Championing the power of work-integrated learning

Traditionally, the faculties at Waterloo can seem quite siloed in terms of their organizational structure, but last year the faculties of Environment, Engineering and Math teamed up to break the mold. Together, they offered the first interdisciplinary undergraduate capstone project at the University of Waterloo.

This collaborative effort brought together 155 students from all three faculties under one jointly offered course, the interdisciplinary capstone (i-Capstone). Over eight months, groups were formed to propose solutions to real world sustainability challenges, several of which were presented by clients.  

“We couldn’t do this work without our excellent industry partners and there were many, like the City of Waterloo, Walker Industries or Reverse Logistics Group,” says Michael Wood, associate dean of work-integrated learning and professor in the Faculty of Environment. “Many of these partnerships are possible because of our committed alumni who provide students with their first taste of consulting and working with a client.”

One client, the City of Sault Ste. Marie, asked the students whether a business case could be made for converting its surplus wind energy into hydrogen for export to European markets.

“It’s neat to have expertise across disciplines combined in one room,” Wood says. “On the one side you had this engineering problem, converting electricity to hydrogen through electrolysis. Then you had the environment and business students analyzing if there is a business case.”

The collaboration catalyzed new ideas. Once Environment students concluded the endeavor wouldn’t be viable from a business perspective, Engineering students pivoted. They proposed a different option; to inject hydrogen into the existing natural gas pipelines to decarbonize some of the natural gas emissions that would have otherwise been used to heat homes.

The evolution of these projects demonstrates the value of collaboration across disciplines, but also the mindset of innovation at Waterloo. The success of HydroBud is another example.

Pursuing their own solution to a sustainability gap, the Environment students behind HydroBud wanted to provide more fresh produce to food banks across Canada. During their eight-month i-Capstone, they created a hydroponic development company to grow leafy greens at a low cost. Looking to roll out their idea, they pitched their venture at GreenHouse’s Social Impact Showcase earlier this year and won $3,000 in startup money.

“Capstones like this and, more broadly, work-integrated learning provides this unique opportunity where theory and practice come to meet,” Wood says. “It’s an academic pursuit, but it’s also preparing students for life outside of the institution and having real-world impact.”

While co-op and work-integrated learning are often used interchangeably, they represent distinct concepts. Co-op programs offer structured, paid work terms interspersed with academic study, while work-integrated learning is a broader umbrella term that includes internships, field experiences, capstones and community-based research projects. By offering a variety of work-integrated learning experiences, Waterloo is working towards ensuring undergraduate and graduate students gain diverse, real-world insights that complement their academic learning.

The success of last year’s course has set the stage for the i-Capstone to grow. Wood and other faculty champions are expanding the course to accommodate 150 students from five of Waterloo’s faculties. New this year, they will work from a common syllabus and form teams with members from different faculties to tackle complex problems around the theme of future cities.

“There's this real spirit of collaboration across campus right now,” Wood says. “People want to collaborate, and they want to think differently about how they do that on campus and in the community. I think it has to do with the new strategic plan, Waterloo at 100. It's provided clarity, but also latitude in terms of how we lean into that vision of creating sustainable solutions for the future of humanity and our planet.”

Aligned with Waterloo’s strategic plan, the Faculty of Environment has launched Environment 2035 to reshape our educational approach. The vision prioritizes work-integrated learning to support both student growth and industry needs. And in today's rapidly evolving job market, the demand for graduates who are not only academically proficient but also job-ready has never been higher.

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2025, 50 per cent of all employees will need reskilling due to the adoption of new technologies and integration of knowledge. Initiatives like the i-Capstone is what will help meet this demand and produce highly capable, job-ready talent.

As we seek to bridge academia and the workforce and bring theory and practice closer, we invite you to collaborate. Whether you share an industry challenge and become an i-Capstone client, engage an intern or hire a co-op student, let’s solve our greatest challenges together.