Shopify and the University of Waterloo have partnered to help students sharpen their e-commerce skills.

Shopify and the University of Waterloo have partnered to help students sharpen their e-commerce skills through a free online course.

This will be offered as part of the Digital Skills Fundamental courses that was launched in June. It introduces students to digital marketing, web design, video marketing, problem solving and sales. These six, non-credit courses are free to all Waterloo students to enrol and round out the workplace skills they are already developing in the classroom and through Waterloo’s extensive co-op program.

The Digital Fundamental courses were developed in response to COVID-19, when many organizations have had to pivot their businesses to an online model. It helps students build technical and digital skills needed to do this work.

“Partnering with industry experts helps us to fill this gap by equipping students with the digital skills employers are looking for to help transform businesses and workplaces,” says Norah McRae, associate provost of co-operative and experiential education at Waterloo.

Students who complete the program will earn a digital badge to celebrate the skills they’ve developed.

These courses were developed in consultation with Canadian industry partners who excel in the digital marketing and sales space, including Vidyard and Kiite, as well as campus partners, the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business and The Problem Lab.

Hire a digital savvy student

Many Waterloo co-op students have already enrolled or completed the courses, and are ready to support Canadian businesses. Any organization hiring a Waterloo student can also request their student employee enrol in these digital courses for free as part of their onboarding process.

Businesses can also consider hiring a team of students to help their organization go digital. When Waterloo announced it was suspending on-campus activities in response to COVID-19, the University quickly hired 320 co-op students to help transition to the delivery of online courses. Other organizations, like the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, have since followed suit. By hiring a team of students to make the transition, organizations will have the support they need to adapt to the current environment.