Waterloo Experience (WE) Accelerate: Fall 2024 work term

The program's first week (September 23 - 27) will feature onboarding and career programming through a daily one-hour synchronous session, followed by asynchronous activities totalling 25 hours for the entire week. An additional 10 hours of career programming will occur throughout the skills and project experience portion.In the program's final week (December 2 - 6), you’ll reflect on the career program conducted earlier and complete your summative assignment. This will total approximately 25 hours for the entire week.

What you'll learn:

• How to explore different career paths, industries and job roles that can be applied in later work terms or on your career journey.

• Essential professional skills such as communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving and leadership.

• Effective job search strategies, including résumé writing, cover letter preparation, networking techniques and interview skills for future work terms.

• How to reflect on their career goals, strengths, areas for improvement and experiences gained throughout the program.

Students in this stream will begin by learning about a marketing philosophy known as Inbound and how this applies to a company's digital presence, both in terms of its website and its social media activity.

What you'll learn:

• How to attract, engage, and delight customers by putting themselves in their target audience's shoes and creating opportunities for two-way conversations.
• About the importance of consistent digital branding across all channels and how to follow or even build a brand guide.
• How to create and design websites in WordPress and other platforms, and ensure that those websites are responsive, user-friendly, and accessible.
• How to apply content marketing, video marketing and email marketing to a website to keep it current and attract repeat visits.
• About search engine optimization and how to use data to both measure and boost the performance of a website.

There will be an introductory session on September 30 and a showcase session during the last week of skills training. There will be weekly Tuesday and Thursday live sessions during skills training. Synchronous discussions and workshops will be scheduled for no more than 5 hours weekly. It is STRONGLY recommended that you attend all live sessions. If for some reason you are unable to attend the live sessions, recordings will be available.  Students will also need to find time each week to meet with their team lead and work together with their group members to complete several team-based activities. 

What you'll learn:

• Develop communication and presentation skills through participation in sessions and learn to articulate ideas, insights and project outcomes effectively.
• Practice time management skills by scheduling and attending mandatory sessions and meetings.
• Apply theoretical knowledge and skills acquired during synchronous sessions to real-world projects and challenges.
• Gain practical experience and insights relevant to future career opportunities.

Synchronous discussions and workshops will be scheduled for no more than five hours weekly, and all discussions and workshops will be recorded for asynchronous viewing.

Students will also need to work together with their teams to complete several team-based activities. Most of the time commitment associated with Digital Bootcamp will be asynchronous in nature.

To pass the skills development portion of this stream, you need to do the following:

1. Submit proof of earning the following

• Hubspot certificates
• Inbound Email Marketing
• Content Marketing

2. Submit proof of having completed the following online courses

• LinkedIn’s User Experience for Web Design course
• Google’s Analytics for Beginners course

3. Pass the 7 included quizzes with a grade of at least 70% each after three attempts

You’ll apply your Digital Bootcamp skills to work on improving a company's digital presence through things like a better user experience (UX) or improved search engine optimization (SEO). Projects are provided by one of Co-operative and Experiential Education’s employer partners.

What you'll learn:

• Enhanced understanding of digital marketing techniques and methodologies.
• Hands-on experience in utilizing digital tools and platforms for analysis and improvement.
• Ability to formulate actionable recommendations based on analytical findings.
• Improved communication skills through interaction with employer partners and presenting findings effectively.
• Enhanced problem-solving skills by addressing real-world challenges in a professional setting.

The program's first week (September 23 - 27) will feature onboarding and career programming through a one-hour synchronous session daily, followed by asynchronous activities totalling 25 hours for the entire week. An additional 10 hours of career programming will occur throughout the skills and project experience portion. In the program's final week (December 2 - 6), you will reflect on the career program conducted earlier and complete your summative assignment. This will total approximately 25 hours for the entire week.

What you'll learn:

• How to explore different career paths, industries and job roles that can be applied in later work terms or on your career journey.

• Essential professional skills such as communication, teamwork, time management, problem-solving and leadership.

• Effective job search strategies, including résumé writing, cover letter preparation, networking techniques and interview skills for future work terms.

• How to reflect on their career goals, strengths, areas for improvement and experiences gained throughout the program.

The Azure and Azure AI content will be supplemented with Microsoft’s AI Business School content and material from our colleagues at Microsoft about Design Thinking and what it’s like to work at Microsoft. 

What you'll learn:

• Develop an understanding of Microsoft Azure fundamentals and AI concepts and the ability to deploy and manage cloud resources effectively.
• Build an understanding of the business implications and applications of AI technology and insight into AI ethics, governance and compliance.
• Ability to approach challenges creatively and empathetically using design thinking principles.
• Practice presenting and public speaking skills during pitch meetings through engagement with industry content and insights with industry professionals.

There will be an introductory session on September 30 and a project information session on October 28. Attendance at these events is mandatory. There will be additional live sessions, group meetings and office hours starting during the skills training phase of the program. These will be ongoing throughout the project experience section of the program. To successfully complete the program, it is mandatory to sign up for a proctored examination for the AI-900 and AZ-900 certifications. 

As part of the project experience, you must meet with your Microsoft Mentors once a week for 15 minutes. These meetings are mandatory and will be scheduled by the Mentor. It is also mandatory that you attend a final presentation session in the last week of the project (November 25 - 29) with your group. These will be scheduled, and timing shared with you as early as possible during the term.  

What you'll learn:

• Develop communication and presentation skills through participation in sessions and learn to articulate ideas, insights and project outcomes effectively.
• Practice time management skills by scheduling and attending mandatory sessions and meetings.
• Apply theoretical knowledge and skills acquired during synchronous sessions to real-world projects and challenges.
• Gain practical experience and insights relevant to future career opportunities.

Staff from Microsoft will assess your final project deliverable, resulting in your final overall evaluation. At the discretion of your Microsoft mentor, the evaluation may be team-based or an individual evaluation.

What you'll learn: 

• Gain practical experience in applying technical knowledge to address complex challenges.
• Analyze project requirements, identify innovative solutions to address industry challenges or global issues, while enhancing your critical thinking skills by evaluating different approaches and making informed decisions.
• Plan, organize and execute project activities to meet deadlines and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Acquire experience and skills relevant to future career opportunities in technology, innovation, and project management.