In an earlier project (2014-2015) we found that young adults and specifically women was a exposed group when it came to reported psychological vulnerability. This triggered us to design for a new study to learn more about their sense of belonging in and out of study context. We plan to use a mixed methods approach with individual interviews, focus groups, and a broader online survey on students that are enrolled in WIL-programs, the student need to have completed at least a practicum or coop-period prior to participation in the research study. Our next steps will be to start the ethics protocols for both the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. Thereafter Scotland and Sweden apply for theirs. The research questions is: What gender challenges do WIL students face that impact their career identity, sense of belonging, work self-efficacy, overall wellbeing, sociability, and transition to full-time employment after graduation? What gender specific barriers impact WIL students' perceptions of being valued in the workplace (on the team, in meetings)? What gender specific barriers impact WIL students' perceptions of how employers perceive their technical competencies? What resources do WIL students perceive are available to them from their universities and employers to help overcome these barriers? In the interactive session we will discuss both the research questions/content and the methodological approaches.