Built on student talent, CleanSlate UV sees huge growth

By: Krista Henry (she/her)

To help meet the demands of the growing bioeconomy, healthcare start-up CleanSlate UV is leveraging co-op students’ creativity and future-ready mindset.

CleanSlate UV harnesses the power of UV light to sanitize mobile devices, preventing the spread of bacteria to millions of people.

During the global pandemic, biotechnology companies like CleanSlate UV became more prominent in the fight against viruses like COVID-19.

Students impact product development

Many of the company’s current product offerings and services are influenced by students and some are student led. Co-op students are designing accessories for UV sanitizers, developing internal electrical subsystems, coding technical firmware, building display screens and creating testing fixtures for quality assurance – among other projects.

The work of co-op students at CleanSlate has won several awards including the BioTalent Catalyst award for future leaders.

Waterloo co-op students stand out

While the organization hires from numerous universities, Waterloo co-op students still hold a strong presence each term. Waterloo students are eager to learn, motivated and have a positive attitude towards making a difference.

“Students from Waterloo have a unique, exceptional talent that many businesses can benefit from. The top skills they bring to the table are an innovative mindset with a fresh, unbiased perspective and readiness to take on any new challenges,” says Dobbin. “They are likely to suggest new and recent technical ideas they learned in school and provide diverse opinions which leads to better solutions.”

Providing diverse opinions is critical to CleanSlate’s success. The organization aims to have a team with 50% female students from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) as they believe diversity is critical to success.

“Having a diverse team strengthens team dynamic, allows for more creativity and contributes to a better working environment,” adds Dobbin. “When it comes to engineering, which many of our students study, we know that the gender gap is larger than other professions. We try to ensure that the team building our products is representative of the diverse customer base that uses our products.”

Today, several past co-op students work full-time at the start-up. CleanSlate UV has no intention of slowing down in their future student hiring. “When it comes to start-ups, which can often be hectic and where plans change quickly, the adaptability of co-op students is a huge benefit. They are essential to our business,” says Dobbin.