Dr Giselle Rampersad, Senior Lecturer in Innovation, has been awarded a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) research grant from the Australian Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) to assess the work-readiness of students embarking on industry placements.

Dr Giselle Rampersad shares the grant of $10,000 with Dr Vlatka Zivotic-Kukolj and colleagues at Engineers Australia.

The aim of the grant scheme is to build the capacity of researchers to investigate Work Integrated Learning and build scholarship in this area.

With only three such grants awarded by ACEN nationally each year, the grant funding highlights Flinders’ position as a national leader in the field of Work Integrated Learning (WIL).

The grant will fund a project that aims to develop and validate a tool to quantitatively measure innovation and employability skills before and after a WIL placement.

The project will compare student and employer evaluations of such skills post-placement.

Entitled ‘An employer-student model for developing innovation and employability skills in STEM WIL students that will benefit students and meet the needs of industry’, the project will help embed research-based practice in future WIL programs and leverage opportunities for collaboration in WIL research.

It is expected that findings from the project will be applicable to disciplines outside of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

More information about ACEN Research Grants can be found on the ACEN website.