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Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a form of education that integrates academic and workplace study. Such programs provide students the opportunity to concurrently develop cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. The purpose of this study is to explore which experiences and skills learned in a WIL placement are useful in applying to medical school and transitioning into the first year of a Doctor of Medicine program. All individuals who worked in the Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program (RRRP; WIL placement) since 2004 and had completed at least 1 year of medical school were invited to participate. Semi-formal interviews were conducted and transcribed. A thematic analysis was completed to identify recurring concepts, and quotes were selected to represent them. Of 39 eligible individuals, 14 agreed to participate (36%). Students identified the volume of work, achieving a work-life balance, and time management as challenges in first-year medical school. Five themes emerged regarding the impact of the RRRP on applying and transitioning to medical school: time management skills, mentorship opportunities, research experience, clinical experience, and career choice. WIL placements present a unique opportunity for undergraduate students interested in pursuing medicine to acquire skills and experiences that will help them succeed in applying and transitioning to medical school.

Co-operative education and work-integrated learning (WIL) are powerful means to prepare post-secondary students for the VUCA world: a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Co-op and WIL programs expose students to the workplace which, among other things, allows students to learn about the contexts and challenges facing their employers. This contributes to the development of an “adaptive resilience” that is so crucial for coping with VUCA and the future of work and learning. Still, existing co-op and WIL programs can do more. We developed a Future-Ready Talent Framework that provides educators with explicit learning outcomes, gives students clear expectations, and equips organizations with a common language with which to interact with post-secondary institutions, educators, and students. Our Framework is comprised of four different skill sets: Discipline and Context Specific Skills, Develop Self, Build Relationships, and Create Solutions. Each of the four skill sets includes three distinct skills. Although it is a work in progress, our Framework can serve as the basis for improved curriculum, communication, and evaluation, and can serve as a tool for students to develop the confidence and know-how to face the future of work and learning.

INTRODUCTIONIn May 2010 Waterloo Engineering embarked on the development of a 2 nd generation online professional skills development program, WatPD-Engineering. Like its predecessor, PDEng, the program is composed of five online courses taken by Waterloo Engineering students while they are on work terms. These courses focus on providing background knowledge underpinning professional skills such as communication, project management, problem solving, conflict resolution, and teamwork and connect this background knowledge to the application of the skills in the workplace. Students take one course per work term until they have met the professional skills component of their degree requirements. Each course is expected to take a total time commitment of 20 to 30 hours over a 10 week period and students work on the courses outside of work hours.The WatPD-Engineering program consists of two core courses: PD 20 Engineering Workplace Skills 1 -Developing Reasoned Conclusions, and PD 21 Engineering Workplace Skills 2 -Developing Effective Plans, followed by three elective courses from the WatPD suite of elective courses: PD 3 Communication, PD 4 Teamwork, PD 5 Project Management, PD 6 Problem Solving, and PD 7 Conflict Resolution. While the WatPD elective courses have existed for three to four years and been offered to students from UWaterloo's nonengineering faculties, the two core courses, PD 20 and PD 21, had to be developed for the new program.In essence PD 20 is a course on critical thinking in the workplace. In particular the objective of the course is to help engineering students that are new to the professional workplace make objective observations on all aspects of their workplace activity, draw logical conclusions from their observations, and communicate their findings to both lay and technical audiences. This presentation describes the development of PD 20 from the initial vision formulation in May 2010 to its first offering in Winter 2011. COURSE DEVELOPMENT PHASESThe development process followed the traditional engineering design and development process. There was an initial request for proposals, a selection of an instructional development team, a preliminary course design review, a final course design review, design testing with a student focus group, quality assurance testing by students and staff, the final version release, and continuous learning outcome assessment. The initial request for proposals had a format very similar to that used in many engineering specification or requirement documents. Included in the request for proposals was a description of the intended course with suggested topics, a specification of the intended audience, a listing of both required and desirable course features, and a specification of the required expertise of the course content development team.Two proposals were submitted for consideration. After a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of both proposals, the proposal submitted by a course content development team from the Philosophy Department...