Coming soon: your experiential learning roadmap on the Concordia app
From co-op placements to international field schools, experiential learning (EL) has long been an important feature of studying at Concordia.
To guide students, staff and faculty through its ever-expanding list of EL offerings, the university launched an Experiential Learning Office and website — and they’ve already got a lot on the go!
The office recently created a useful roadmap tool available on the MyConcordia portal to help students identify EL opportunities relevant to their field of study. Once logged in, users need to select their faculty or department, as well as their level of study. A third step helps students narrow their list by category, including course-integrated, research-based and international opportunities.
Users can then assign activities to a year of study and click on “view my roadmap.” The tool generates a personalized plan for making the most of hands-on learning throughout the student’s degree.
“Concordia has more than 1,200 EL-integrated courses, and that’s just the beginning of what’s available on the website,” says Nadia Bhuiyan, vice-provost of Partnerships and Experiential Learning. “With this new easy-to-search platform, students can take the lead in crafting the EL trajectory that’s right for them.”
The EL roadmap tool will soon be available on the Concordia app, which will optimize the same functions of the desktop edition for mobile viewing. Once users sign up with the app, they will never have to log in again.
The personalized roadmap will show up alongside other features like class schedules, cancellations and grades. Plus, having mobile access will reduce the need to print them out.
For Andrei Kalamkarov, web designer in University Communications Services at Concordia, working as the main developer on the EL tool was a dream project.
“Not only will the EL tool help students discover learning opportunities, it will also apply new and innovative technologies such as Open Data,” Kalamkarov says.
Grant funding for EL projects
Students looking to get a new EL idea off the ground or instructors with a great practical learning initiative in mind can now apply for funding to support their next project. Faculty, staff and students can submit a proposal to the EL Office by March 31 to be eligible for grants worth up to $2,000.
The selection committee is looking for applications that demonstrate a hands-on component for a specific course, integration into course curriculum, identifiable outcomes for students and reflective exercises.
Students wishing to apply must have a faculty or staff supervisor to guide them through the application process.
EL projects in the classroom: a how-to
Last summer, Concordia teamed up with Riipen to offer micro-experiential learning opportunities in the classroom. The platform connects students, educators and organizations through real-world industry or community project experiences.
“It is now possible for faculty to facilitate links between their students and more than 3,500 companies and nonprofits,” says Bhuiyan. “Concordia’s partnership with Riipen helps to further expand the scope of experiential learning available at the university.”
To support faculty in integrating these projects into their future curricula, the EL Office is hosting a workshop on April 2 from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The session is hands on and instructors will be able to create a course project on Riipen to show companies and organizations what kind of partnership they’re looking for. Instructors should come with a course assignment(s) in mind that they would like to redesign.
Research internships around the world
Senior undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows wishing to conduct research abroad can apply to do research abroad for 12 weeks through Mitacs.
The Mitacs Globalink Research Award offers $6,000 toward research and travel to universities in Australia, China, India, Mexico, Norway, Tunisia and more. Fifty research awards are available for Concordia students in the upcoming year.
“Our arrangement with Mitacs is yet another example of how Concordia encourages students to embrace the world and build international connections through concrete learning experiences,” Bhuiyan says.
Find out more about experiential learning opportunities at Concordia.
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