University West Builds New WIL Network in Southern Africa

- The significance of such an international network is considerable. It creates opportunities for faster and more effective exchanges in both research projects and educational collaboration. Our understanding of multicultural conditions is deepened through these partnerships, and this is crucial for sustainable societal development with work-integrated learning, both locally and globally, says Ulrika Lundh Snis, Professor and Director of the Complete Academic Environment WIL at University West.

Under the leadership of Per Assmo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Internationalization, the university has for many years developed and established close research and educational collaborations with several higher education institutions in South Africa. This includes educational cooperation through the master’s programs in WIL, as well as externally employed doctoral students from South Africa within the WIL PhD programme.

Over the years, several joint projects have been carried out with researchers from University West and partner institutions, and research articles have been co-published.

Several Partners Participate in the Network

In December 2024, leaders and researchers from several South African partner institutions were invited to a meeting at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to discuss a deepened collaboration. The meeting decided that University West, together with UWC, Central University of Technology, Tshwane University of Technology, University of the Free State, University of Namibia, and the Technological Higher Education Network South Africa (THENSA), would form a network to strengthen educational and research collaborations within WIL.

On November 17–18, 2025, the university organized the first international conference and workshop in Cape Town to establish the Southern Africa-Nordic Work-Integrated Learning Network (SANWIL). Researchers in work-integrated learning from University West, as well as academic leaders and researchers from partner institutions, participated in the conference, which was formally opened by the Deputy Swedish Ambassador to South Africa, Kristian Olsson Selerud.

In addition to keynote presentations and sessions on developing research and educational collaborations, formal planning seminars for WIL doctoral students were also conducted.

- Southern Africa is one of the regions in the world where WIL is strongest. It is therefore very positive that WIL, and especially our WIL doctoral students, can gain an international foothold through the establishment of SANWIL. International perspectives with knowledge exchange and mobility will further strengthen and develop the WIL research conducted at our university, says Fredrik Sunnemark, Professor and Director of Doctoral Studies at University West.

SANWIL will strengthen collaboration by:

• Developing and reinforcing WIL as a unique field of study
• Coordinating international internships and exchange studies
• Increase the amount of externally employed doctoral students within WIL
• Developing collaboration in doctoral supervision
• Cooperating on joint hybrid education programmes
• Strengthening research collaboration, project applications, and co-publications
• Developing research collaborations with Swedish multinational companies in Southern Africa.

SANWIL is organized into thematic working groups with regular virtual research meetings. In addition, an annual physical workshop will be held in connection with the university’s international WIL conferences. 

University West Consolidates Global Position in WIL

SANWIL is the latest initiative that consolidates the university’s position as one of the leading institutions in the world in research on work-integrated learning. In addition to the growing research environment KAM-AIL, the university recently launched Current Issues in Work-Integrated Learning (CIWIL), its first international research journal dedicated to WIL.

As mentioned above, University West also organizes the recurring international WIL Conference, and the next one will be held in Trollhättan in September 2026. The university also serves as the European office for the World Council and Assembly on Cooperative Education (WACE), the global organization aimed at developing work-integrated learning in education and research.