Mar 08, 2023
Australia is home to high-quality and globally accepted standards of education from premier institutions. There are 1,100 institutions, offering more than 2,000 courses for students to choose from. Melbourne in Australia has been ranked 7th among the best cities for students in the QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2023 due to its excellent career enhancing prospects. In Australia, students can gain first-hand experience in various industries through internships and placements, make connections with a global clientele, and succeed in any career they choose. These are some of the reasons why you should study in Australia and pursue a work-integrated learning programme for the best possible outcome for your future.
A work-integrated learning programme, also referred to as WIL, links a university programme wherein the student is enrolled to a workplace that is related to his/her chosen discipline. The goal behind a WIL programme is to harmonise academic learning with practical skills acquired through the programme. There are many different names for WIL programmes such as WIL in health which is referred to as clinical placements. A WIL programme will require students to spend time in the workplace learning skills on the go and doing activities that are linked to their studies. Aside from clinical placements, other examples of WIL are fieldwork and internships. These are mostly external and can range from some weeks to an entire year. There are also a few internal WIL programmes that unfold on the campus.
Here are some of the advantages of pursuing a WIL course in Australia:
A work-integrated learning programme will expose you to a diverse environment and you will learn skills which cannot be grasped in a classroom module alone. With a solid 360-degree experience, students will know better how to apply or modify their theoretical knowledge in a practical outcome-driven setting.
Without having worked in a professional setting, you will never truly develop both soft and technical skills that help to establish the base of professional work capabilities. You also learn how to grasp and apply your emotional intelligence in tricky or stressful moments when working with others. These are skills that cannot be learnt in a classroom by reading study materials.
Students who have undergone the process of work-integrated learning bring with them a lot of industry experience and connection. And so, they are considered better hires. A student with professional experience will need less time investment with respect to training and will be able to perform better because he/she is already familiar with the dos and don’ts of work culture.
Australia is home to many universities (approximately 7) that rank in the top 100 universities list in the world which makes it one of the top reasons why you should study in Australia. Being just across the Indian Ocean, Australia is closer to home for many Southeast Asian students, thus, a popular choice for many young international students hailing from the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the Australian government has tie-ups with the Indian government offering many scholarship opportunities. Some of these include Australian awards, Endeavour awards and Endeavour Vocational Education and Training awards.
Australia is known for offering programmes to students that are in line with stringent government regulations as part of the Australian Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000. Further, the Australian education system is characterised by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) which is a national policy formulated in 1995. It specifies the qualification standards right from the tertiary education sector to the school leaving certificate.
Aside from quality-controlled educational standards, international students have exposure to and benefit from lingual diversity. There are approximately 90,000 people of Indian descent in New South Wales alongside other nationalities such as Arabs, Greeks, Chinese and Italians. Although more than 200 languages are spoken in Australia, students have the advantage of pursuing a course in English meaning that the language barrier will not be an issue for aspiring candidates.
Some popular work-integrated learning courses offered in Australia are listed below:
1. Nursing/Medical
Every year, Australian healthcare institutions are hiring nursing graduates to meet the demand for medical care professionals. This is why, studying a work-integrated learning programme in nursing will give graduates a lucrative future ahead. Australian nursing graduates are known for working in multicultural settings. And so, such qualifications enable nurses to work in different health domains such as palliative care, rehabilitation, preventive centres and hospitals.
2. Information technology
There are plenty of job opportunities for IT professionals when they enrol for work-integrated learning programmes in Australia such as software engineers and business analysts.
3. Accountancy
Accounting is one of the most popular programmes in Australia because there is high demand for accountants in the island country. Australian universities maintain professionally trained instructors who have sufficient industry experience. Students are taught how to use cutting-edge technology. And most importantly, accountants in Australia have accreditation from three recognised accounting bodies - CPA Australia, Institute of Public Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Here is a list of universities in Australia from where you can pursue work-integrated learning programmes:
1. Monash University, Melbourne
This is one of the world’s top 100 universities and was established as a public university. Monash University is a modern, research-intensive and global institution where steps are taken to address global challenges daily starting from climate change and geopolitics to fostering more healthy communities. The university has a diverse ecosystem of 86,000 students, 440,000 alumni and 17,000 staff members all working towards change.
2. RMIT University, Melbourne
RMIT University, which stands for Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, is a public research institution founded in Melbourne in 1887. The history of RMIT began with classes being offered in science, technology and art as a night school, in response to the industrial revolution that took place in Australia.
3. The University of Newcastle, Newcastle
The University of Newcastle was established in 1965 as a public university. It is ranked 192nd in the QS World University Rankings and has an average score of 3.8 stars. The university is well-known for its excellence in research.
4. Deakin University
Deakin University, established in 1974, is one of the best public institutions in Australia. The university focuses on practical learning and has remarkable research outputs. It is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) for its highest-quality business programmes globally.
5. Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
At QUT, you can choose from 100+ courses and get into a rewarding career. It is a sought-after public institution that focuses on research and learning, which prepares students for the future and helps them face real-world challenges.
If you want to study in Australia, a country which has produced over 2.5 million graduates globally, along with 15 Nobel laureates (examples being Professor Peter Doherty, Professor Brian Schmidt and Lord Howard Florey), and holds a good track record of providing permanent residency to students with post-study work visa benefits of up to 5 years, then start your search for the next work-integrated learning programme right away. Applying to a university in a different country can be an overwhelming procedure for first timers. So to make things easier and faster, reach out to KC Overseas, which is one of the best study abroad consultants in India. |