Earlier this year, an opportunity arrived to closely collaborate with other like-minded researchers from across the world through the Elon University’s Centre for Engaged Learning, Work-Integrated Learning International Research Seminar. Not knowing each other, we felt immensely privileged with our self-confidence growing because our research expertise and personal desire to improve students’ employability outcomes were recognised.

The Elon Research Seminar is hosted by the Centre of Engaged Learning, focusing on high impact practices for excellence in teaching and learning in higher education. The Director, Dr. Jessie L. Moore and her colleagues have been instigating interdisciplinary, international research seminars at scale and for some time. Up to three different programs run simultaneously every year. For instance, a group in our cohort is exploring how to increase faculty buy-in for work-integrated learning, another on how the language of ‘work’ influences students’ employability identity. There are other groups looking at wellbeing for health placements and third space environments. Our group is titled Dogwood, named after the trees which spread across Elon’s campus. We are exploring how students’ experiences on placements can increase host supervisors’ leadership skills.

Our group is a bunch of fantastic people from all over the world: Canada, USA, Australia, Norway, and Germany. With some fighting jet lag we formed the program’s pre-selected research groups, coming together to finetune our research questions, interests, and limitations. Invited guest speakers contributed to the program by discussing diversity, equity, methods, ethics, and the future of work-integrated learning research and practice. Students participate in the program too, providing valuable insights, feedback on our research questions, methods, and timelines as well as becoming co-partners in the three-year long program.

Our team’s motto is to have fun through research. We firmly believe that results and relationships are tied together. When we feel safe and connected to people we perform better as a team and achieve better results. Therefore, fun is our glue.

We continue to learn from one another, gently and comradely pushing one another to achieve our best. We will also ensure that fun remains at the core of what we do through honesty and authenticity

Photo: Team Dogwood, Anne-Marie Fannon, Borghild Brekke Hauglid, Rachael Hains-Wesson, Ina Alexandra Machura.