Partnerships with employers and community partners are an integral piece of quality work-integrated learning programs, says Kristen Morris, acting co-executive director of the Office of Experiential Learning.

The offices of Co-op and Workplace Partnerships and Career Development and Experiential Learning have announced winners of the 2021 Co-op, Internship, and Community Service Learning Awards, presented each year to recognize the outstanding achievements, contributions, and performances of co-op and internship students and their employers.

“We love to find ways to celebrate and recognize those relationships and to shine a light on some of the great work our UWindsor students have been doing out in industry,” Morris says.

Work-integrated learning can be transformative for both students and their respective employer, supervisor, or community organization, she notes: “These awards are one way to say thank you to organizations for believing in the benefits and value of hiring students or having them volunteer.”

Mike Van Nie, senior manager of human resources at automation manufacturer Valiant TMS, says the company benefits from hiring UWindsor students.

“Our engineering and business leaders are noticing the contributions, forward ways of thinking, and intangible benefits students are bringing to their teams, and we are identifying high potential students for future full-time employment,” Van Nie says. “We are now offering double the number of co-op placements than we did just a few years ago, and hope to continue to expand our co-op program with the University of Windsor in the years to come.”

Career Development and Experiential Learning Award recipients:

• Moneeza Sami is receiving the VIP Rising Star Student Award, which recognizes a VIP Community Service Learning student who has made a unique contribution in the workplace, and who has done an exemplary job of representing the VIP-CSL program within the broader community.
• Welcome Shelter for Women and Families is receiving the Community Partner Award for meeting criteria that includes having a long-standing partnership with the University of Windsor, consistently supporting VIP-CSL student placements, and having created exceptional experiential opportunities throughout the year.

Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnership Award recipients:

• Amilio Acampora, Sandra Guido, and Gabriela Peralta are all receiving the Rising Student Award – Co-op/Internship for students who have made a unique contribution in the workplace, and who have done an exemplary job of representing the Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnerships department within the broader community.
• Ground Effects, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, Active Body Physical Therapy, Geotab Canada, SAP, Corporation of the City of Windsor, Valiant TMS, and Nokia are all receiving the Co-op/Internship Employer of the Year Award for meeting criteria that includes having hired more than 10 students throughout 2021, actively engaging with on-campus activities to the benefit of student learning, having a long-standing partnership with the University of Windsor, and having created exceptional work term experiences throughout the year.
• Ceridian and Loblaw Companies Limited are receiving the New Employer Co-op/Internship Employer Award for meeting criteria that includes having hired more than 10 students throughout 2021, actively engaging with on-campus activities to the benefit of student learning, having a long-standing partnership with the University of Windsor, and having created exceptional work term experiences throughout the year.
• Janelle Way and Madyson McElrea of Schlegel Villages, Kevin North of APAG Cosyst, Brendan Laporte of Flex-N-Gate, Kari Myers of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, Mark Woodall of Woodall Physiotherapy, and Alex Bussiere of Centerline Ltd. are all receiving the Supervisor of the Year Award, recognizing supervisors who were exceptional mentors and went above and beyond normal expectations to ensure the UWindsor student had a quality experience.
• The Centre for Teaching and Learning is receiving the Unsung Hero of 2021 Award, which recognizes the University of Windsor department or faculty that met one or more of the following criteria: having hired more than 10 students throughout 2021 in one disciple or more, efficiently transitioning from in-person to virtual work term experiences to help provide a consistent learning opportunity for students, and having created exceptional work term experiences throughout the year.

The offices of Co-op and Workplace Partnerships and Career Development and Experiential Learning congratulate all award recipients and nominees for their contributions to the University of Windsor’s co-op and experiential learning programs.