MY CO-OP EXPERIENCE

My name is Tim Hall, I'm a 4th year Industrial Chemistry Co-op, and with nearly 44 weeks of work experience behind me, and one final placement to go before entering my final year of studies, I would be hard pressed saying that I'm not glad for the opportunities that the Co-op Scholarship has given me. I wasn't the first, nor will I be the last Scholar to have had their doubts in the beginning, and wished that I was free to do what everyone else did in the holidays, like watch TV and hang out somewhere a little more chilled than a thriving industrial complex, but when you really look at the many things the Co-op Program gives you, minus the very few things it takes away, you would have to be a nutcase to come away thinking that the Scholarship was anything less than a windfall for students. Some of the reasons are obvious, though some may surprise you as they did me.

By the time I finish my degree I will have worked for a company that had thousands of employees, and one which had five; private and government groups, and done everything from formulating consumer products (there are a lot of shiny cars and clean ovens out there partly thanks to me), pilot tested new company acquisitions, led cost analysis and feasibility studies, and even been the main contact for business clients. I will have been privy to the inner workings of four industries operating close to home, and in all of them I was given a variety of tasks that would completely eclipse the menial projects often given to undergraduate students doing their 60 days compulsory IT.

The importance of the skills gained from these placements cannot be understated, and whilst they may come to everyone in time, having them honed and ready gives you fantastic leverage when applying for jobs straight out of uni.

Another huge benefit is that as a UNSW engineering student you have to do 12 weeks work anyway, simply to graduate. This sounds simple maybe, but it does require you to hunt out a company willing to take you - often difficult for what is ostensibly a very short tenure (though for many students not short enough!). With the Co-op however, I had six quality companies on offer, of which I basically got to choose the four I most wanted to do placements with. I was guaranteed of the work, I knew the companies had good programs in place for undergrads like myself, and - equally as useful for the future - I would have a killer CV by the time I graduated. You also get paid for this, which brings up the sometimes sensitive subject of money.

Financially the Scholarship is amazing. Full stop. People sometimes get it into their heads that they aren't really getting paid whilst they work due to the ongoing nature of imbursement, but pragmatically you will get around $75,000 for 68 weeks work. That's more than a thousand dollars a week…. You don’t have to be of coop Scholar material to realise that this is unbelievable pay for an undergraduate in a professional industry. When coupled with the previous point, you can see the Co-op Scholarship basically hooks you up with a high paying job in four top notch companies, with none of the usual application drama or stress that goes with it.

There are a multitude of other benefits that come part and parcel of being a Co-op Scholar, including but not limited to the social aspects, increased awareness of job opportunities, and the networks you build up with both other students and industry. Networking rocks. For example, besides being a great night of food and drink there is a dinner during the year that all Chem/Indc Scholars and sponsors attend. This is a great opportunity to meet even more companies than just those sponsoring you, and inevitably leads to employment propositions and the head of school telling you which lecturers are running the best thesis projects in the year coming. Nice.

In short, after the long, I think the coop has been a massive boon for me, and the concerns I had initially have been unwarranted, whilst benefits I hadn’t even thought of soon became apparent.

MY CO-OP EXPERIENCE

When I first graduated from High School, I knew that I was interested in a studying IT and Co-op provided the ultimate degree: a balanced mixture of Business, IT, 18 months of Industrial Training, Scholarship Payments and Honours all within 4 years! Three years on, and the Co-op program has made my studies at UNSW far more interesting, challenging and enjoyable!

In my 2nd year, I completed Industrial Training at Westpac Banking Corporation, and it was a fantastic experience. I worked on a large IT project, focusing on Business Processes Improvement, and was lucky enough to fly to Adelaide as part of the experience. Through the work experience and other Co-op development activities such as the leadership camp (so much fun) I have gained skills in leadership, team work, analysis, professional behaviour and IT technical skills.

Not only has Co-op helped academically, through hands on experience and the real world grounding but I have developed a great network of students throughout different fields of study. When working in the city, there are always other Co-ops to meet for lunch or travel to UNSW with! In the future I would really love to work overseas, and Co-op has such strong Industry Partners, meaning not only the degree but the work experience will also be recognised.

Co-op is connected to a number of student societies, in particular BITSA is for the BIT and Information System Management (ISM) scholars, and it provides an opportunity to interact with current students, alumni students and sponsor companies.

For me, joining the Co-op program has been far more than just completing a degree, and through this I have had so many wonderful experiences, that I doubt I will be ready to leave UNSW at the end of 2010!

MY CO-OP EXPERIENCE

Applying for the Co-op scholarship was one of the most obvious decisions of my life. And on the cusp of completing my degree, I have not thought otherwise.

