A critical component of your education is the opportunity to integrate course theory with real life learning. One term of your program will be dedicated to a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) experience, either a Co-op Education work experience or an Industry Project at the ACE Project Space. This is normally done after students have completed all courses in the first three terms of the program.
Co-operative Education (Co-op Ed) integrates related on-the-job experience with classroom theory by incorporating a term of paid employment within the academic program. The employer, the student and the College form a partnership to extend the learning process beyond the College into the professional business world. It is a proven training system where everyone shares in the benefits. A limited number of co-op positions are assigned through a competitive process each term. A Co-op tuition fee is charged to all students registered in a Co-op work term to cover work placement development, pre-employment instruction, and employment-related monitoring.
Industry Project provides students with experience working as a team to create a real-world IT solution in the ACE Project Space. Students may be assigned to work with an Entrepreneur in Residence to develop a product for a startup company or an application for a small business or non-profit organization. Students work in cross-functional teams using the Agile methodology for project management. This means students work closely with customers and need to meet deadlines. A fee is charged to all students registered in an Industry Project term.