A case for involving workplace partners alongside university students and staff in curriculum co-creation

University staff tend to engage with students as partners for curriculum co-creation (see for example, Bovill, 2014; Cook-Sather, Bovill & Felten, 2014). However, we argue it is important to involve both workplace partners and students in curriculum co-creation for the work-integrated learning context. Involving workplace partners as well as students is critical to ensure co-created content is relevant to the changing nature of work. We propose an extension of an existing model of student engagement, the pedagogical partnership framework, by considering the role workplace partners can play in co-creation (Healey, Flint, & Harrington, 2014). We explore the co-creation process that has led to the development of three work-integrated-learning units. Our aim is to identify and test sustainable mechanisms for engaging partners and students in curriculum co-creation. Workplace partners offer feedback on topics and provide content for cases and role plays, while students contribute organically through learning and teaching activities designed to integrate their experiences in the workplace through classroom-based co-creation (Cook-Sather et al., 2018). University staff facilitate the co-creation process, curating content and assuring student learning.