Abstract:

Given rapid changes in labour markets and societies, universities are expected to become more responsive to the work and life situation of adult learners, helping them not only acquire skills and knowledge, but also maintain and improve their position in society and ultimately enhance their quality of life. Universities are also expected to support companies and organizations as conditions and expectations constantly change.

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is a subject of knowledge that is based on humanity as social, creative and learning. And on an overall level, WIL is framed on the assumption that we participate in different activities (work) as we develop (learning) different abilities (knowledge) to handle different situations, discourses and arrangements.

A point of departure for WIL from an individual perspective is that various life-wide and lifelong learning experiences can be put into practice, allow participants to recognise the value of a work-integrated learning approach and thereby increase the ability to acknowledge multiple forms of learning. From an organizational perspective it is reasonable to assume that work-integrated learning that involves higher education also transforms practices within it and is positioning participants to engage more fully with a wide range of formal, non-formal, community and workplace learning.

WIL can be defined as a deliberate and systematic pedagogy that integrates classroom learning with experiences and practices in the workplace. By identifying various lifelong and work-integrated learning aspects we will outline how learners come to see the value of a such learning approach, how they are able to acknowledge multiple forms of knowledge and make more immediate connections between what they come to know and what they do in response.

In this presentation we focus on what it means for the student who wants to develop his / her skills in and for working life, to choose the place, timing, pace and working methods of his / her studies, but also what this means for higher education in organizing, planning and conducting teaching - often in collaboration - with the purpose of supporting students' own learning and communication.

The main perspectives we focus on can be drawn are threefold:
Firstly, how higher education system education ensure retention and progression of all learners, and of adult learners. Especially in digital communities with a professionalized (student) population, universities need to facilitate learning for adults and senior citizens with support from the public and private sectors.
Secondly, how digital teaching and learning at universities are transformed by linking learning to the wider issues of life, by recognizing shared responsibilities, by creating innovative curricula and by mobilizing on the diverse experiences of learners. Innovation in higher education can be crucial in terms of changing attitudes and values and helping to cultivate the necessary capacities for lifelong learning.
Thirdly, how the capacity of higher education can go beyond mere pedagogy and didactics; how it can be a social process that links teaching and learning to students’ personal and individual life patterns, their social and cultural context, and their chosen discipline.

Keywords:

Technology, education, higher education, lifelong learning.