Experiential learning opportunities like entrepreneurship or industry projects allows you to gain practical, interactive experience related to your interests that can help you achieve your career goals.

“The courses were not directly related to my field of study, but I loved them so much, I wished I had done a double major in entrepreneurship,” says Rachel Morris, a bachelor of commerce grad who took two experiential learning courses as a UM student: New Venture Analysis (ENTR 4100) and Entrepreneurship/Small Business (ENTR 3060).

She was tasked with identifying a problem, a market segment and then finding a solution, while learning skills that helped them write a business plan. The students had the freedom to choose what they wanted to research according to their interests, which for Morris, was a medical aesthetic center.

For computer and electrical engineering students, part of the curriculum includes a capstone project (ECE 4600) where they create a physical prototype, giving them tangible experience to discuss in job interviews.

Shakiba Mir Ahmadi, a recent grad, has a passion for computer vision and experimenting with sensors and cameras which she incorporated into her project.

“As a result of the Covid pandemic many stores and facilities enforced occupancy limitations, which required head counting the number of incoming customers or occupants, specifically for bigger stores and malls,” says Ahmadi. “Our team was motivated to create an autonomous way of counting occupancy while having security options as well. This led us to create a security surveillance system modified with thermal and infrared camera technologies.

We learned how to properly plan our budget, find appropriate resources to create our project from scratch. Also, we got to practice our professional communicational skills through various presentations, letters, proposals, and logbook entries.”

Where can I find these experiences at UM?

Morris and Ahmadi participated in categories of experiential learning called Entrepreneurship and Industry Project. Entrepreneurship is taking part in the development of businesses and start-ups, as well as addressing real-world challenges through advancement. It requires navigating resource, space, mentorship, and funding needs to achieve your desired outcomes.

An industry project can be conducted individually or in teams. They explore new ideas and connect them with your degree-specific industry.

To find these experiential learning opportunities:

• Explore the Experience Catalogue.
• Browse available courses for your degree program in the Academic Calendar.
• Visit the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Looking for some ideas to get started?

Find online webinars, competitions, and the Startup Coach Program (which provides free one-on-one coaching), at The Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship which are open to all students.

Check out introductory and advanced courses in entrepreneurship at the I.H. Asper School of Business or throughthe Faculty of Science (SCI 4000).

Consider specific degree programs like Commerce, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Data Science, and Health Studies which have capstone projects.

Entrepreneurship and Industry Project opportunities can look different from one department to another. Be sure to consult your degree program requirements and talk to your department about how these courses are delivered in your area of study.

To learn more about experiential learning and how it could impact your degree, visit the Experiential Learning Opportunities for Students page.

Student leadership can help you flourish, both personally and professionally! The range of skills you can develop is as wide as the variety of opportunities for leadership on campus. Here’s just a few examples…

Social connections and communication skills

In a leadership position, you get to meet and develop relationships with a variety of folks at UM! If you get involved with your department’s student group, for instance, you’ll find yourself getting to know your cohort of peers much better. Or, in an interest-based group, you’ll get to forge connections across departments and faculties, with students you might’ve never run into in a classroom setting. More connections means more opportunities to develop communication skills! Over time, you’ll find that you can write email messages or approach people in-person more confidently.

Conflict management and diplomacy

For a student leader, every bump in the road is an opportunity to learn. As club executives, for instance, leaders have to learn how to delegate responsibilities and explain duties in a respectful way. Conflicts can be uncomfortable, but you’ll learn crucial skills like how to de-escalate arguments, or when to seek advice and mediation.

Creativity and problem-solving

Being a student leader often involves coming up with novel ideas to fit specific circumstances! You might find yourself brainstorming ideas for a student event or improvising when plans fall through.

Financial literacy

Many leadership positions involve handling or planning around money. If you were a treasurer, for instance, you would learn how an organisation holds its funds, handle transfers, or design budgets!

Time-management skills

Leaders have to manage their own schedules in different ways – sometimes, they have to manage schedules for others and big groups, too! Whatever kind of position you find yourself in, you’ll learn how to balance your academics with your extracurricular activities and whatever else takes up time in your life. You might also find yourself planning event or meeting times and learning how to balance different peoples’ needs.

