Högskolan i Skövde

Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) in higher education is recognised for linking academic knowledge with professional practice, yet traditional long-term placements are resource-intensive and challenging to coordinate. This study explores the feasibility of a short-term, course-based WIL process within engineering education. A six-week WIL process was developed and integrated into a third-year course in a bachelor’s programme in manufacturing engineering. Five students were placed individually or in pairs at three manufacturing companies from different sectors and of different sizes, attending one to two days per week. A common assignment was provided for all students, with flexibility for company-specific adaptation. Semi-structured interviews with students and company supervisors constituted the evaluation. The data analysis identified consistent benefits; students reported enhanced ability to connect theory and practice and increased professional understanding, while supervisors noted organisational learning benefits through students’ fresh perspectives and critical reflection. However, challenges included limited preparation, communication gaps, and difficulties adapting a generic assignment to diverse industrial contexts. Suggested improvements included more structured preparation, clearer communication of expectations, customised assignments, and consideration of shorter, full-time placements. The findings demonstrate that short-term, course-based WIL can complement traditional placements by offering meaningful learning opportunities and strengthening university-industry collaboration. Although, the results also suggest that effective implementation requires structural adjustments to support preparation, communication, and contextual alignment. Future research should refine the process by testing scalability with larger student groups, additional companies, and international participants, as well as further investigating critical success factors for short-term WIL.

The integration of work-integrated learning (WIL) into engineering education offers unique opportunities to bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application, thereby enhancing student readiness for industry challenges. WIL fosters critical skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, and communication while providing direct exposure to industry standards and practices (Boud & Lee, 2005). However, it also presents significant challenges, particularly in the examination and assessment of student performance. This paper explores these challenges within the context of a redesigned Production System Design course conducted in collaboration with 11 partner companies as part of a broader initiative to strengthen industry-academia cooperation (Sengupta, 2020). 

The course involved real-world, company-specific projects addressing diverse industry needs, including logistics optimisation, total quality management (TQM), value stream mapping (VSM), product packaging redesign, and modifications to existing production lines. Students worked in small groups, spending a week on-site at the partner companies, applying theoretical concepts to propose solutions, with guidance from industrial supervisors who mentored without directly solving the problems. These projects enabled students to develop practical skills and gain valuable industry insights, aligning with the pedagogical goals of WIL and Work-Integrated Education (WIE) to create experiential learning opportunities (Cooper, Orrell, & Bowden, 2010). However, these benefits posed challenges in ensuring equitable and consistent project assessment. 

Key challenges included:

Diverse Project Scopes and Complexity: Each project varied in scope, complexity, and required competencies, making it difficult to establish uniform assessment criteria. This diversity raised concerns about the fairness of evaluations, as each group faced unique tasks, which complicated the establishment of standardised assessment frameworks (Jackson, 2015).

Balancing Academic and Industry Objectives: The dual accountability to academic grading standards and company expectations required a nuanced approach to assessment. Ensuring that student deliverables met industry needs and aligned with course learning outcomes required careful consideration to balance the academic and industry objectives (Bennet, 2018). 

Subjectivity in Evaluation: With input from both academic instructors and industrial supervisors, differences in evaluation perspectives often arose. These differences reflect varying expertise and priorities, complicated grading, and necessitating transparent mechanisms for reconciling these viewpoints (Boud & Molloy, 2013). 

Formative and Summative Feedback: Providing constructive feedback within the limited timeframe of the projects proved challenging, especially in balancing the academic and practical dimensions of the students’ work. The short duration often limited the opportunity for comprehensive formative feedback, an issue commonly noted in WIL programs (Grealish, 2013). Potential improvements may include extended feedback loops and digital tools for realtime input.

This paper explores these challenges and offers insights into developing more effective and equitable assessment strategies for WIL contexts. By addressing these issues, the findings contribute to advancing assessment practices in WIL initiatives, intending to strengthen industry-academia collaboration and improve engineering education outcomes.

References

Bennet, D. (2018). Graduate employability and higher education: Past, present and future. The Review of Higher Education, 5, 31-61.

Boud, D., & Lee, A. (2005). Promoting work-based learning through the development of a community of practice. International Journal of Engineering Education, 21(3), 514–523.

Boud, D., & Molloy, E. (2013). Rethinking models of feedback for learning: the challenge of design. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(6), 698-712.

Cooper, L., Orrell, J., & Bowden, M. (2010). Work-integrated learning: A guide to effective practice. Routledge.

