Chapter 9: Work-Based Learning for Enabling Social Responsibility: The Benefits of University-to-Business Partnerships – A Case Study

Work-based learning (WBL) has long been recognized and lauded for its transformative capabilities, enriching the knowledge and organizational and cultural impact of its learners. Students deepen understanding of their sector as well as professional interdisciplinarity on work-based academic programs, and in focusing on real-world scenarios in a scholarly way, open up opportunities for improvement and change. However, one of the key challenges in sustaining or continually improving provision for work-based learners in this context is in evidencing impact of enhancement-based, in-program learning and teaching activities. This chapter will examine some of the ways in which WBL values influence academic support delivery at one United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education Institution (HEI) and present examples of the operationalization of some WBL-driving principles in practice. In so doing, this chapter aims to share some of the tenets underpinning WBL practices in the UK in exploring its potential role and contribution as a socially responsible endeavor.