In and Out
September 09, 2011
by Jennifer O’Brien, London Free Press (link to original news story)
Yes, it’s an island. A happy little island, bustling with 36,000 bright, eager and enthusiastic students.
The problem is—from London’s perspective—that what happens on the island, generally stays on the island.
And when students are finished their visit to the island of the University of Western Ontario, most pack up their bright minds and enthusiasm, along with their degrees, and find a new place to call home.
But maybe not for long, insist those working to change things at Western.
“We’re trying to build bridges to our island,” said Stephanie Hayne, experiential-learning co-ordinator at UWO.
“Western can seem like a separate, independent structure in the city, and there are so many folks here who feel like we are an integral part of the community and need to be more part of what’s going on.”
Part of the challenge of getting students off campus is changing the traditional academic mindset of faculty and students alike, Hayne said.
“Western has primarily been focused on academic learning, as opposed to experiential learning, but one of our goals is to really grow the internship program—and that’s very tied to keeping students in London.”
Hundreds of Western students take on community service through the university’ community-service learning department.
But so far, Western’s student connections to London businesses have been negligible. Last year, only 110 students participated in 20 internship programs—and only 40 of those students did their internships in London.
That number—coming from a pool of 36,000—is piddling, especially compared with the more than 5,000 Fanshawe students who undertake co-op placements in the city every year.
And some say it’s no coincidence more than 80% of Fanshawe graduates end up working and living in Southwestern Ontario—most in the London area, according to college statistics—while fewer than 25% of Western alumni have remained in the city.
“When people become more connected with something, they become more invested and they are more likely to stay,” said Kevin Van Lierop, of Emerging Leaders London, a group focused on retaining young people.
Western is making a wise move in expanding internship opportunities, he said.
“If you’re connected to a certain sector in a city, you’re more likely to find a job easier and find people to point you in the right direction.”
That’s something Fanshawe has realized through its long-standing co-op education program.
“We do whatever we can to build bridges between local employers,” said Doug Millar, Fanshawe’s manager of career services.
Ultimately, he pointed out, “employers choose to hire people on their goals and our students look for work based on theirs, but we continuously look for opportunities to showcase our students’ skills and abilities to local employers.”
The growth plan at UWO’s student-success centre will mean a complete turnaround for internship opportunities through the university, Hayne said.
The program now requires an eight-to-16 month commitment from students. The centre will start offering four-month placements next summer, she said.
Success Centre staff also will market co-op and community-service opportunities more aggressively, Hayne said.
The centre has partnered with Emerging Leaders London to plan a campus event aimed at showing students what life in the city is like. The event will include presentations on London’s video-game industry and arts community.
“This is what we are trying to do more and more—to highlight London as a thriving, interesting place to be,” Hayne said.)
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