MKT20019 MARKETING RESEARCH Assignment 1: Research Brief Work Integrated Learning at Swinburne University Name: Liam O'Brien Student ID: 101583324 Due date: 5th of August 2020 (48 Hour extension granted) 1
ELA: Bob Stephens Executive Summary Swinburne University of Technology, runs and operates a program designed to help give students the opportunity to receive real - life work experience in their chosen field of study before their finish their degree. Currently, only 20% of eligible students are applying for the program and of that, 16% are completing the program. These factors have led to the Swinburne WIL Objectives: · Increase awareness and engagement, of WIL and the benefits of the program, · Increase participation rate of eligible students. Governments are encouraging higher participation in WIL program to help increase skills and labour shortages and keeping pace with the increasing demand and intensifying international competition (McLennon, B. and Keating, S., 2008.) Industry partners have also expressed their interest, looking for candidates with disciplined knowledge and work place experience and one of the major benefits of WIL, is that it allows student to leave university with hands on industry experience, find business mentors and leaders during their studies. Despite these benefits, studies are indicating that the current work-life balance of a student is getting harder, (Gair, S., 2018) whilst it is agreed completing a university degree gives students a better chance of landing a high-paying job. However, students have identified that during their study period, they are struggling to balance study, family, financial hardship and paid work, which is starting to impact their daily lives and study success. This could indicate that students' perceptions towards WIL are that it is not as promising and can be more of a financial burden if unpaid, and intensely time consuming, limiting their ability to dedicate enough hours to their study or generate enough income to sustain their lifestyle. Based on this we have formulated the following Marketing Problem: WIL placements are time consuming and stressful. Students who are required to work to support themselves or have carer responsibilities, or other factors which can restrict their availability in terms of time and/or money. And the following Research Problem: To investigate why more students aren't engaging in the WIL program by understanding the work- life balance of students and their perceptions and attitudes towards WIL. 2
Contents Executive Summary. 2 Table of Graphs. 3 Background 4 Internal situation 4 External situation. 4 Marketing Problem & Research Problem 6 Marketing problem 6 Research problem. 6 Research Objective and research Questions 6 Research Objective 1: 6 Research Questions. 6 Research Objective 2: ti Research Question ti Research Objective 3: ti Research Questions. ti References. 8 Table of Graphs: Table 1.1 - Percentage of students who indicated they could not afford key living expenses. ..... .5 3