Grealish, L. e. (2013). Barriers to effective feedback in work-integrated learning environments. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 38(1), 67-68.

Jackson, D. e. (2015). Industry engagement in work-integrated learning: Addressing the challenges of diverse projects and assessments. Journal of Education and Work, 28(4), 431–450.

Sengupta, S. e. (2020). Collaborative partnerships between industry and academia: A model for project-based learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 109(1), 32–44.

Work-based learning (WBL) in higher education presents both opportunities and challenges through a flexible curriculum provision (Costley, 2011). This paper explores didactic dilemmas encountered in the evaluation process in engineering education and how adjustments to the WBL model can improve both student learning outcomes and company engagement.

The study consisted of two implementation phases, each testing different approaches to WBL within an engineering programme. The first phase employed a trainee model where students participated in a six-week trainee period, spending one to two days per week at a manufacturing company. All students were assigned the same general task, despite being placed at different companies. To accommodate variation in company needs, the assignment included flexible options, allowing students to focus on what they deemed most relevant. However, this approach led to misalignment between company expectations and student work, which in turn led to difficult assessments of the students’ performance. Some companies believed students should have prioritised different tasks, and some of the students felt the need to undertake two separate projects – one fulfilling university learning objectives and another meeting company expectations.

Based on these findings, modifications were made in the second phase. The trainee period was shortened to one full-time week, and assignments were customised according to the specific needs of each participating company while still aligning with course learning objectives. The assignment design process involved extensive pre-implementation discussions with each company over several months. While this approach demanded greater university resources, it significantly improved both the assessment process as well as the experience for both students and companies; survey results highlighted the benefits of this tailored approach. In the second phase, 90 % of companies expressed willingness to participate in similar future projects (compared to 33 % in the first phase), and 100 % of the participating companies rated the students’ performance as “excellent” or “good”. The successful outcome of this approach was also shared by the students, as the survey results stated that 95.5 % of students would recommend this type of WBL experience to peers.

Conclusively, the results of the study underscore the importance of aligning assessment strategies with both academic learning objectives and industry expectations. While standardised assignments offer efficiency, they may not always meet the diverse needs of industry partners and students. Individualised assignments require greater preparation, but can enhance student learning and company satisfaction. This study provides valuable insights into the didactic dilemmas of assessing student work in WBL settings and offers a framework for refining assessment models to better serve all stakeholders involved.

References

Costley, C. (2011). The SAGE Handbook of Workplace Learning. SAGE Publications Ltd, https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446200940

Det livslånga lärandet har under de senaste åren växt fram som en av utbildningssektorns stora utmaningar på både individ- och samhällelig nivå. Ministrar¹²³ så väl som Skolverket⁴ och Arbetsförmedlingen⁵ har lyft fram vikten av livslångt lärande och långsiktiga trender såsom globalisering, digitalisering och automatisering som både möjligheter och utmaningar för såväl utbildningsväsendet som samhället i stort. Till detta kan också läggas initiativ för samverkansprogram⁶ i syfte”… att ytterligare stärka samverkan mellan näringsliv, akademi och regering.” Dessa samverkansprogram bygger på ”… Sveriges och svenskt näringslivs styrkor och områden som bedöms vara av stor betydelse för framtida tillväxt”. Ett av dessa fyra samverkansområden är Kompetensförsörjning och livslångt lärande.

När personal på Högskolan i Skövde och representanter från tillverkningsindustri hösten 2008 presenterade ett utbildningsförslag – Detta är vad industrin och Högskolan vill göra tillsammans för att stärka konkurrenskraften – togs det emot med öppna armar. Kurserna började vårterminen 2009 och fram tills vårterminen 2020 hade över 6000 personer från över 100 företag deltagit. Lejonparten av kurstillfällena har genomförts på Högskolan i Skövde men även på plats i Lidköping, Uddevalla, Essunga, Trollhättan, Oskarshamn samt i Göteborgsområdet och i Skåneregionen men även på distans.

