Applying geomatics to real-world water management
Working at the Region of Peel gave Arhum Aziz hands-on experience in water operations and project management, culminating in the launch of a project he helped build.
Arhum Aziz (he/him), a second-year Geomatics student, shares his experience working for the Region of Peel for two co-op terms back-to-back. Arhum discusses how he handles the transition between co-op and study terms while maintaining a work-life balance.
Arhum's co-op journey
Work terms one and two: For Arhum’s first and second work terms, he was an assistant technical analyst at the Region of Peel. Arhum focused on water operations, creating maps, charts and graphs.
Q&A with Arhum
Why did you choose to study Geomatics?
“I think Geomatics is a pretty good crossroad for a lot of different fields of study. Looking at the type of courses that you take within a Geomatics degree, you have your geographic information system, computer science and regular geography courses.”
“Within Geomatics, you can specialize in many different sectors. Personally, I'm specializing in Aviation. Going forward, my courses and even future co-op jobs that I search for could have an aviation aspect to them.”
What is one thing that you were curious to learn about working for the Region of Peel?
“Business processes and the work culture. This was my very first co-op, it was my first time experiencing the world of work. That was the main thing that I wanted to learn.”
“I also wanted to learn how people interact with each other and how different things work around the business. It's specific to the type of sector you're working in. Since I'm doing a lot of project management, that comes with how to deal with stakeholders and contractors. I've had the opportunity to present a few times on some of the projects that we're working on. That's been a good experience.”
“I got the chance to present my work alongside my colleagues. Often the work that they assign me is stuff they are also working on. I end up presenting that work because I have a deep understanding of it.”
“Project management is definitely the skill I think I’ve improved on the most.”
What have you learned about the environmental industry from co-op?
“I learned that there's a lot more going on than you think. Even the most minuscule things are managed, even the smallest considerations are made. For example, how the public would perceive something like housing locations being near a water sanitation plant.”
“I went on a facility tour recently and some people on the tour asked questions like how to deal with or mitigate the odor that comes from a facility. That was something that I had never thought of personally. But that's something that has been investigated and is being continuously mitigated.”
How has the transition been between a full year of university to eight months of co-op?
“Taking a break from school is definitely a stress reliever. I don't have to worry about due dates or assignments. I think the work life so far has been personally a lot better than school. I found the transition pretty easy. I adjusted my sleep schedule within the first week and after that it was smooth sailing.”
“In fall of 2024 I was playing recreational soccer at Waterloo and that was my stress reliever during the study term. If I'm not studying, then I'll go play soccer with my friends.”
“During my work terms, I haven't had that much time to get back into sports. In the warmer months, I've been out doing recreational stuff with my friends. I was looking to sign up for some summer badminton leagues. I'd schedule those around the days that I'm in the office, so I don't have too many things in one day. It's all about balancing out my day.”
“Especially during the school terms, having a balance between your studying and your personal life is really important so you don't suffer from burnout in the end. I find that happens a lot with students, myself included.”
What is your proudest co-op achievement?
“The proudest one so far was when I was working on a project that I was assigned to help with back in February.”
“Through many revisions and meetings with different teams, receiving feedback and applying that feedback, the app I was working on is finally coming to life and going live soon. That's exciting and getting to see something through from start to finish is probably the biggest and proudest thing I've found here.”
“That's the benefit of having an eight-month co-op, you can integrate yourself into the team and the work. You actually have time to fully implement your work and see it through. Four months is not that long of a time frame if you think about it.”
What’s next for you?
“I'm back in school in September. I’m going to put my head down and study. Then I'll be looking for co-op again in the spring. Hopefully my experience at the Region of Peel and the invaluable skills that I've gained will help me achieve bigger and better things.”