Spring 2022 resources

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As we continue to deal with the challenging circumstances created by COVID-19, the EDGE team is working hard to ensure that students participating in the EDGE certificate can still earn their milestones and benefit from the high-quality learning and experiences they expect.

Whether you're already enrolled in EDGE or are brand new to the program, this page will help you get started on completing a milestone during the Spring 2022 term. For additional support, get in touch with the EDGE team over email, edge@uwaterloo.ca, or book a virtual advising appointment.

If you want to earn a milestone during the Spring 2022 term, we recommend completing the career development course and/or the skills identification and articulation workshop.

Skills identification & articulation workshop

The skills identification and articulation workshop helps students identify the skills they're developing throughout their undergraduate career. Workshop participants will also develop strategies for articulating these skills to target audiences (e.g. potential employers). If you can recognize what you're learning and how your skills translate to the job market, you can set yourself apart from other candidates!

What do students do in the workshop?

Identify the transferable and technical skills they're developing through their studies
Learn how to review job postings that align with their skills
Practice communicating their skills in an interview setting

How to register for the workshop

During the Spring 2022 term, you can complete the skills identification and articulation workshop online through the EDGE Learn community. Access the workshop content on Learn and complete the quiz to finish the milestone.

Career development course

The career development course helps students develop core career-seeking skills. Students who complete the career development course will refine their résumé writing and interview skills and align their career goals with their values, skills and interests. The course is rooted in the Centre for Career Action’s expertise in career development theory.

What do PD1 EDGE students do in the course?

Develop their résumés through feedback and virtual critiques
Refine their interview skills during the application process by signing up for virtual mock interviews and practicing responses through course assessments
Reflect on their existing skills and values and articulate those skills to potential employers

How to enrol in PD1 EDGE

You can enrol in PD courses (including PD1 EDGE) using Quest. Sign up for PD1 EDGE by looking for section 083 of PD1.

Need help enrolling in courses? Visit the Quest guide on how to add classes.

Work and community experiences

The spread of COVID-19 is posing additional challenges for students looking to complete a work and community experience during the Spring 2022 term. If you haven’t already completed the career development course milestone, consider enrolling in PD1 EDGE this term instead of completing a Work and community experience.

In order to complete the EDGE certificate, students must complete three work and community experience milestones. Each milestone requires students to pair a work or volunteer experience with an elective professional development (PD) course, complete a reflection assignment, and receive a performance evaluation.

Students can complete their work or community experience milestones in three ways:

University-affiliated experiences: minimum 36 hours in a work or volunteer opportunity linked to the University's faculties, student societies, clubs, offices and services
Non-university-affiliated experiences: minimum 36 hours in a work or volunteer opportunity with an organization outside of the university
Experiential learning courses: minimum 18 hours in an academic course that includes a work-integrated learning component

Looking for experiences this term? We recommend starting with these three resources:

The EDGE LEARN community: Watch for posted opportunities and details on how to apply.
WaterlooWorks - Other Job Board: Explore positions on WaterlooWorks open to all students. Check back regularly as new opportunities are regularly available.
WaterlooWorks - External Job Boards: Find a number of job boards to explore based on your interests including exclusively remote positions. External boards include both paid and volunteer opportunities.

Check in with the EDGE team when you have found an opportunity to discuss if it can be used for a work & community experience milestone.

PD electives offered in Spring 2022

How to enrol in an elective PD course

You can enrol in elective PD courses using Quest. Sign up for an elective PD course by reviewing the electives available during the spring term, picking a course that interests you, and selecting section 083 of that course.

Need help enrolling in courses? Visit the Quest guide on how to add classes.

Can I complete an experience outside of Canada?

To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Canada is currently advising that you avoid all non-essential travel outside of Canada until further notice. In alignment with this advisory, Waterloo has suspended all University-related travel outside of Canada until further notice, including EDGE work and community experiences.

This decision follows direction from the University travel policy, the Faculties and our existing travel advisory policy for international work and community experiences. Work and community experiences outside of Canada have always been assessed based on the risk level published by Global Affairs Canada (GAC) travel advisories, in conjunction with any overall directives from our central University leadership.

