support the development of students while also gaining fresh perspectives within our team.
What value has the WIL Program brought to your organisation?
The program has helped contribute new ideas and different ways of thinking within our communications and marketing team.
How would you describe the skills, professionalism or work ethic demonstrated by the student you hosted?
They approached their internship with professionalism and enthusiasm. They were not afraid to speak up, contribute new ideas or get involved.
We were impressed by the skills they brought. For example, they were familiar with communications programs and software, which meant they could contribute to content creation tasks early on with minimal guidance.
They responded well to feedback, took suggestions on board professionally and made adjustments where needed. Overall, they showed a positive attitude and willingness to learn.
Can you share a specific example of a contribution where the student made a noticeable impact?
The student helped develop our social media strategy. They contributed content ideas and new approaches to developing creative assets. We have implemented some of their work into our new social strategy, which has allowed us to engage and connect with a new audience, making a noticeable impact. Working in health, these contributions have the potential to change lives.
In what ways has participating in the WIL Program supported your organisation’s goals?
Access Health and Community is deeply committed to our people and their learning and development. The WIL Program created a new development opportunity for our people, who were able to work alongside a student, share their skills and learn new ways of working.
It was also a way for the organisation to contribute to the community. One of our main hub sites is located near the Swinburne Hawthorn Campus. The internship was a positive experience for our organisation and allowed us to contribute to the community in which we work by helping to support student career development.
Would you recommend partnering with Swinburne Online for our WIL Program, and if so, why?
We recommend partnering with Swinburne. The program delivered benefits for our people, organisation, community and the student.
Real-world work experience in action
As part of their Media and Communication degree, students undertake a Media and Communications project (Unit MDA30020: Media and Communication Industry Project). In this unit, students are supported to design and deliver a project of their choice or undertake a work placement. The experience complements their major studies and provides valuable workplace exposure.
Building on an existing relationship with AccessHC, Swinburne Online gives students the opportunity to contribute to projects such as:
- assisting with the development of the organisation’s content and social media strategy plans
- creating content for social media, websites and internal communications
- assisting with the implementation of communications and marketing plans, as well as strategies and reporting.
These projects assist our students to develop skills that can be used in their future or current work and make them valuable assets in any organisation. These skills include:
- marketing campaign management and reporting
- use of multiple communications platforms, including SharePoint, CMS platforms and social media platforms
- knowledge of community health and the not-for-profit sector.
Through the project, students can:
- demonstrate the ability to work independently and collaboratively on complex tasks
- exercise initiative and judgement in planning, problem-solving and decision-making in professional practice
- evaluate and critically reflect on their own work.
Want to learn more about Work Integrated Learning?
Find out more about Work Integrated Learning opportunities by contacting the WIL team or exploring more student experiences on the Swinburne Online blog.
More about Work Integrated Learning:
- Work Integrated Learning (WIL): How Swinburne Helps You Gain Experience While You Study
- Work Integrated Learning: Kelly & Windsor Consulting Project
- Work Integrated Learning: Talitha’s Experience Applying Study in the Workplace
- Work Integrated Learning: Swinburne Online Media & Communications Internship
Publish date: 18 September 2026
*Please note that fees and/or statistics are subject to change each year.
