Engineering graduate student becomes first to complete Professional Skills Foundations

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) is pleased to announce that Swakshar Saha (MASc, Civil Engineering) is the first graduate student to complete Professional Skills Foundations!

Jeff Casello congratulates Swakshar Saha, the first student to complete Professional Skills Foundations, and provides him with an official letter of completion. 

Launched in Fall 2018, Foundations is a new professional skills program for graduate students at University of Waterloo. Completion of the program requires participants to attend an introductory workshop, create an Individual Development Plan (IDP), complete four workshops and four self-directed activities, and participate in a capstone mock interview with a graduate career advisor in the Centre for Career Action. 

Swakshar registered for the newly launched Foundations program in December 2018 due to his interest in obtaining a career in industry following his degree, and acknowledged that “it’s hard to get to know industry people and express yourself to them.” Swakshar was hoping the program would help him communicate his skills and values to potential employers. As Jeff Casello, Associate Vice-President, GSPA, explains, this is a key outcome of the Foundations program:

“It's incredibly important for our graduate students who become experts in their fields of study to also be able to articulate the transferable skills they've gained through their graduate program.  The Professional Skills Foundation program supports students in developing and recording their unique competencies and prepares our graduates to lead in a rapidly evolving economic landscape.”

Reflecting on his participation in Foundations, Swakshar said, “It gave me motivation. If it was not for this program I probably wouldn’t have participated in the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.” Swakshar also indicated that participation in Foundations helped him to identify his own values and improve his communication, time-management, and organization skills.

While Foundations provided Swakshar with motivation to engage in a variety of workshops and activities he may not have otherwise pursued, Swakshar pursued the Foundations program with determination and a motivation of his own: to complete the program before his convocation date on June 15, 2019. Though Foundations is designed to be achievable within one year, Swakshar was determined to finish the program before his convocation date, participating in the capstone mock interview just days before he was awarded his degree.

Swakshar is not alone in identifying the importance of engaging in professional skills development as a graduate student.  “With more than 300 students engaged in the program, and as we celebrate our first completion,” Jeff Casello says, “it's clear that the program is resonating and adding value to our graduate student community. I, on behalf of GSPA and all our campus partners, am thrilled to see the program's success and look forward to future initiatives that continue to make Waterloo the premier and most impactful graduate program in Canada.”

For more information about Professional Skills Foundations, please visit our program website or contact GRADventure (gradventure@uwaterloo.ca).