Hiring university students for on-campus jobs has been a game changer for several units at Concordia, with benefits for both students and the institution.
"Even under the current hiring freeze, students can work on contract to assist with a diversity of projects and tasks," explains Cherine Zananiri, director of experiential learning and co-operative education at Concordia.
"Hiring our students offers them valuable professional experience, shows our commitment to experiential learning, and supports departments in completing projects, all at the same time."
Universities that are well-known for their co-op programs, including the University of Waterloo, are often the largest employers of their own students. They provide professional experience for students and enable the institutions to benefit from their skills.
Richard Wikkerink, director of student and faculty relations for co-operative education at Waterloo, explains: "Our faculties hire about 350 to 400 students a term and they fill many key roles across our institution as research assistants in labs, as teaching assistants for online courses, or assisting with communications and projects. In addition, many other campus support services hire co-op students, including the library, the registrar's office, the accessibility and communications teams, as well as the co-op team itself."
Volt-Age takes on co-op students
Volt-Age, Concordia's new electrification research program, hired their first two co-op students over the summer.
"The students came on board to work on our communications and event coordination teams. They brought fresh ideas, energy and a great enthusiasm for making things happen," explains Victor Jacquet, director of operations at Volt-Age.
The team was so impressed that they are planning to set up regular co-op positions. This way, they can keep a steady stream of talented, eager students coming in to work on this exciting research initiative funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Campus benefits
Paul Fournier, director of digital transformation at Concordia, also recommends hiring students on campus. Students have been providing support for UNITY, Concordia's information system for human resources, financial, and procurement services, to faculty and staff at the CommUNITY Support Centre since its launch.
"Hiring co-op students is a win-win for both students and the university," he explains. "It gives students valuable work experience and insight into university operations while offering UNITY users personalized support."
Fournier discovered that there were additional benefits to hiring students to his team. "We have found that faculty and staff who reach out to the CommUNITY Support Centre are more supportive when they know that they are interacting with a student," he explains. This approach not only helps students get practical experience aligned with their program of study but also helps to make the campus community more collaborative.
As a John Molson School of Business co-op student, Tasnia Rahim landed her second internship at the support centre. It wasn't always smooth sailing, but she made a big difference.
"It was hard sometimes because people had to get used to the new system. But my approach was to listen to the client and understand where their frustration was coming from, and then give tips and tricks to make sure no errors pop up," she recalls. The dedication and problem-solving skills shown during her internship helped her land a part-time job with the Office of the Treasurer at Concordia after she graduated.
Rahim loves being part of the Concordia community. She's now planning on working toward her CPA while continuing to work on campus.
Realizing goals together
The experience at both Volt-Age and the CommUNITY Support Centre demonstrate the benefits of co-op student hiring. As more departments, units, projects and labs catch on, the university community can expect to see even more benefits for everyone involved, especially as it continues to navigate the current hiring freeze.
Learn how you can hire co-op students through the Institute of Co-operative Education.