Once you get involved, you’ll notice these skillsets enhancing your personal life, academics, and career. Just like you get credit for the skills and knowledge you gain in your classes, you can get credit for your leadership involvement, too! The Experience Record is a digital resource that tracks your involvement in recognised activities outside of the classroom – like an academic transcript, but for all different kinds of opportunities! Instead of just adding new bullet-point to your resume, you can show future employers or admissions offices a verified record of your involvement at UM.

Learn more about accessing and adding to your record on the Experience Record page of the UM website or view your current record through UM Connect. If you’re wondering where to start, check out our recent article about how Student Experience and Development can point you in the right direction [hyperlink when available], or browse the Experience Catalogue for current opportunities. Still have questions? Reach out to ExperienceRecord@umanitoba.ca!

But by tracking and chasing severe weather, she was learning valuable skills for her future career.

Trippier, a recent grad, enrolled in Severe Thunderstorms – Storm Chasing and Field Techniques (GEOG 4670) while completing her Bachelor of Science and Physical Geography honours degree.

The course is a type of experiential learning students can include with their degree. Experiential learning allows you to gain practical, interactive experience related to your interests that can help you achieve your career goals.

For Trippier, who was interested working with Environment and Climate Change Canada or pursuing graduate studies, it was an opportunity to learn a forecasting tool called Millers analysis and apply it in real life.

“We are looking at layers of the atmosphere, different pressure levels and identifying in each layer and what’s important. Then we combine it all into one map and it points to where a severe storm would be most likely,” explains Trippier.

“At the end of the course, we went on a weeklong storm chasing trip. Every morning, we did our Millers analysis and did a morning briefing of where we thought severe weather would be. On our last day, we saw seven tornadoes in one huge storm. We could actually feel the air from behind us going into the storm and feeding it so it could get stronger. We could see the mesocyclones – the middle of the storm – rotating in real time which was a really exciting moment for all of us.”

For Javyn Desbois, experiential learning was a chance to try skills that gave her a better understanding of her desired career.

She was taking a general science degree in statistics and biology with the goal of becoming a math teacher. She signed up for Principles of Data Collection (STAT 2300) which allowed her to learn by doing what it is like to design an experiment, collect the data and analyze it using statistical software.

“It was a cool experience to design an experiment yourself, then go and conduct the experiment,” she explained. “I chose to compare the strength of material of Tuf-Tex balloons and Party Stuff balloons. I collected and then analyzed data in RStudio using a two-sample independence test.”

“I learned about what it would be like to conduct research in the field of Statistics and realized how interesting and meaningful it can be. I love math, but getting to do math on data you collected is pretty cool and something I would be interested in doing more of in the future.”

Where can I find these experiences at UM?

Trippier and Desbois participated in categories of experience learning called Applied Research and Project-Based Experiences.

Applied research can be independent, student lead research supported with faculty guidance, such as a thesis project, or it can be in collaboration with community partners and faculty researchers. In this experiential learning opportunity, students can conduct their own academic research. A project-based experience is an application of critical analysis and knowledge in your discipline to demonstrate learning or to address a problem.

To find these experiential learning opportunities:

• Explore the Experience Catalogue.
• Browse available courses for your degree program in the Academic Calendar.
• Find UM clubs relevant to your interests in the UMSU Clubs Directory
• Information about Hackathons and other computer science related projects can be found on the Faculty of Science page, the University of Manitoba Crew for Software Engineering Conferences, and the University of Manitoba’s Software Development Club.

Looking for some ideas to get started?

Honours theses and thesis projects are great ways for undergraduate students to create and conduct their own larger research project that fits with your interests and goals.

Courses involving case studies and simulations can incorporate mock trials and debates, allow you to engage with case studies, and create other simulated situations to replicate professional settings. Check out Introduction to Advocacy (LAW 2650), The Art of Scientific Visualization (SCI 4100), Fundamentals of Marketing (MKT 2210), Strategic Analysis (MGMT 0400), and Indigenous Women and the Camera (WOMN 3120).

The UM Faculty of Science alongside UMCrewSEC, and the UM devClub are great places to find non-course related hackathons and other projects in the computer science field.

Applied Research and Project-Based experiences can look different from one department to another. Be sure to consult your degree program requirements and talk to your department about how these courses and opportunities are delivered in your area of study.

To learn more about experiential learning and how it could impact your degree, visit the Experiential Learning Opportunities for Students page.