Inledningsvis så fanns en utbredd skepsis, som ibland skulle kunna identifieras som rädsla, mot mötet/gapet mellan arbetare/verkstadsmiljö och akademi men också för vad utbildningarnas konsekvenser skulle innebära (t. ex. Vad har högskolan att lära oss som arbetar i verkligheten? Finns det plats för mig då företaget utvecklas och förändras?). Två avgörande faktorer för att bemöta skepsis och rädsla var dels att lärarna hade egen gedigen erfarenhet från sektorn och att stor vikt lades vid att visa på relationen mellan vetenskapliga teorier, metoder och slutsatser samt verkstadsgolvets arbetsinnehåll, leveranser och internlogistik samt dels att företagsledningen tydligt visade att ny kunskap var avgörande genom att själva delta i de första utbildningsgrupperna. Allteftersom infann sig insikten att gapet nog mest varimaginärt och det blev allt mer tydligt att akademi och verkstadsmiljö båda befruktade varandra.

Ett vanligt ingångsvärde bland studenter inom det Livslånga lärandet var ”… våra utmaningar är så speciella och unika…”. Detta visar sig emellertid inte stämma då personal från vitt skilda branscher och sektorer upptäcker att vardagens problem och frågeställningar i mycket stor utsträckning är de samma. Dock är det lätt att göra samma tankevurpa också på den akademiska sidan – dessa yrkesverksamma studenter är speciella och unika. Visst finns det speciella utmaningar i samband med bland annat schemaläggning (heldagar) och antagning (värdering av reell kompetens) men utmaningarna i klassrummet är i mångt och mycket de samma oberoende av om studenterna är 20-25 år eller 40-50 år. Det viktiga är att möta varje student och studentgrupp utifrån deras kontext och utgångspunkt⁷ så att de kan relatera till exempel, utmaningar och mål i undervisningen. Det har också visat sig vid flertalet tillfällen att en heterogen studentgrupp, som i dessa fall har deltagare från olika företag och branscher, skapar dynamik vilket främjar lärandet jämfört med en homogen grupp, alla från samma företag/avdelning, där frågeställningar och angreppssätt är likartade. Det samma har blivit tydligt vid de kurstillfällen då samläsning skett mellan programstudenter och det livslånga lärandet. Mötet mellan dessa studenter med vitt skilda utgångspunkter har ofta fallit mycket väl ut då det ger ökade möjligheter till arbetslivsanknytning för programstudenter med dubbelriktat erfarenhetsutbyte och positiv kvalitetspåverkan som konsekvens⁸.

Företagsledningar har berättat om påtagliga förändringar på sina företag i såväl tankebanor som produktionsupplägg och ekonomiskt utfall. Kontakter med företagenhar initierat såväl efterfrågan på ytterligare utbildning som nya forskningssamarbeten. Kort sagt har det livslånga lärandet påtagligt berikat både undervisning och forskning.

1 Förslag från analysgruppen Arbetet i framtiden: Livslångt lärande för framtidens arbetsmarknad

2 https://www.regeringen.se/debattartiklar/2016/01/livslanga-larandet-ska-starkas/

3 Betänkande av Utredningen om högskolans utbildningsutbud ISBN 978-91-38-24328-2

4 Det Livslånga och livsvida lärandet. Skolverket 1999 ISBN 91-89313-79-85

5 https://arbetsformedlingen.se/om-oss/var-verksamhet/utbildningsmaterial/livslangt-larande

6 https://www.regeringen.se/pressmeddelanden/2019/07/regeringen-lanserar-fyra-offensiva-samverkansprogram/

7 https://arbetsformedlingen.se/om-oss/var-verksamhet/utbildningsmaterial/livslangt-larande

8 Elmgren & Henriksson, Universitetspedagogik 2013 ISBN 978-91-1-302297-0

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to analyse and determine how Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) can be applied within the support process as well as to identify possible effects from an employee and business perspective.

Design/method/approach – A qualitative research approach was selected. Empirical data was gathered using semi-structured interviews at one case company, but from several teams,that had applied preventive maintenance. The result was then used to extrapolate how TPM can be applied in a support process as well as to identify business and employee effects.

Findings – TPM in a Lean office environment can create values both in a business and anemployee dimension. In the employee dimension TPM reduces the risk of missing/forgetting areas of responsibility and creates more involvement. In the business dimension objectivessuch as cost, quality and supporting the reduction of waste improved.

Preventive maintenance meetings can be included and performed once a month in the ordinary departmental “stand-up meetings”. Methods like 5S, which need to be updated on a continuous basis, and standardized maintenance should also be connected to the TPM work. But first all employees should be trained in order to have the same direction/behavior.

Originality/value – The paper gives practitioners a perspective on how TPM can be applied within the administrative processes in a production company.