For graduates to be able to compete in the global world, study programmes must include knowledge, competences and skills that ensures that students with a higher education degree are ready for both a complex working life and continuous competence development. This demands competencies beyond traditional theoretical knowledge, such as preparing for uncertainty and unknown outcomes. Therefore, it is essential to engage students in learning to learn, i.e., lifelong learning so that the tools and methods for learning in higher education can also be developed through future work.

At University West (UW) in Sweden, this means that programmes are developed in collaboration with societal partners to provide a relevant and attractive educational offer. The University West uses the concept of work-integrated learning (WIL) to embrace a sustained/systematic collaboration with strategic partners outside academia. We consider that knowledge is created in the encounter between academia and our strategic partners, through the integration of knowledge, skills and competences acquired both within academia and work life.

To achieve a strategic and qualitative development of work-integrated learning (WIL), the Board of University West in 2018 decided to WIL-certify all educational programs including a sustainability perspective and enhance this process by engaging in strategic partnerships with stakeholders from civic society to international companies. The process is a development of existing and future programmes and their pedagogical approach. The WIL certification process has developed into a renewal of the pedagogical approach through a development process based on a lively exchange of experiences from study programme representatives from political science to nursing; and discussions with our strategic partners that benefits both students, staff as well as the strategic partners through competence development and lifelong learning.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the lessons learned so far and present a conceptual quality framework for WIL in higher education with a clear connection to sustainable development. Based on the experiences from the development of the institutional WIL project and a Swedish Innovation agency (VINNOVA) research project we aim for a better understanding and insights into how theoretical and practical knowledge can enhance learning both within academia and within strategic partners. Data collection activities include workshops and focus groups with selected participants from the target groups at the university (managers/prefects and teachers) as well as at the collaborative partner organization (managers and supervisors/mentors). Initial findings suggest that the meeting between academia, working life and the surrounding society can ensure that insights, solutions and mutual development are created to meet the challenges society faces. The paper will discuss the methodology of creating work-integrated learning environments that include well-functioning communication and a community of practice (Wenger, 1998) connecting learners, teachers, and other staff with local, regional and national stakeholders.