For me, the Co-op scholarship is such a simple choice because of:

• The experience! I often say that this scholarship is worth it even if the money wasn’t on offer. Having spent 6 months at 3 massive companies has been absolutely invaluable. I truly feel light-years ahead of my peers in terms of corporate and industry experience.
• The support. University can be a daunting place. But having an entire office dedicated to my wellbeing has been so helpful. As a Co-op student, it’s so refreshing to know you have a group of people you can access for help with uni and work.
• And finally…the money! $15,000 is a lot of cash! While my friends are working part time jobs completely unrelated to their degree, Co-op meant that I can focus on my studies and career, and get paid for it!

How has it enhanced my degree? One thing you get over during the course of university is theory. But I have been so fortunate to be able to link what I learn in lectures to what is happening at the highest levels in industry. As a Co-op student, you generally find that assignments become so much easier because you can actually draw on real life experience.
But also, I am a very competitive person. And being a co-op student means that I can compete with other Co-op students and know that I’m competing with the best.

So, why should you apply?
Speak to any Co-op Scholarship student and you will realise that it really is such an obvious decision. All you need to do is compare this with other scholarships to know that this is unrivalled in terms of industry experience, flexibility and support.

Moving interstate for Co-op

In 2006 I moved from Brisbane to Sydney to study Chemical Engineering on the Co-op Program at UNSW. It was a hard decision to leave my friends and family and move somewhere completely unfamiliar to me. However looking back, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. The universities in Brisbane do offer a high standard of Engineering education however the Co-op Program is unique to UNSW, so when I was offered the scholarship, I jumped at the opportunity to study at one of the best Engineering schools in the country on the most well-known scholarship in industry.

Moving away from home wasn’t as scary as I had first thought it would be. I moved into New College, a residential college on campus, where I became heavily involved in college sport and social events. College is a wonderful stepping-stone which bridges the gap between living at home and moving out. In addition to college, I made many friends through the Co-op Program at various events throughout the year, I quickly bonded with my class mates at uni and I joined the UNSW Netball Club.

Living away from home gave me the confidence to undertake even greater adventures; I've lived in Melbourne for 3 months of Industrial Training and have recently returned from a semester of international exchange in Swansea, Wales. I've represented UNSW in Netball at the Australian University Games and taken on the role of President of the Intercollege Sports Association. This fun-filled, well-rounded, education has more than prepared me for the 'real world' quite literally as I'm even considering jobs overseas when I graduate. This wonderful experience wouldn’t have been possible for me without the Co-Op Program and the support from it's amazing staff, I am forever grateful.

FIRST YEAR LEADERSHIP CAMP

First year Leadership camp was great! It’s turned out to be a highlight of my university years with the memories and especially the friendships that were formed to last well beyond the classroom walls. Heading into the camp I didn’t expect anything to write home about - maybe another conference type gathering where we are told how to be decent leaders. What we got was at the other end of the scale! No boring lectures, no circles of discussion and no whiteboards & markers!

Operation Challenge was top quality - the missions were original and exciting and put our leadership skills to the test in every way possible. Now, three years down the track, I look back at my time in the camp and realize that the friendships that were formed have been irreplaceable, but the tweaking of my leadership skills and the refocusing of my mindset towards succeeding has been invaluable.

NETWORKING WITH SPONSOR COMPANIES

Applying for the UNSW Co-op program was the most important decision that I have made in regards to my career prospects. The program appealed to me immensely as it offered an aspiring finance student like me a great opportunity to experience the dynamic working environment of a leading financial institution from my first year at university. I believed it would provide me with the apparatus and skills I would need to successfully enter the finance sector at the conclusion of my tertiary education.

As a Co-op Scholar, the most rewarding and exciting part of the program so far have been the recent site visits at our sponsor companies. This was a surreal experience as it gave me the chance to experience firsthand the working environment that I would soon be a part of. It also allowed me to interact with the elite in the industry who offered great insight into their respective organisations allowing me to have a deeper understanding of the functionality of the major financial institutions in our economy.

Future site visits will give me an exposure to all the sponsor companies associated with the program which is great. As Co-op Scholars we get to work with 3 of the companies at our industrial placements over the course of the degree, however networking events such as these means that we have exposure to all the companies sponsoring our scholarship. This is a great opportunity to observe the different working environments allowing us to make an educated decision on the specific sector/company we would like to be a part of.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING - OVERSEAS TO CHINA!

