New financial awards give more students access to work-integrated learning experiences
By Matthew King (he/him)
CEE creates awards to support students financially.
More students will have access to work-integrated learning (WIL) experiences, including unpaid experiences, thanks to new financial awards created by Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) and the Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL).
Paid co-op work terms are only one type of work-integrated learning experience at the University of Waterloo. Many students opt for other WIL opportunities, like EDGE - the University’s experiential education certificate program.
Although some of these WIL experiences are unpaid, they are equally valuable opportunities for students to gain work experience and build future-ready skills that complement their academic studies. These unpaid WIL experiences may be financially inaccessible to some students, especially in challenging economic times.
Our goal is to be able to support students engaging in WIL. We know there are sometimes barriers to participation especially when it's unpaid. These awards are intended to mitigate those barriers and provide more opportunities for students.
The awards will vary based on available funding and eligibility requirements with students receiving up to $1,775 per term. For spring term 2024, funding is available to domestic, permanent resident and refugee status students participating in:
- WE Accelerate
- EDGE Unpaid
- WIL Courses
CEE has secured additional funding for students. Energy company Enbridge has allocated funding to support students in WE Accelerate with a focus on women in STEM.
These awards will continue to be offered each term. However, the funding amount that students receive could change. This term, Co-operative Education, Work-Integrated Learning (CEWIL) Canada’s Innovation Hub (iHub) is funding a portion of the awards. The Centre for WIL secured two contracts with CEWIL iHub for more than $750,000 to help support our students.
“It removes a barrier to participation,” says McDonald. “We know there are numerous WIL experiences happening across campus. Our goal is to support our students who are already engaged in those experiences, or maybe struggling to engage in them, because of financial limitations.”