Co-op Collision Day on February 27, 2018

27 Feb 2018 A Recap of BC Tech’s Inaugural Co-op Collision Day

Posted at 23:00h in BC Tech Blog by

Co-op Collision Day on February 27, 2018

On February 27, BC Tech Association hosted our inaugural Co-op Collision Day. With help from the Association for Co-operative Education BC-Yukon, BC Tech brought together students from eight BC post-secondary institutions with twelve tech and two government employers currently looking to hire co-op students.

Historically, employers hiring co-op students had to source talent one school at a time. With the Co-op Collision Day, employers made connections with many of BC school’s co-op programs at the same time, all while building employer brand awareness and sharing their vision and mission with the future workforce.

Companies that attended:

Schools Represented:

For students, the Co-op Collision Day was a great chance to meet with employers from technology companies they may not have otherwise known about, all while learning about the tech industry and networking with peers from other schools.

The event was sold out, with 300 students signed up and an additional 100 on the waiting list. There were also staff members from each of the eight schools in attendance to support the students, connect with employers, and provide feedback on the event.

Employers expressed that the scale of the event was pleasant and conducive to high-quality conversations. They also found that the students who attended were engaged, keen, and well-prepared.

Participating companies had the option to pitch their business in front of attendees. Six companies took to the stage and shared the unique projects that co-op students who worked at their company would have the chance to work on.

Before companies pitched, Rocky Ozaki, BC Tech’s VP of Community kicked things off with a few words about the importance of events like these to bring together academia, government, and the tech industry.

“I was a co-op student myself at SFU,” Rocky said to an eruption of cheers. “I fully understand how important events like these are to students, to companies, and to the future of this industry.”

Jamil Karim, Marketing & Communications Manager at the BC Innovation Council, followed Rocky to showcase BCIC’s fantastic BC Tech Co-op Grant program.

The company pitches were followed by more networking and light refreshments.

Overall, the interest in this event from the tech industry, post-secondary institutions, and the Provincial and Federal government shows that there is a demand for programs such as these that support and enable experiential learning.

The reception from attending companies was positive and most expressed a high level of interest in attending again, as well as a willingness to recommend to others in their network.

Our heartfelt thanks to all of the companies, schools, students, and volunteers who attended to make this event a great success.

For more information about this event and others like it, please contact Sydney Goodfellow.