Three Key Takeaways About How Co-op Can Grow Your Organization from the Globe and Mail

Posted on Tuesday, August 29th, 2017

Back in July, the Globe and Mail ran an article written by Steven Murphy, the dean of the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Murphy writes about the lethargy that can affect a corporation, and the different methods that companies are using to break that inactivity and bring a sense of innovation back into the organization. Many of these strategies are ineffective, and don’t trigger company-wide change.

The key to real change, Murphy writes, is co-op students. Energetic and innovative, students are a fantastic way to generate new ideas and initiatives in your organization.

To prove it, the Ted Rogers School of management teamed up with CIBC Mellon. They paired up 5 Ryerson students from varying educational backgrounds with 5 CIBC Mellon employees. Over 4 months, the group worked to find new opportunities and solutions for CIBC Mellon.

Here are three things they learned.

1. The Co-op Environment is Important for Students and Employers

Co-op placements create a learning environment where students are free to get support, take risks, and fail.

In this experiment, those parameters were key. Employers and students were viewed as equals, given permission to fail, and had access to all the teams at CIBC Mellon. This allowed the team to experiment and innovate, knowing that the organization fully supported them.

In this supportive environment, some really good things happened.

2. Co-op Students Have Great Ideas

The experiment at CIBC Mellon was a complete success. Over the four months, the team came up with big, actionable ideas to improve the organization’s systems. Ranging from increasing revenue, to upgrading communications, to introducing virtual reality technology, the co-op teams provided CIBC Mellon with real innovation.

Because they’re fresh from the classroom and eager to work, co-op students are a great resource for new ideas and strategies. With their organization’s support, they can bring about real change and big benefits.

3. The Benefits of Co-op Students Aren’t Isolated

The experiment at CIBC Mellon made one other discovery. The positive effects of the co-op teams weren’t isolated—instead, the innovations and ideas they were generating spread throughout the organization. Employees became interested in being innovative themselves.

The leadership team at CIBC Mellon was thrilled with the results of this experiment, and Ryerson will be extending the model to other companies in the future. The positive benefits of this co-op setup, therefore, extended far beyond CIBC Mellon and Ryerson, and will spark innovation throughout various organizations.

You can read the full article—and all the benefits that CIBC Mellon experienced—here.

So how can you access this kind of energetic innovation in Ottawa? By hiring Algonquin College co-op students to your organization. Algonquin has over 30 programs with a co-op option, meaning that there are students available from wide array of educational backgrounds who can work at your organization.

Get in touch with us today to start the hiring process! Visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.


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