How Waterloo’s startup and co-op connection is future-proven
Since 1957, co-operative education has been a cornerstone of the University of Waterloo’s history. With a 96 per cent employment rate six months after graduation, it is clear that Waterloo prepares talent ready for the rapidly changing industry and work place landscape.
Startups add connection
These budding businesses often embrace an “all-hands-on-deck” approach, offering workers the chance to try various roles within the team. For Computer Engineering alumnus Alan Wang (B.A.Sc. ’19), the experience was no different.
Wang spent a co-op term working for Evichat, a startup that collects and manages digital evidence for officials working in law. During his work term, Wang mobilized his interest in computer engineering in a completely new way. As one of four team members, Wang was given real-world tasks to complete and developed skills that he says served him well post-graduation.
“The skills I gained there are necessary for anywhere,” Wang says. “They would say, okay, this is a feature we want you to build, and I would just have to do it. It was fun because I was learning a lot of new things, but it was definitely challenging.”
During those times, Wang says he was supported by another Waterloo alumnus on the team, Nilesh Pandey. Pandey is co-founder and chief technology officer at Evichat.
Wang is grateful he was able to spend a co-op term at a smaller startup, as it helped him secure his current full-time position at Boosted.ai, a young company based in Toronto.
“Working at Evichat gave me the experience to learn how to problem-solve on my own,” Wang says.
Read the full article.