by: Larissa Pearce
The theme, “The WIL Effect: Shaping the Future World of Work,” was brought to life by a passionate community of academic, operational, systems, and industry leaders. As attendees noted on LinkedIn, the “energy, collaboration, and shared purpose” were outstanding, creating a perfect environment for sharing “fresh ideas” and strengthening our collective commitment to high-quality, student-centric Work Integrated Learning (WIL).
Our CEO, Jo Schneider, and I (Larissa Pearce,) have returned from Geelong feeling energised and inspired after attending the NAFEA 2025 conference. As proud Silver Sponsors of the event, DVE was thrilled to be part of such an incredible few days.
The sessions and keynotes were a fantastic blend of high-level strategy and practical, on-the-ground solutions. Opening keynote Dr. Walter Eppich set a powerful tone, speaking on the importance of fostering “a culture of team reflection” to build adaptive and resilient work teams.
This focus on the human element was a strong thread throughout the conference, with vital discussions on enhancing equity and support for diverse student cohorts – including international, Indigenous, and neurodivergent learners. We also saw practical strategies for managing the “Oh No” moments (a great session by Dr. Anne McLeod) when placements don’t go as planned.
Alongside this, technology and systems-thinking were front and centre. We saw insightful case studies on leveraging data dashboards to manage WIL at scale (from UNSW), using GPT-based tools to streamline compliance (University of Melbourne), and even the impact of email marketing on student engagement (Southern Cross University).
This dual focus on robust systems and human-centred practice was the perfect setting for our own interactive workshop, “Beyond the Checklist: Embedding Risk Visibility, Safety & Wellbeing into Rural WIL Systems.” Jo and I facilitated this ‘taster’ in a joint session with Nalini Klopp, Director, Graduate Career Readiness Curriculum Impact at Flinders, guiding participants through a fast-paced, practical risk-mapping exercise. We were thrilled with the in-session and post-session feedback with participants excited to run the exercises with their own teams and describing the workshop as “practical, useful, thought-provoking, fun, and engaging.”
(Participants from our session will receive a toolkit with templates to run this workshop, and we welcome anyone interested to contact us about facilitating the full, tailored half-day workshop for your institution.)
Jo also had the opportunity to address the attendees about Placements Plus (P+), our dedicated Placement Management Software solution. The platform – designed to solve many of the systemic visibility and data challenges discussed at the conference – was very well-received, leading to many great conversations and demo bookings.
And on a sweeter note, we ran a free raffle for a beautiful ‘Edible Blooms’ chocolate tree. A huge congratulations to the lucky winner, Margaret Lee from Edith Cowan University!
Finally, we want to extend a huge thank you to all conference attendees for being so welcoming, to all the presenters for their exceptional and informative sessions, and to the NAFEA committee for their incredible dedication, patience, and organisation. It was a fantastic conference with fantastic people!
