CO-OP Placements

CO-OP is a three-way partnership between universities, students and employers. The best University of Ottawa students apply their classroom knowledge to a set of four-month work placements.

Eligibility

Any public or private sector institution in the national capital region.

Benefits for the student:

• CO-OP placements allow students to gain first-hand work-place experience  that will, we hope, allow them to develop the skills and capacities needed to become the green leaders of tomorrow.

Benefits for the employer:

• This is an opportunity to enhance a student’s education and the overall student experience .
• You have year-round access to qualified and well-motivated employees from the Master of Science in Environmental Sustainability Program;
• You have access to a cost-effective and ideal source of temporary employees for peak periods or special projects;
• You can evaluate potential future employees in a structured environment at minimal costs and risk; and
• You promote your organization as an employer of choice and one that believes in developing the potential of young talent.

Criteria for a position to be accepted as a CO-OP Work Term:

• Provide practical experience related to the academic program, including proper supervision;
• Be paid, full-time and approximately 4 months in length;
• *Note that both the Ontario government and the Quebec government provide a Co-operative Education Tax Credit to businesses hiring students enrolled in a recognized CO-OP education program.

Season	Dates
Spring-Summer	May-August (postings start in January)
Fall	September-December (postings start in June)
Winter	January-April (postings start in September)

To post a job, send a brief job description, and an indication of what skills are sought to perform the tasks to Tyler.Robb@uOttawa.ca. Jobs are posted for 48 hours on our online CO-OP Navigator job board and students check the job postings daily. Employers receive step by step guidance on our process so they can select candidates, schedule interviews and hire successful applicants. We do our utmost to make the process as simple and easy as possible. We’re at your service! Apply now:

Additional information can also be found on our website.

CO-OP contact: Tyler Robb at Tyler.Robb@uOttawa.ca

MSc Research Projects (RPs) or theses

Students in the MES program enrol in either the RP (1 year) or thesis (2 year) option. Our program promotes learning in an integrated manner that more closely reflects reality than traditional, disciplinary approaches. To further this mission, we would like to develop a list of projects in collaboration with external institutions that could be undertaken by students enrolled in the RP option, and conceivably the Thesis option should the project meet the academic requirements of a Master’s thesis.

Eligibility

Public, not-for-profit and non-government organizations may propose candidate RP or thesis projects. Please stay tuned as we develop a policy that will allow for-profit organizations to participate in this program.

Benefits for the student:

• This initiative will allow our student to gain experience working on real-world problems in collaboration with external (i.e. non-academic) stakeholders.  

Benefits for your organization:

• These research-based projects will allow your organization to undertake and deliver high quality research  that takes advantage of the resources academic institutions can offer (highly qualified students and supervisors, research infrastructure, etc.) as well as evaluate potential full-time staff in a structured environment at little costs and risk.

Criteria for Research Projects

Candidate projects must be concerned with or related to the scientific, policy, economic or legal dimensions of environmental sustainability, and may range from original research to knowledge syntheses or analyses.

• Students must be co-supervised by both a member of the organization and a faculty member at the University of Ottawa, and must satisfy the academic requirements of a Research Paper or Thesis.
• If the student’s research is published, the student must be cited and the IE and the student must be informed. Institute of the Environment email: envirograd@uOttawa.ca.
• The Research Paper must satisfy the academic requirements of the program. Please download the “Briefing Package for Community Partners” for details on the types of research projects that are likely to meet the academic requirements of an RP, examples of possible projects, and the Project Description Template. 

Briefing Package for Community Partners (Word document, 72KB)

Mentorship Program

The objective of the program is to bring together students and sustainability professionals to (i) enhance student’s understanding of sustainability issues as they play out outside academe, and (ii) help them develop professional relationships that will assist them in establishing successful careers

Eligibility

Sustainability professionals in the public or private sector, located in the national capital region.

Benefits for the student:

• Students interested in working for an organization like yours would be able to contact you and meet you and other staff. This gives students the opportunity to learn how you got to where you are today, what skills, knowledge and capacities organizations like yours are looking for, and will help expand the student’s professional network.

Benefits for the mentor:

• This is an opportunity for you to assist students who are seeking careers in environmental sustainability.  It may also be an opportunity for you to engage future employees.

Apply now

Please email to envirograd@uOttawa.ca, subject: IE Mentorships Program, and indicate your interest in participating in this program.