PD19: Tactics for Workplace Success provides an opportunity for you to kick-start your professional development.
The course will help you understand that to succeed in the workplace, developing professional skills is just as important as developing technical skills. In PD19 you'll also learn strategies to make the most of workplace opportunities and challenges. By the end of the course, you will be well on your way to developing critical self-reflection skills and planning for your own professional growth.
What will you do in PD19?
- Apply workplace success strategies, including setting workplace goals and conducting informational interviews.
- Compare and contrast the roles and importance of technical and professional skills.
- Understand strategies for addressing technical and professional challenges.
- Reflect on your work term experience with the goal of improving future workplace success.
Grading information
To pass PD19, you must satisfy both requirements below:
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earn an overall grade of at least 60% on Assignments 1 - 4 (plus any bonus opportunities)
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receive a minimum of 60% on the Major Reflective Report
If you have a question about grading in PD19, contact the course team.
Student testimonials
I really liked that the course covered so many topics that were actually relevant to working at a real job such as, describing mistakes, understanding a company's structure, communicating professionally, networking, learning transferable skills and much more. It was useful because we were required to intentionally and critically think about our past behaviours and actions, and hence the term ‘reflection’, which was not something I did prior to taking this course. It helped me improve my overall performance as I learned where I was lagging.
Having videos and anecdotes from UW Eng Graduates helped me put my own experiences into perspective and made me feel better about my mistakes and accomplishments.
Course instructors
Jason Grove
Jason is the graduate attributes lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He's responsible for leading the continuous program assessment and improvement process for the Chemical and Nanotechnology Engineering programs. Jason is also heavily involved in the development of the Faculty's IDEAs Clinic initiative.
Jason is a Senior Associate with Delphi Group and has expertise in strategic sustainability consulting, in particular, related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. He obtained his PhD from the University of Waterloo investigating the microbial community ecology in biofilters used for air pollution control. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Engineering Science from the University of Oxford.
Derek Wright
Derek is the graduate attributes lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He teaches courses on circuits and design and conducts research in neuromorphic computing hardware in addition to his administrative duties.
Derek studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and completed his masters within the same department. He then completed a PhD in biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto, working in medical imaging physics. After working in sales, product management, and business development, he rejoined Electrical and Computer Engineering in his current role. Derek's broad experience has helped him make connections between the training students receive as engineers and what counts as success and happiness in their careers.