‘Bridging the gap between the academia and industry’. This has been one of the hard-hitting topics that have been challenging educators around the globe for some time now. The rapid changes in the corporate realm and the ever-increasing number of graduate students has been pushing educational institutions to be proactive and introduce innovative teaching pedagogies to keep their students industry-ready. In this quest by educational institutions to create a fool-proof curriculum, work integrated learning has developed into a go-to method for many. As the name suggests, work integrated learning offers the students an opportunity to apply their academic learning in real-world scenarios and thereby becoming much more knowledgeable and job-ready. There are a multitude of reasons for incorporating work integrated learning and some of the most important ones are given below.
1. Ensuring Holistic Development: This is one of the most obvious reasons for imparting work integrated learning. While traditional methods of learning focused more on the theoretical aspect of learning, work integrated learning helps students to be well-versed theoretically but at the same time gain practical knowhow as well. With an outlet to practice the practical aspect of their learning, students will be much more capable of facing the challenges they might face in a real-life working environment. This holistic development of the students will be a massive boost to the growth of their careers. With work integrated learning, you will also be able to develop your critical thinking and this will help you to take better future career choices and decisions down the road.
2. Being Industry-Ready: Work integrated learning will allow students to be equipped with the required skills needed to thrive in the modern competitive business environment. While a recent study states that there is a massive gap between the skill levels of graduate students and the skill requirements needed in the industry, the universal application of work integrated learning can turn things around and make the students job-ready. By being knowledgeable about both the theoretical concepts and practical applications of the things they are studying about, the students will be skilled and confident enough to work in the industry.
3. Improving on Soft Skills: Mastery of soft skills such as communication skills is a key factor needed to thrive in the modern corporate realm. Work integrated learning allows the student to not only hone their technical and academic skills but it will also help the student to practice and improve their various soft skills. This will allow students to not only be technically competent but they will also be able to have good leadership and communication skills. Work integrated learning will also allow students to develop their ability to work in groups to achieve a common goal and this ability to work and cooperate in a team is essential to survive in any industry nowadays. These skills will go a long way in defining you as a leader and your ability to take initiatives with the support from your colleagues.
4. Expand your Horizons: One often overlooked benefit of work integrated learning is its ability to help you to broaden your perspectives. By having an opportunity to work and mingle with various people, you will be able to see and think from an industry perspective and this is essential when it comes to taking the right business decisions at the right time. Work integrated learning will also allow you to create a strong professional network even before graduating and this will help you to not only increase your employability but even after getting placed, you can leverage these contacts to enhance your career growth.
While the benefits of work integrated learning don’t end here, these above-mentioned points will help you to understand the reason why this type of learning is the need of the hour and why this is the way to go in the future.