I went to school in Canberra and in year 12 when I was thinking about going to university I decided to apply for a Co-op scholarship. I flicked through the UAC Guide, knowing that I wanted to study engineering, help save the world and do something different. Photovoltaics engineering sounded like it could, given time, satisfy most of the above. I liked the idea of working in "renewable energy" which had not become quite the buzzword it is now! During my interview, I was asked if it would be all right if I was asked to go to China for Industrial Training. This sounded almost too good to be true, especially when I learned that I had been granted the scholarship and would be moving to Sydney to study at UNSW.

My first industrial training placement was with Suntech Power Co. Ltd, based in Wuxi, China. I had never been to China before, and nor had I studied Mandarin. Moreover, this was the first international industrial training placement that the Co-op Program had undertaken.

I was very excited about going (and not just because I was looking forward to the food) and undertook classes in Mandarin before I left. Spending ten weeks in China working in the research and development unit of Suntech has been one of the most challenging, rewarding and helpful parts of my degree. I enjoyed living in Wuxi and settling in to a new lifestyle (including fabulous Wuxi street food) as well as gaining a great deal of experience in what it means to be a research engineer working with a rapidly expanding company. Although I felt like I had jumped in the deep end and I certainly did not understand everything that I saw and helped with in the workplace, the benefits were huge and very obvious when I returned to Australia for my second year of university: I understood and had seen the things that to most people in my class were just abstract concepts discussed in lectures. It made it a lot easier!

Going to China was not only of great benefit academically, but it also made me a lot more confident and independent. After landing in a country where I could not speak the language save to say hello and thank you, and realising that I could settle in there and find my way around, I was looking forward to returning at the end of my second year. I also applied for, and went, on exchange to a university in France for the second half of my third year. Now in fourth year, I'm thoroughly enjoying industrial training (this time in Sydney with CSG Solar) and I feel as though the experience I have had with my Co-op scholarship and the people I have met has encouraged and supported my desire to become an engineer.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING - RESPONSIBILITY & OVERSEAS TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES!

I always had a great interest in chemistry and the Industrial Chemistry Co-op Program was a great opportunity for me to follow a career in science and engineering. The industrial training scheme that the Co-Op program offered was very appealing. It gave me the comfort of knowing that when I finally graduated, I would be prepared for the 'real world'! The financial support was also a great attraction; it helped me move to Sydney from my small coastal home town of Copacabana to live out some of the best years of my life at Philip Baxter College, one of the on-campus colleges at UNSW. The Co-op scholarship enabled me to relax about my financial situation and throw myself head first into the social life at college where I have met friends that I know will be a part of my life forever! I also had the great experience of becoming the first student to hold the title House President for two years running. Without the Co-op scholarship, my time at University would have been no where near the memorable experience that it has turned into!

I have spent six months working with Nordiko Quarantine Systems in Artarmon. Nordiko are a small company who specialise in toxic and environmentally hazardous gas recapture technology. With only 6 employees here, I make up about 15% of the company and have enjoyed the responsibly that comes with having your own projects to manage. One of the greatest advantages of working with smaller companies is the chance to get your hands dirty with many different aspects of running a business. During my time I have not only worked in R&D but I've also gained experience in sales, marketing, IP and even management! It is a great feeling when, as a student, your opinion is not only sought after but is also valued and as one of two chemists at Nordiko I have had a great chance to increase my knowledge of chemical processes and also pass on some of my own knowledge on to the rest of the team. With some luck, I may even get my name on a patent!

One of the more memorable moments at Nordiko was when I was sent on a business trip to America. My project was focussed on developing a novel filtration device that is extremely relevant to the current US market. In light of this, Nordiko had me meet up with a few relevant businesses in LA, Long beach and San Francisco to discuss my new product. This was an invaluable experience only made better when Nordiko gave me a day to myself to see what the tourist scene of San Fran had to offer and to take in the history of Alcatraz Prison!

I will be sorry to leave the great team here at Nordiko and would like to thank them for all that they have taught me during my stay.

SECOND YEAR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

The Co-op Scholarship has provided me with many opportunities. Originally being from Perth, Western Australia, this scholarship was attractive to me because it offered valuable experiences in industry and made it financially possible for me to study at The University of New South Wales. Since starting my Co-op degree here I have already completed two 10 week Industrial Training (IT) placements.

I attended the second year professional development program for Co-op Scholars after my first IT placement and found this extremely valuable. The activities were fun and interesting and also involved reflecting on what I had gained from my first IT experience. I was taught to recognise my various strengths and weaknesses which gave me a much clearer outlook on my Industrial Training. I found it highly beneficial to be able to listen to other student’s experiences and relate these to my own.

It was eye opening to realise just how much I had learnt on Industrial Training and what a great opportunity it had been. By the end of the program I had learnt new strategies and skills that enabled me to gain even more from my next IT experience.