On October 7th and 8th WIL hosted SFU's first Three Minute Co-op Competition. Students from all faculties were nominated to participate by their Co-op coordinators, competing for a grand prize of $750 as well as two Peoples Choice Awards of $250. The rules were simple, students have three minutes to present on their Co-op experience, using whatever visual aids they choose. Time warnings were given, and the audience would gently applaud them off when their time was up. Much like the Oscars, but without the orchestra or designer dresses. The Day Two presentations are highlighted here. Continue reading for more presentations from Day One.
Mark worked for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada as a Junior Policy Analyst. He enjoyed the experience so much he even re evaluated his degree, opting to add in some math classes on his return. Despite the reputation government agencies have for being a little dull, Mark managed to give his presentation life, promising that while his 5000 cell spreadsheet complete with nine worksheets was the kind of thing only a bureaucrat could appreciate, we’d have to trust him that it was amazing.
David Yan, Computing Science
David shared his experience at EA Sports in Burnaby, where he was the sole developer of EAsports.com/ignite. A new website intended to help launch new games for the PS4 and Xbox One. He curated the website and apps, both with a heavy focus on user interaction. His work was soon shared around the world, with a launch aligned to to announcement of the Xbox One. He showed off a few screenshots from the site, and I for one, was very impressed.
Jeff Bale, Science
Jeff shared his experience at the one and only Co-op position he applied for: Science World science facilitator, where he still spends his weekends. The experience stoked a love of teaching, and he spent his next summer at the Science Alive camp, right on Burnaby Mountain. Here, he was able to continue working with kids, with the added bonus of being allowed to create explosions. Few things endear kids to you like blowing things up. For his third Co-op, he opted for a more formal setting, conducting research at TRIUMF. Overall however, he found the greatest reward in teaching, telling the room that he found the “opportunity to inspire tomorrow’s scientists as well as to inspire myself.”
Parminderjit Singh Benipal
Parminderjit has completed Co-op terms with two employers: At the BC Cancer Genome Sciences Centre as a client support technician, and at IBM Canada as a software developer. With this experience in hand, he’s since graduated and co-founded Nimakh Technologies, and information technology start-up helping to launch websites for non-profits.
Ian Brown, Engineering
For Ian, choosing Engineering all started with the desire to build things. Although Co-op is a requirement for all Engineering students, Ian make sure to make the most of his work terms, using the opportunity to discuss his career options with working engineers. This took him from his first Co-op working on a mechanical snake, Titanboa to moving towards automotives, first at the Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation, and then down to California to work with Tesla Motors.