Curiosity leads to quality carbon decisions abroad
Faculty of Environment Co-op Student of the Year, Francesca Girmenia, learned how to translate academic knowledge into real-world climate action through sustainability research.
Francesca Girmenia, a fourth-year Environment and Business student, worked as a young researcher in the Science, Technology and Society unit of Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria. During her work term, she researched the procurement of carbon removal certificates to support the university's goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030.
Because TU Graz was at an early stage in exploring carbon removal, there was limited publicly available information, particularly around the costs of these certificates. To address this gap, Francesca conducted interviews with key stakeholders in the carbon removal market. These interviews provided insights into projects across Europe, the United States and Canada. Access to behind-the-scenes information helped Francesca inform TU Graz’s approach. It also supported the university in developing a more informed procurement strategy when it later began exploring carbon removal options independently.
Q&A with Francesca
What technical or professional skills did you develop that were essential to your success during your work term?
“TU Graz is in Austria, so I developed my intercultural effectiveness because I was adapting to an Austrian workplace, while working with researchers from around the world. It was a great opportunity for me to learn how to adapt to a new culture and collaborate in a globalized workplace. In sustainability, something that we're taught is changing our language or our communication style to fit people from different technical backgrounds, because our audience could range from people who have no experience with sustainability to experts in the industry. I actually found that was a great transferable skill that Waterloo gave me.”
In what ways did your classroom learning support or enhance your performance during your work term?
“My supervising professor was impressed with my knowledge of the sustainability industry, particularly around standards, auditing and reporting. I explained to him that our professors leverage case studies and their lived experiences in the industry to prepare us for the workplace. The sustainability industry uses a lot of jargon, and when you work with someone who speaks that language, it's a great feeling of mutual understanding.”
Tell me about a moment when you realized your work was making a real difference.
“At the end of my work term, I had the opportunity to present my findings to the vice rector for infrastructure and sustainability. Before I did that presentation, my professor told me to make sure I include my recommendations of who they should be investing in and where they should be going with this. That's when I realized I'm not just doing this as a research project to learn; what I'm finding is actually going to be used to inform the sustainability strategy at TU Graz.”
How has co-op shaped or changed your understanding of the sustainability industry?
“The sustainability industry is so dynamic, and I worked with people from all different backgrounds, not just sustainability.”
You work with engineers or communications professionals, and it made me realize that when you go into a workplace, you don't have to have all the answers. You just have to be willing to find them and be curious to learn and then that takes a lot of the pressure off.
“It also means that I don't have to go into a job that's titled ‘sustainability’ because it connects to every industry. I could work in any type of role and bring my sustainability mindset and the frameworks that I've learned to make a difference. It makes me excited to go out into the workforce!”
How do you stay curious in an evolving industry?
“Honestly, you just question everything. Any information that you're getting, you're always having to ask, who is giving that information? Why would that benefit them for it to be that way? What aren't we talking about?
My professor helped me think very critically about all the information that we were gaining. That's a skill the University gave me, but applying that skill in the workplace takes confidence and support from your team; I'm grateful it's something that my supervising professor emphasized.”
“At the end of the day, it covers you, because you're a lot more confident in your work when you can say you’ve questioned everything.
Before you can give someone the facts and figures, you need them to be in the story with you. I think the foundation of storytelling is empathy; understanding what people need and want before bringing in the data and statistics.”
If you could give one piece of advice to future co-op students, what would it be?
“As co-op students, it's easy to look around and see what everyone else is doing and think ‘Am I doing the right co-ops?’ But it's not about others. It's about doing your co-op journey and having the experiences you want to have so that when you graduate, you can do what you want to do.”
“Honestly, just have fun. As a student, you're not necessarily going to have the technical expertise or everything you need to know to do the job, but if you're curious and willing to learn, I think that's what co-op is about. Do it your own way and enjoy the journey.”
What does receiving the Co-op Student of the Year Award mean to you considering you were also the 2024 Honourable Mention?
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity. Co-op has genuinely been my favourite part of my degree. I've gotten to have so many new experiences that I would never have done otherwise. My first co-op, I was living in a provincial park. At another co-op, I learned how to build tiny homes and do construction work. Then, I went all the way to Austria! When else in your life are you going to be able to try something new for four months and see if you like it and what you can learn from it?”
“This award is a culmination of all the hard work and dedication I put into my work terms, and I am honoured to be recognized for it.”
What's next for you?
“I will be graduating, which is crazy, but I'm ready to go into the workforce. Co-op is a big reason for that because I got to work in multiple industries, and it's narrowed down my idea of the type of workplace I want to work in and the type of responsibilities I like to have.”
“I'm on the job hunt right now, and I would love to do something with sustainable tourism to combine that passion of travel with making industries more sustainable and ethical. I feel like the door is open because of all these things I did in co-op. Maybe there's something new that I haven't even tried yet that I'm going to find.”
