Co-operative and Experiential Education Employer Impact Awards

This award honours an employer who goes beyond the usual business practices to create an inclusive, supportive and thriving workplace environment for co-op students. The winner actively develops programs and initiatives to foster a work environment that encourages and enables students (and staff) to be authentic within their teams and organization. This employer demonstrates a commitment to inclusion through thoughtful recruitment, professional development, daily operations and long-term planning for co-op students. The organization meaningfully involves co-op students in its strategies and takes initiative to help co-op students feel accepted, appreciated and connected.

See the Grading Rubric for Inclusion and Belonging.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award recognizes an employer who empowers students to innovate—whether using technology like AI, by pushing boundaries or by bringing a fresh perspective to a business problem. The award winner offers opportunities for students to use their innovative mindsets, combined with their academic learning, to solve real-world problems. These experiences can be big or small and encourage students to think differently and apply their problem-solving mindset in meaningful, real-world contexts.

See the Grading Rubric for Impact in Innovation.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award honours an employer who demonstrates active commitment to fostering global perspectives, thereby enriching co-op student experiences and amplifying the organization’s impact. The winner demonstrates a commitment to leveraging students’ international knowledge and experiences. Employers may offer international work terms, facilitate collaboration with global teams and other organizations or otherwise create opportunities for students to engage with diverse cultures and viewpoints.

Note: Organizations do not need locations outside of Canada or global business operations to be eligible for this award. We encourage Canadian-based companies that draw on the diverse backgrounds, experiences and knowledge of co-op students from around the world, or whose co-op students engage with partners across borders during their work term, to apply.

See the Grading Rubric for Impact in Global Engagement.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award recognizes an employer who supports student excellence in research and analysis, empowering them to explore ideas that can lead to real-world impact. The award winner provides students with opportunities to learn how credible research, guided by strong methods and clear thinking, is essential for making informed decisions and driving meaningful change. By understanding how to gather and interpret data, students gain the tools to ask better questions, uncover insights and contribute to solutions that have positive impact.

See the Grading Rubric for Impact in Research.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award recognizes employers for their commitment to providing student experiences around advancing organizational sustainability goals or the 17 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. The award winner demonstrates a strong passion for offering work opportunities that focus on building a better world for people and the planet. These efforts can be of any scale—from small, everyday practices to large, strategic initiatives—and may include both ongoing operations and special projects that contribute meaningfully to sustainability goals.

See the Grading Rubric for Impact in Sustainability.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award recognizes employers who have made a significant and positive impact on the University of Waterloo’s co-op student community. It celebrates organizations that provide stimulating work terms in supportive and thriving environments where students can grow both personally and professionally.

Winners demonstrate a strong commitment to experiential learning, skills development and preparing the next generation of talent for the future of work through organizational culture and values.

Two winners will be awarded based on organization size:

• Startup and small or medium organizations (1–499 employees)
• Large organizations (500+ employees)

See the Grading Rubric for Impact on Student Experience.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).

This award recognizes co-op supervisors who demonstrate exceptional mentorship of co-op students. Research from the Work-Learn Institute (WxL) shows that students value supervisors who are respectful, support learning, offer constructive feedback, care about well-being and provide clear job guidelines.

The winner embodies these qualities, and students share first-hand experiences about the benefits of the exceptional supervision they receive. Note: A panel of co-op students will use criteria based on Work-Learn Institute research to determine the winners.

How it works:

1. Student nominations: Co-op students will nominate their individual supervisors.
2. Supervisor response: Once nominated, supervisors will receive a link to a short form to where they will share their approach to supervision.

What we’re looking for:

Award winners will demonstrate excellence in the 4Cs of supervision, based on WxL research:

• Create meaningful work
• Communicate regularly and effectively
• Connect students to the organization
• Care about student experience

See the Grading Rubric for Impact on Exceptional Supervision.

Please note: To be considered for an Employer Impact Award, your organization must have received an average overall Work Term Satisfaction rating of seven or higher from students (if applicable).