Work-Integrated Learning in the Centre for Research and Social Change at Anglicare Southern Queensland

Anglicare Southern Queensland (Anglicare) is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers community and human services. With a long history of hosting applied student placements in aged care, social work and community services, mental health and wellbeing, youth support, and nursing and allied health, Anglicare has in recent times begun to expand our hosting of work-integrated learning (WIL) relating to research and evaluation, advocacy, and community outreach. Proceeding from the principle that different types of WIL are advantageous to social science and humanities students at all levels, we currently host a variety of industry research projects, student placements, and internships. These arrangements encompass everything from formal assessment to projects that are co-designed between student/s and supervisor/s. The benefits of hosting WIL include supporting the future careers of emerging professionals while simultaneously expanding our capacity in research, evaluation, and advocacy. As working with students who are new to a corporate workplace can also be time intensive, WIL programs need adequate university staffing to support students’ engagement with industry hosts and moderated timelines for assessment and reporting requirements. In this practitioner reflection, we discuss how Anglicare’s Centre for Research and Social Change establishes and manages community engaged WIL partnerships, welcoming undergraduate and postgraduate students in all areas of the social sciences and humanities.