Blog

Co-operative education at the University of Waterloo was built in from the very beginning. That strong foundation has allowed us to not only build the program we have today with more than 25,000 students and 7,500 employers, but build opportunities beyond co-op for our students. They learn how to navigate the hiring process, applying their skills to real-life problems and learning about themselves along the way, ultimately preparing them for the future of work. Hear Dr. Norah McRae talk about how it all started, where we are today and the path forward.

When The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario was overcapacity with children battling illnesses in November, two University Waterloo Pharmacy students, who were already in Ottawa for their co-op positions, stepped up to help. Parsa Ali and Duaa Osman brought an “injection of energy” to the hospital during a tough time.

Esteban Veintimilla (BMath ’18, MBET ’22), a University of Waterloo alum and co-founder of 1Mentor, believes his platform provides critical data on student interests and program comparison to the job market. Using AI, the platform also helps students explore career paths and identifies upskilling opportunities to prepare for their desired jobs.

Colleen Philips-Davis becomes associate director of equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism (EDI-R) in Co-operative and Experiential Education. Co-operative education will change to deepen staff knowledge and to future-proof students through an EDI-R lens.

Study findings show 13 per cent of students from the Faculty of Environment's co-op terms work is directly related to the UN SDGs. The study's findings suggest more could be done to increase awareness for the SDGs and better assessment is required.

When the world turned upside down in 2020, a Waterloo Engineering student decided to take it upon himself to help people adapt to new surroundings.

Research from the Work-Learn Institute (WxL) identified three key factors for students working from home during the pandemic.