The 2012 Annual Report has arrived! 

The University of Victoria celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, coinciding with the 36th anniversary of the UVic Co-op Program. This special 50th anniversary edition of our Annual Report showcases the highlights of our history as well as our most recent year.

Highlights of statistics for 2011–12

• The UVic Co-op Program made 2,807 student co-op placements, increasing 6.04% over last year.
• 979 different employer organizations hired UVic co-op students.
• The average co-op salary was $2,787 for undergraduate students and $3,575 for graduate students.
• A total of 15,671 users were active in the Co-op and Career portal, including 11,336 UVic students.

Sections included in Annual Report

• The year in numbers: 2011–12 statistics
• Service and resource growth
• Program updates
• Audience outreach
• International development
• Accreditation and membership activities
• UVic 50th Anniversary feature: Co-op and Career through the years
• Looking towards 2013

The Co-op and Career Annual Report is published early each year to provide stakeholders with a comprehensive overview of the preceding year's activities. 

For a hard copy of the report, please contact Vanessa Stofer, communications officer.

Co-op students of the year celebrated

In late November 2012, three outstanding students were named Co-op Students of the Year by their respective co-op program areas.

Jason Deglint (electrical engineering) is Co-op Student of the Year for Engineering, Computer Science and Math. Deglint has worked with Research in Motion and recently completed an international work term with aerospace company NLR Amsterdam, a placement he initiated himself out of his desire to work in the Netherlands as a first-generation Dutch-Canadian. “Jason quickly adapted to the Netherlands and the NLR organization, showed initiative in his work ethic and executed his project within the limited timeframe,” says supervisor Gerald Poppinga. “His project resulted in many recommendations that will contribute to future work at NLR.”

Jenna Ries (biochemistry) is Co-op Student of the Year for Optional and Professional Programs. She has completed work terms with the National Research Council of Canada and the BC Cancer Agency Deeley Research Centre, where she worked on a project investigating novel drug combinations for targeted therapy of ovarian cancer and co-authored two papers in the peer-reviewed scientific journals Autophagy (Landes Bioscience) and The Journal of Pathology (Wiley Publishing). “Jenna’s work made it possible for us to publish our findings in a short period of time, which undoubtedly helped to raise the profile of our research both regionally and internationally,” says supervisor Dr. Julian J. Lum of the BC Cancer Agency. “I would rank her performance, productivity and contribution in the top 5% of all students at her career stage.”

Wyle Baoween (MBA) is Co-op Student of the Year for Business. During his summer 2012 co-op work term as a strategy analyst with Seaspan Marine Corporation, he worked to restructure the company’s pricing strategy. “Wyle was able to create an understandable ‘story’ of where we are and presented his findings to the Seaspan management team thoughtfully and professionally, earning tremendous respect from all in the boardroom,” says supervisor Steve Roth. “His contribution to a critical component of our strategic plan will have a positive impact for years to come.”

Co-op Students of the Year are nominated by their employers and supervisors. The winners will be recognized at the Co-op and Career Employer Appreciation Reception on February 26, 2013 in Victoria, and a video showcasing their experiences will be published on our YouTube channel.

Norah McRae, executive director of UVic's Co-operative Education Program and Career Services, has been named President of the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education (CAFCE). She kicked off her tenure by hosting the CAFCE AGM at UVic on November 17, followed by a diversity conference attended by co-op institutions from across Canada. Seventy-seven Canadian post-secondary institutions are active members of CAFCE, which strives to foster and advance post-secondary co-operative education in Canada. McRae will serve as CAFCE president until November 2012.

UVic biochemistry co-op student Katelynn Coutts made the front page of the Penticton Western News during her work term at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland this week.

Biochemistry student Britney Allen became the 60,000^th co-op student to secure a co-op work term when she was hired by Science Venture to work as a science/technology camp instructor this summer.

“Britney is one of more than 20,000 students who have pursued a co-op degree at UVic,” says Norah McRae, executive director of UVic’s Co-operative Education Program and Career Services. “Since 1976, co-op students have completed 15,000 years of work and have earned $600,000,000.”

“Co-op plays a major role here on campus and in our communities—by alternating their academic studies with paid work terms related to their area of study, co-op students put their learning in motion, gain valuable hands-on experience and contribute to the economy, while employers benefit from short-term assistance and often use co-op as a recruitment tool.”

One in four UVic students participate in co-op and more than 2,600 placements are completed each year. In 2010, 1163 different employers hired UVic co-op students in 2010 and 48% hired more than one student. Seventy-four per cent of placements were made in BC, while 19% were made across the rest of Canada and 6.8% were made internationally. Placements were generally balanced between the private and public sector.

UVic’s Co-op Program was established in 1976 in the Departments of Chemistry and Physics. The program secured 58 placements in its first year; today it includes 13 co-op offices that provide opportunities for students in 47 academic areas. The program is indebted to Graham Branton, its longest-service director who dedicated 17 years to the development of UVic Co-op.

Innovative, ambitious and eager to make an impact—these are the qualities shared by three extraordinary students who were recognized for their outstanding work ethic, initiative and engagement after being selected 2010 Co-op Students of the Year by their respective Co-operative Education Program and Career Services offices.

Electrical engineering student Benjamin Taylor was named the Co-op Student of the Year for Engineering and Computer Science/Math Co-op and Career. Taylor spent a work term working for UVic electrical engineering professor Dr. Tao Lu, where he helped set up a laser to create tiny doughnut-shaped cavities on a silicon chip. These cavities can potentially be used to create high-precision clocks and may even been applied to biological research. Ben’s project would usually take a graduate student two months to complete; Ben completed the project in one month.

Biochemistry and microbiology student Chelsey Lane received the Co-op Student of the Year award for co-op’s Optional and Professional Programs group. Lane spent eight months working as a co-op student with UVic professor Dr. Alexandre Brolo, during which time she helped developed gold nanoparticle probes to help monitor cancer treatment. She was selected to share some of the lab’s research at the Rising Starts of Research undergraduate poster competition at UBC and won second prize in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology category.

MBA student Jay Gillette spent a work term as a strategy analyst with the Department of National Defence (CFB Esquimalt). His tasks included developing a performance reporting system to improve office practices related to customer service, resource application and program delivery. Gillette’s supervisor Michael Morrison considered him such an integral member of the team that he was invited to work on the organization’s 2011/2012 business plan.

Co-op students of the year are nominated by their employers and co-op supervisors. See this story on The Ring website.