CAPILANO UNIVERSITY
Cap U recognizes top Work Integrated Learning student and employer awards

On March 26 on national work-integrated learning day, (CapU) is pleased to announce Prabhkirat Kaur is awarded the Student of the Year, and Holiday Inn & Suites North Vancouver (Holiday Inn North Vancouver) has received CapU's Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Partner of the Year award. The awards recognize an individual and an organization for outstanding work and commitment to supporting WIL at Capilano University in 2023.

Kaur, a recent graduate of the Diploma in Tourism Management International program completed a WIL placement at PARC Retirement Living.

"Working at PARC Retirement was very special and probably the best time I've had at a workplace. While echoing what I learned in my program at CapU, my WIL term added several practical skills to what I've learned in class," said Kaur.

Holiday Inn & Suites North Vancouver General Manager Charmaine Alam receives CapU's Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Partner of the Year award. Holiday Inn & Suites has been a long-time partner for CapU, supporting students with work-integrated learning opportunities for over 10 years.

Holiday Inn North Vancouver has also been awarded the ACE-WIL Industry Partner of the Year Award 2023 from the Association for Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning BC/Yukon as a result of long history of supportive partnership work with CapU.  In 2023, Holiday Inn North Vancouver hosted five CapU students from the Diploma of Tourism Management International program and participated in a WIL project for faculty from the School of Communication.

"WIL provides students with opportunities to build their skills, and community partners with opportunities to add build capacity for the next generation of professionals in their industry," says Mohna Baichoo, CapU faculty lead, work-integrated learning. "These practical, hands-on learning opportunities are central to the experiential theme of learning by doing - inside and outside the classroom - that is offered by CapU."

Holiday Inn North Vancouver is a long-standing partner the university, having offered learning opportunities for students and faculty for over 10 years.  In additional to WIL placements, the hotel has also hosted field trips for many years, where students in the Tourism Management International program participate in a two-hour tour of the property complete with management team guest speakers.

In particular, CapU would like to recognize Holiday Inn North Vancouver General Manager Charmaine Alam and Executive Housekeeper Manager Jennifer Severs for their exceptional contributions to the work-integrated learning initiatives at CapU.

"Holiday Inn & Suites North Vancouver's genuine passion for education and commitment to the success of our students have made a lasting and positive impact on our educational community," wrote Tania Loken, convenor and faculty member, School of Tourism Management at CapU.  

Work-integrated learning combines a student's academic studies with quality experiences in a workplace or practice setting, according to Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL). A quality WIL experience involves an engaged partnership between an academic institution, a student and a host organization that results in increased knowledge and skills, greater employability and a foundation for life-long learning for the student. WIL offers students a safe place to develop professional communication skills and build confidence in the workplace through mentorship and guidance to support their career development.

March is national WIL month and National Work-Integrated Learning Day is celebrated annually on the fourth Wednesday in March.