Talent

When “business as usual” came to a screeching halt in March 2020, the University of Waterloo quickly pivoted to develop new ways for students and employers to continue to realize the co-op advantage. This resilient response helped retain 78 per cent of Waterloo’s co-op students through the beginning stages of the pandemic, and supported the shift to a remote, online workforce.

COVID-19 has reshaped the way educators around the world teach and students learn. Fading are the days where rows of desks facing the front of the classroom are standard practice. Instead, reliance on heightened opportunities with technology integrated with flexible learning schedules and environments is paving the way for a revolution in education. The pandemic has, in many ways, forced changes in teaching and learning that will remain present even after it’s over.

In 2013, the University of Waterloo saw an opportunity to expand its Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Programs to all students, not just those in the famous co-operative education programs.

Taking notice of the needs of students whose learning path did not include co-op, the University began designing a certificate program for traditional programs of study where students could develop their professional skills, explore their career options and learn how to market themselves to employers.

The Toronto-Waterloo startup ecosystem has risen four spots in the recently released 2021 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Startup Genome. The report ranks 140 ecosystems around the world and highlights Toronto-Waterloo as one of the year’s biggest movers, moving up in the rankings from 18th in 2020 to 14th in 2021. The University of Waterloo, along with the Region, MaRS Discovery District and Communitech, worked closely with Startup Genome to highlight Toronto-Waterloo’s strengths.  

The University of Waterloo has risen to 24^th in the world and top 5 per cent among participating institutions for the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings. With an overall improvement of one spot from 2020 (no rankings were released in 2021), Waterloo saw year-over-year gains across all indicators including:

For almost two years, university students have faced an uphill battle. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everything from learning formats to job opportunities and research accessibility. Few elements of the higher education experience currently resemble our pre-2020 expectations. In light of these financial and educational challenges, donors to the University of Waterloo are reaching out to uplift students. Read on to see their impact.

The Department of English faculty boasts an impressive group of published poets and novelists, giving great credibility to their new specialization in Creative Writing. Now they can add a children’s author to this complement of expertise with the publication of Professor Jennifer Harris’ picture book, She Stitched The Stars: A Story Of Ellen Harding Baker's Solar System Quilt (Albert Whitman & Company), available in bookshops this October.

Co-op students bring new ideas, perspectives and knowledge to the workplace. However, despite the growing number of students interested in exploring careers in the non-profit sector, many charities can’t afford to take advantage of their talents.

Ryan Tennant is interested in bridging health care and engineering. From co-op terms and research projects at Sunnybrook and Sick Kids hospitals to developing a medical device at a company in Switzerland, he’s always looking to use his biomedical engineering education to improve the world around him. 

> Ryan Tennant
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