If you’re studying, or thinking of studying online, you might be asking yourself: How do I turn what I’m learning into real career momentum? To help, Swinburne delivers the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) program. The program provides a practical way to build industry experience while you study and gives you a headstart in applying your knowledge in a real-world setting.
WIL is a hands-on introduction to your chosen industry through valuable work experiences. Through it, you get to tackle challenges, sharpen your skills in industry settings and grow your professional network.
What is Work Integrated Learning (WIL)?
Swinburne defines Work Integrated Learning as ‘where students work in, with or for industry partners to achieve authentic, real-world learning experiences relevant to their course of study. Authentic learning opportunities are planned for and assessed as part of the student’s course of study.’
This is a big advantage as the work is already included in your studies; you don’t have to find additional time in your busy schedule.
What does the WIL program include?
Swinburne’s WIL offers practical work experiences through placements, internships, and industry projects. These integrated opportunities provide a unique, hands-on insight into your future career and industry.
Let’s take a closer look at what each of these pathways entails:
1. Accreditation Placements
Accreditation placements are a built-in component of some of our degrees, and in some cases, also add to your course credits. For example, if you’re studying an education degree, the professional experience placement is a mandatory component of all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) qualifications and is required for registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).
These placements provide foundational skills and knowledge, but also a unique pathway to your future career. Swinburne’s long-standing relationships with leading organisations mean that you can immerse yourself in your chosen profession.
2. Internships
Internships are a great way to apply what you’ve learned in a professional setting of your chosen industry during your bachelor’s degree. You have the option to complete your internship part-time (one to two days per week) over one semester or full-time, intensive. Internships depend on availability and relevance to your career.
We also offer overseas internships where you can gain practical experience with an international organisation. There is a range of short-term or 6–12-week programs where you get the opportunity to work in cities like New York, Barcelona, Seoul, Tokyo or Dublin, depending on your chosen industry. You can also choose to do these internships virtually.
Swinburne partners with providers who can help you source an overseas internship and arrange visas, accommodation, and social activities to help you reach your goals. This option gives a boost to your career as one in five students get ongoing work after internships.
3. Industry projects
Industry projects are embedded into your degree, which allows you to explore your industry first-hand. Gain unique insight and sharpen your skills while working on real-world solutions and community issues.
Industry projects have been crafted for you to tackle current business challenges, collaborate with other students, and get guidance from industry professionals. You also get to use industry-standard principles to solve problems and explore solutions from relevant case studies.
What skills and projects are available through WIL?
We understand that our students’ career goals are as diverse as our students, so at Swinburne we aim to provide a variety of WIL projects to accommodate you. For this reason, we provide Work Integrated Learning experiences through placements, internships, and industry projects, which can be completed locally, globally, or virtually. We also offer WIL experiences in different roles in different industries, including business, law, information technology, and media and communication.
Students enrolled in business WIL projects get the opportunity to work on strategies for building brand awareness, improving productivity or retaining talent to assist businesses with their expansion plans.
Information technology students work on building AI technical solutions, performing network audits and resilience testing, and developing proof-of-concept prototypes. Media and communication students focus on a range of projects, from crafting content plans and creating content, to mastering and scheduling content across multiple platforms. Students studying law participate in placements with legal firms not-for-profit entities.
We asked one of the industry projects students about how the WIL has enhanced their portfolio.
“Through the Kelly & Windsor consulting project, I gained a much stronger understanding of how strategic business concepts operate in real organisations outside of the public sector organisations I’ve worked in for most of my career. The experience helped me apply both my academic learning and my existing professional experience, as a mature aged student, in a practical setting,” says Emma, who completed the Kelly & Windsor consulting project.
Why experience matters to employers
New recruits are beneficial in the workforce to help shape the future with their fresh knowledge and skills. Students who participate in Work Integrated Learning bring hands-on experience to their roles, which will make the transition period into employment a lot smoother. And if you are returning to the place of work you completed your placement or internship at, you already know the ropes of that specific business or organisation.
To make your transition into your chosen career, Swinburne focuses on the following objectives laid out in the WIL policy:
- Ensuring students have high quality learning experiences that prepare them for their future careers
- Guiding decisions around the design, approval and delivery of WIL experiences to maintain Swinburne’s standards for academic quality and integrity outcomes
- Nurture engagement with industry partners through activities that continue to provide mutual benefit to partners, students and the University
- Ensure WIL activities and experiences are compliant with regulatory and legal requirements
These principles translate into practical benefits to help you advance in your new career. You will graduate with industry experience, great networking opportunities, and confidence from working on real-world projects.
“One of my biggest takeaways from this experience was getting to see how communications teams operate within a university/education sector. I gained insight into their everyday work, as well as how the WIL team collaborates with industry partners to create meaningful, hands-on opportunities for students,” says Leah, who participated in the Swinburne Online Media internship.
What is the impact of Work Integrated Learning (WIL)?
We spoke to one of the partners in Coburg, Victoria called Ludis to get some inside perspective. Here’s what they had to say:
“Through this project, students work on real business challenges like strategy, growth, marketing, and sustainability. It is a hands-on way to bring learning to life while helping Ludis test ideas, refine solutions and grow a business that is doing good for the planet and for sport.
Ludis is pushing the boundaries of sustainable design and showing what is possible when innovation and impact come together. Our students are proud to be part of that journey, working alongside industry to help create real change for both business and the planet!”
How Swinburne supports students through WIL
The program and its guiding policy were created to provide learning experiences that are authentic, valuable, and safe for our students. We aim to offer the best experiences through:
- Purposefully designed curriculum with educational assessments
- Work that is co-designed with or for our industry partners, and/or professional registration bodies
- Providing students with sufficient guidance and student support services
- Monitoring the quality of work, supervision of students’ progress, and risk management
This approach guarantees that the WIL experiences are not just work experiences, but structured to support you, make learning outcomes clear, and connect the work that you are doing back to your degree.
Although you will be taking on practical work in the field, you will still have the same dedicated support from Swinburne. Our team of Student Advisors, Coaches, Mentors, Tutors, Online Learning Advisors (OLAs), and Course Consultants are all standing by to guide and assist you on your study journey. From managing your study schedule to technical support to staying motivated, our student support crew is here for you.
Ready to take the next step for your career?
If you’re interested in enhancing your career with our range of placements, internships, and industry projects, get in touch with our Work Integrated Learning team or visit the Work Integrated Learning page. You can also learn more about the different projects by keeping an eye on our blog for upcoming special features.
Publish date: 15 June 2026
*Please note that fees and/or statistics are subject to change each year.