When the GAC risk level for a country is listed as high ("Avoid non-essential travel" or "Avoid all travel") prior to the start of a work term, the University will not approve a position as eligible for a work and community experience for milestone credit as a part of the EDGE certificate. This applies to all individuals, regardless of citizenship or intended destination.

Given Waterloo’s current stance around international travel and GAC’s listing of all countries as high risk, we are required to follow that direction and cannot currently approve work and community experiences that require students to actively travel to locations outside of Canada for the Spring 2022 term.

Since we cannot confidently predict when this will change, students are advised to prioritize experiences that can be completed from Canada. Spring 2022 work and community experiences with employers based outside of Canada can still be approved for milestones if employers can relocate you to their Canadian office or allow you to legally work remotely from within Canada.

Work terms abroad: Situation-specific considerations for Spring 2022 work and community experience milestones

That said, we understand that each student’s specific situation is unique and have worked with University leadership to establish additional options for students to receive a milestone. In recognition of students who are already abroad or international visa students who would like to return to their home countries, we have additional options for:

International visa students who are currently located in Canada and wish to return home	At any point, consideration for approving Spring 2022 work and community experiences for milestones may be given for international visa students (whose status on their university records is “study permit”) who are returning to their home country. In this case, enhanced risk management procedures will be required before leaving Canada, or within one week of reaching your destination. Additional details will be provided following submission of the Job Information Form. Please note: this does not apply if you are a dual citizen of Canada and another country. In this case, you will be considered a Canadian citizen and will need to provide documentation to verify that you have been outside Canada since before June 1, 2020 in order for your work and community experience abroad to be considered for a milestone. Next steps: Please speak with EDGE Advisor about your specific situation and be ready to provide supporting documentation.
Students who have already left Canada and are currently abroad	If you have been abroad since June 1, 2020 and are unable to travel back to Canada, Spring 2022 work and community experiences may be considered for your milestone abroad. This applies to all individuals, regardless of citizenship. In this situation, milestones will be assessed on a case-by-case basis with safety as our primary consideration. Factors such as the location’s level of risk before COVID-19 and other safety considerations will be taken into account when determining milestone eligibility. Enhanced risk management procedures will be required before leaving Canada, or within one week of reaching your destination. Additional details will be provided following submission of the Job Information Form. Next steps: Please speak with EDGE Advisor about your specific situation and be ready to provide supporting documentation.

International visa students who are currently located in Canada and wish to return home

At any point, consideration for approving Spring 2022 work and community experiences for milestones may be given for international visa students (whose status on their university records is “study permit”) who are returning to their home country.
In this case, enhanced risk management procedures will be required before leaving Canada, or within one week of reaching your destination. Additional details will be provided following submission of the Job Information Form.
Please note: this does not apply if you are a dual citizen of Canada and another country. In this case, you will be considered a Canadian citizen and will need to provide documentation to verify that you have been outside Canada since before June 1, 2020 in order for your work and community experience abroad to be considered for a milestone.
Next steps: Please speak with EDGE Advisor about your specific situation and be ready to provide supporting documentation.

Students who have already left Canada and are currently abroad

If you have been abroad since June 1, 2020 and are unable to travel back to Canada, Spring 2022 work and community experiences may be considered for your milestone abroad. This applies to all individuals, regardless of citizenship.
In this situation, milestones will be assessed on a case-by-case basis with safety as our primary consideration. Factors such as the location’s level of risk before COVID-19 and other safety considerations will be taken into account when determining milestone eligibility.
Enhanced risk management procedures will be required before leaving Canada, or within one week of reaching your destination. Additional details will be provided following submission of the Job Information Form.
Next steps: Please speak with EDGE Advisor about your specific situation and be ready to provide supporting documentation.

The University continues to monitor GAC travel restrictions. If the University lifts this current travel ban and the GAC’s country-specific travel advisories are relaxed prior to the start of the Spring 2022 term, we will update this website with any changes.