2021 NAFEA Conference: The Future of WIL: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Event Details
25 November 2021
NAFEA is the national peak body for higher education staff involved in the logistics and administration of work-integrated learning across Australia. Each year, the NAFEA conference brings together a range of stakeholders from across the WIL cycle including NAFEA members, WIL administrators, WIL Researchers, placement providers and policy makers.
The conference will provide a forum for practitioners, administrators and other allies to engage with like-minded professionals to discuss strategies, innovations and practices. The NAFEA conference is a valuable opportunity for professional development.
WHERE:
Online
In-person:
- Brisbane: QUT, Kelvin Grove
- Adelaide: The University of South Australia
Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation in Melbourne, the in-person option has been cancelled.
If you are interested in being a hosting hub for the conference in your State, please contact us at contactus@nafea.org,au
WHEN:
Thursday, 25 November 2021
THEME:
The Future of WIL: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Work-integrated learning (WIL) has become a focus for most higher and vocational education providers as a response to the needs of industry and government policies to better equip graduates for the future world of work. Likewise, risk management, health and well-being have increasingly become a focus for education providers, acknowledging that WIL is multifaceted and complex. The power of WIL can be transformative but equally there are risks of exclusion to equal opportunities as well as barriers and access issues for students from historically disadvantaged or under-represented groups. The future of WIL needs to consider strategies, innovations and practices to enable and to grow diversity, equity and inclusion in addition to considerations of risk management, health and well-being.
The 2021 conference will explore current and future challenges associated with work-Integrated learning (WIL) with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion issues. The conference sessions will focus on a broad range of topics related to WIL in the context of growing concerns related to equity, access, risk management and well-being.
Presentations, break-out sessions and workshops are welcomed on the broader theme of the conference as well as related to:
- Equity and access to WIL activities;
- Improvement of WIL administrative processes related to supporting:
- students with a disability;
- students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds;
- Indigenous students;
- students from diverse sexes, genders and sexualities backgrounds;
- International students; and,
- other historically disadvantaged or under-represented groups.
- How to create equivalent WIL opportunities regardless of students’ backgrounds;
- Use of technology to enhance WIL experiences and to enable diverse, equitable and inclusive learning activities and administrative processes;
- Development of resources that support students, industry partners/organisations and supervisors on placement, particularly with a focus on enabling and fostering diverse, equitable and inclusive environments;
- The impact of unconscious bias in WIL and the workplace;
- WIL risk management with a particular focus on issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion;
- Self-care and well-being of students, staff and industry/community partners, including supporting students with mental health conditions.
For more information, please visit the website.