of Computer Science, met with Lemieux and Shopify’s manager of external education programs, Gail Carmichael, who has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s in Computer Science from Carleton and is threequarters of the way through her PhD. Everybody agreed that an internship could work, and staff at the university and company have spent the last few months ironing out the logistics and details. At Shopify, mentors will take on the role that professors and instructors have at the university. Members of Carmichael’s five-person external education team understand what “competencies” are required as part of Carleton’s computer science degree. Students will spend about half their time at Shopify learning material for some core computer science courses and earning credit for practicums. Advanced courses and electives will be taken traditionally on campus. Carleton will be in charge of the program’s curriculum and student evaluation — two of the measures that helped assure the university’s Senate that the internship is a good fit. The School of Computer Science has appointed a faculty liaison who will meet bi-weekly with students, and customized learning outcomes will be established for each student in each internship course as a result of discussions between the student, the liaison member and Shopify’s program co-ordinator. Students also have access to all the academic and student services at Carleton. “Shopify and Carleton worked closely together to ensure that students would have a truly superior educational experience,” says John Shepherd, Carleton’s vice-provost and associate vice-president (Academic). “The care that has been put into developing this relationship will result in a very exciting four years of study, learning and practice for every student in this program.”
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Butler likens the experience a computer science student will have at Shopify to a physics student doing their degree while working at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research. “Carleton takes pride in its efforts to find experiential learning opportunities for our students,” he says. “A company like Shopify isn’t just a business — it’s a place where innovation happens.” Not only will students develop an
They will help ensure the employability and future success of students through experiential learning and innovative teaching. They will help meet a societal need — in this case, a shortage of more than 200,000 information and communication technology workers is forecasted in Canada by 2020. Moreover, the Shopify internships will raise Carleton’s profile as a goto institution for computer science students.
“The care that has been put into developing this relationship will result in a very exciting four years for every student.” integrated set of skills, they will also bring what they’re learning back to the university. This experience will give students a head-start on their careers, or it could spark entrepreneurial ideas — or propel students on to graduate school. “Experiential opportunities create those ‘ah-ha’ moments,” says
“One of the motivations is to attract more top-quality students from across Canada and the United States to Carleton,” says Howe. “This is an elite program. Students will get the fundamentals and principles from Carleton and apply these ideas at Shopify. And because they’ll be
Student Natalia Kingsbury sees this program as a big step ahead.
Butler. “They may see things that spark really creative ideas. That’s the power of experiential learning.” The new Shopify internships address the goals of Carleton’s Strategic Integrated Plan in a number of ways.
at Shopify year-round, they can get deeply involved in long-term projects. Shopify is not just a successful software development company. They have elite developers, and compete with Facebook and Google for staff.” Helping to develop and keep talent