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Students enrolled in the now benefit from an expanded work-integrated learning partnership between the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) and �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Co-operative Education.

Building on ICTC’s initial collaboration with �Ӱ�ԭ�� University, which focused on creating co-operative education opportunities in the artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicle sectors, the expanded program will now help create job opportunities for students across all faculties and sectors through ICTC’s

Allicia Draper, Talent Acquisition, People and Culture at Ciena Corporation—an American telecommunications networking equipment and software services supplier that hired �Ӱ�ԭ�� students through WIL Digital—says the expanded partnership now affords the company a wider scope of placements, resulting in direct business growth. “It has allowed us to increase the number of students we hire and, in some cases, even extend students into full-time and permanent positions,” she says. “[WIL Digital] has also been a great tool for managers and students to reflect on and evaluate student tasks, the skills they are acquiring, and their overall performance during their time at Ciena. It’s a wonderful tool that allows us to track progress and hire more frequently.”

From the academic perspective, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Courtney Régimbald, Director, Career Development and Co-operative Education, says that WIL Digital provides students “solid employability skills and competencies.”

“I’m so pleased that �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Co-operative Education department is able to ramp up our strong partnership with ICTC. Given the sustained growth in the tech industry, our partnership is essential for bringing exciting and progressive experiential learning opportunities to our talented co-op students in the Ottawa region,” Régimbald says.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Co-operative Education program is the third largest co-op program in Ontario and has been supporting employers and organizations worldwide for over 30 years. �Ӱ�ԭ�� has talented students from over 149 degree programs and academic streams available for work year-round.

ICTC’s WIL Digital has been working with academic institutions and industry during the pandemic to help students launch their careers in the growing technology sectors, which have weathered the economic storm better than other sectors.

Over four years, WIL Digital will create over 7,000 high-quality work experiences for students across Canada, preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs.