Co-authored by Rosemary Sainty and Franziska Trede.
Work‑integrated learning (WIL) is often celebrated as a powerful way to prepare students for professional life. But exposure to the workplace alone does not automatically support ethical, responsible practice. Our recent research on developing agentic and responsible future professionals highlights why this matters deeply for educators, and why student voice must be intentionally designed into WIL, not left to chance.
Drawing on journalling and focus groups with business students, recent graduates, and longer‑term alumni, the study shows that many students can recognise ethically questionable workplace practices during internships. What they struggle with is knowing how, when, and whether to act. Feeling overwhelmed by unfamiliar cultures, unclear expectations, and inconsistent supervision, students often doubt their judgement or fear the consequences of speaking up.
For educators, this raises an important question: what are we preparing students for when we send them into workplaces?
A shared responsibility for student voice
A key finding is that student voice is relational and contextual, not simply a matter of confidence or moral courage. Expecting student interns to challenge entrenched practices without support places responsibility on those with the least power.
Using the micro, meso and macro levels of the Inukshuk metaphor (Eady et al., 2025) the research shows that student voice is strongest when:
- Supervisors actively engage students as learners,
- Programs create space for reflection and dialogue, and
- Universities and industry partners acknowledge shared ethical responsibility.
When these layers are weak or disconnected, students are left to navigate complex ethical terrain alone.
Implications for curriculum design: UTS WIL principles in action
The five WIL principles, also known as the SPACE principles, assure that quality work-integrated learning experiences and opportunities to try out professional practices are integrated into the course curriculum. For example:
- Supported: Build in structured opportunities for reflection, debriefing, and guidance before, during, and after WIL – not just at assessment points.
- Purposeful: Make explicit why WIL includes ethical and professional judgement, not only skill development or employability outcomes.
- Authentic: Use students’ real WIL experiences, including discomfort and uncertainty, as legitimate curriculum content for learning.
- Collaborative: Position WIL as a shared responsibility between students, educators, and workplace partners, with clear expectations around learning and care.
- Evidenced: Use student voice data (journals, reflections, conversations) to inform ongoing curriculum improvement and partnership design.
You can read more about these principles and the WIL Framework on Sharepoint.
Why this matters now
In a context of declining trust in business and ongoing reports of misconduct, WIL is a critical site for learning how professional values are enacted or compromised in practice. Centring the student voice is not about encouraging naïve resistance. It is about creating learning environments where students can develop ethical judgement, agency, and responsibility with guidance, care, and realism, to carry into their professional careers.
For educators, this is not an optional extra. It is core to what quality WIL demands.
Further reading and resources
This research was funded by a UTS Business School Research Grant and reflects the School’s focus on developing and sharing knowledge for an innovative, sustainable, prosperous economy in a fairer world.
Read the full paper: Developing agentic and responsible future professionals: Centering the work-integrated learning student voice in business education
Ongoing collaboration is planned with UTS Careers and the Australian Association of Graduate Employers to consider the development of impactful outcomes, relationships, and resources based on the research findings. If you would like to get involved, contact Rosemary.Sainty@uts.edu.au