Faculty partnerships transform work-integrated learning
Creative ideas lead to an impactful hands-on learning experience for students in the Faculty of Environment.
By: Matthew King
When Amy Todd enrolled in Environment, Resources and Sustainability (ERS) 674: Great Lakes Biodiversity Conservation: A Work-Integrated Learning Partnership, she wasn't expecting her graduate coursework to end up circulating among real-world conservation stakeholders — but that's exactly what happened.
"There's some heft to it when you know it's going to be useful to someone at the end of the day," Todd says. "It's not just something you're submitting for a grade; it has a broader purpose."
Todd, a Master of Economic Development and Innovation student, was drawn to the course by a central question: do economic development and conservation have to be in conflict, or can they support one another?
School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS) professor Derek Armitage launched the course, which connects graduate students with conservation organizations to work together on active environmental challenges. The projects are co-developed and supported by conservation professionals Dan Kraus, an independent consultant, and Scott Parker from Parks Canada, who worked closely with students throughout the term.
To bring the course to life, Armitage partnered with the Centre for Work-Integrated Learning (WIL), which supports instructors in building work-integrated learning into their courses. The collaboration helped shape projects that balanced academic timelines with real-world impact, preparing students to contribute meaningful, partner-informed work.
From classroom project to real-world circulation
Todd’s team partnered with the Ecological Corridor Alliance; a conservation initiative focused on strengthening biodiversity and ecological connectivity along the Niagara Escarpment. Their task was to explore how municipalities could strengthen funding models for conservation within Ontario’s legislative framework.
The team analyzed municipal constraints, assessed revenue-generation mechanisms and developed practical recommendations tailored to conservation priorities.
Months after the course concluded, Todd learned that conservation stakeholders beyond the organization were circulating her team’s final report.
That was kind of a cool experience. This has been passed around in the real world! People working in conservation are potentially going to be reading this document.
Learning that shapes direction
The experience didn’t end with the final submission. Exposure to conservation, finance and municipal economic systems shifted Todd’s academic and professional trajectory.
“This course mattered because it augmented my economic development studies in a really positive way and led me into a new direction to explore — both academically and professionally.”
By working directly with practitioners, students gain experience managing client relationships, synthesizing complex policy environments and producing deliverables intended for decision-makers; skills that extend well beyond the classroom.
Partnership as practice
By combining faculty expertise, community partnerships and structured WIL design, ERS 674 demonstrates how graduate courses can extend beyond the classroom.
Students contribute meaningful work to organizations tackling complex challenges. Partners gain practical insights to inform ongoing work. And for students like Todd, the experience can also bring new clarity to their academic and career direction.
In that exchange, the impact of the course is measured not just in what students learn, but in where that learning goes next.