????在加拿大全国性报纸《环球邮报》近期刊登的一篇文章中，科技资讯记者谢恩·丁曼审视了科技巨头黑莓公司衰退后，推动加拿大基奇纳–滑铁卢地区重现活力的积极因素，并采访了多位引领“滑铁卢下一波浪潮”的企业家。当被问到为什么该地区是世界上最适宜创办科技公司的地区之一时，聊天应用Kik公司CEO特德·利文斯顿表示，“唯一的原因是滑铁卢大学的产学合作教育课程。”该公司的总部位于滑铁卢，是加拿大最大的本土社交媒体公司。

????何为产学合作教育？它如何帮助企业实现成功？

????许多加拿大大学开设产学合作教育课程，以帮助学生们实现相关工作和课堂学习的结合。理论联系实际，有助于学生对理念产生更深的了解。为了满足学历要求，他们通常经历3到6个为期4个月的全职带薪工作学期，有时在同一家公司修完所有工作学期，有时会尝试不同的工作。

????一位产学合作教育学生通常先进行为期一年的大学学习，再度过为期4个月或8个月的全职带薪实习学期，接着再回到大学，如此循环反复。与典型的4年制学制不同，产学合作教育的学生通常用5年时间完成学士学位。但等到毕业时，他们已经拥有丰富的经验和 职场关系网络。所以，在毕业时或毕业后不久，他们能迅速获得工作机会，而且债务负担小，甚至还有一定数额的银行存款。

????笔者所在的英属哥伦比亚大学是一所规模较大的产学合作教育学校。在每年安排的4600多次实习中，约10%是海外实习。所以，产学合作教育课程还能帮助学生获得国际工作经验，进一步拓展他们的视野和职业选择。

????关于产学合作教育的效果，英属哥伦比亚大学工程系产学合作教育课程的学生詹妮?巴特拉是一个很好的例子。当她在印度完成工程系带薪实习时，她发现自己渴望成为一名工程师。

????在亚伯达戴文能源公司的油气部门度过最初的工作学期时，巴特拉学会了如何把所学的工程学课程基础知识应用在实际工作中。之后，巴特拉决定在国际儿童天堂组织工作，以便提升自己。国际儿童天堂组织遵循甘地主义原则，在印度、尼泊尔、孟加拉和中国西藏运营，旨在为发展中国家和地区需要支持的妇女和儿童提供协助。

????在国际儿童天堂组织的工作激发了她对医学的兴趣。巴特拉再次借助产学合作教育这一工具巧妙地设计她的职业决策。在卡尔加里大学麦凯恩骨关节健康学院的冬季学期职位，将成为她的首个研究工作，标志着她在发现适合自己的才能和爱好的道路上又迈出了一步。产学合作教育最终将让她践行孔子的教义：“知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者。”

????In a recent article in one of Canada’s national newspapers, The Globe and Mail, technology reporter Shane Dingman looks at the positive forces reshaping the Kitchener-Waterloo region in Canada in the wake of tech giant Blackberry’s decline, interviewing several entrepreneurs who are leading what he calls “Waterloo’s next wave.” When asked why the Kitchener-Waterloo region is one of the best places in the world to build a technology company, Ted Livingston, CEO of chat app Kik, Canada’s largest homegrown social media company, headquartered in Waterloo, says: “that one thing, and the one thing only, is the co-op program at the University of Waterloo”.

????What is co-operative education, and how does it help businesses to succeed?

????Many Canadian universities offer co-operative education programs as a way for students to combine hands-on work related to their degree programs with classroom learning. Students combine theory with practice, resulting in deeper learning of concepts. Students usually do between 3-6 four-month, full-time, paid work terms as part of their degree requirements, sometimes working with one company for all work terms, sometimes trying different jobs.

????A typical co-op student will do one year of university study, and then go on a 4 or 8-month full-time, paid co-op term, then return to studies, and then repeat the cycle again. Co-op students usually take 5 years to complete their undergraduate degrees, rather than the typical 4, but they graduate with substantial experience on their resumes, a network of professional contacts which often will lead to a job offer at or soon after graduation, and lower debt loads, sometimes even money in the bank.

????And at larger co-op schools, like mine at the University of British Columbia, about 10% of our 4600+ placements each year are outside of Canada, so students can also gain international work experience as part of their co-op program, broadening their perspectives and career options.

????A good example of the power of co-operative education is UBC Engineering Co-op student Jenn Bhatla who, on an Engineering Co-op term in India, feels she found her calling as an engineer.

????After an initial work term with the oil and gas sector at Devon Energy, in Alberta, where she explored how the fundamentals of her Engineering courses could apply in the real world, Bhatla decide to push herself by working with Child Haven International, a program based on Gandhian principles that operates India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Tibet, and assists children and women in developing countries who are in need of support.

????Her work with Child Haven triggered an interest in medicine, and once again Bhatla is using Co-op as a tool to help her finesse her career decision-making process. Her winter-session position, at the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health at the University of Calgary, will be her first time working in research and another step in her path to discovering the right fit for her talents and passions — which will ultimately lead her to fulfill Confucius’ belief: “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”.