Full Case Study: Choosing to Curate Rather Than Build From Scratch
A COVID-Era Solution for Stranded Co-op Students
Can you relate?
Everyone has just been told to isolate due to COVID. Your company had an in-person onboarding program set to launch in two weeks. Canceling isn’t an option. How do you recreate the experience online?
The Real-Life Situation
When COVID shut down the workplace, hundreds of co-op students at the University of Waterloo were unable to secure placements, putting their degrees at risk. We needed an alternative immediately that could deliver a meaningful experience and equivalent skill development.
The Role(s) I Played
As an instructional designer in the Work-Integrated Learning department, I was asked to pivot from my other duties and join the team of folks building this alternative program. I took on the task of building five different six-week learning tracks which would be followed by a six-week team project.
Approaching the Challenge
Curate Content
There was no time to start from scratch. I curated high-quality content from trusted sources (e.g., HubSpot Academy for marketing, Microsoft certifications) and worked with Deloitte to adapt their Human-Centred Design training for our students.
Build a Wrapper
I structured each track into a six-week schedule with built-in milestones: quizzes, reflection activities, and mentor check-ins. Depending on the source, I either imported or linked to content.
Provide Support
I collaborated with the student support lead to co-design onboarding materials, participation expectations, and logistics for team matching. We laid out the full 12-week journey to ensure it was well-paced and properly supported.
Respecting How People Learn
Working entirely from home was new to most of our students and employers. Participants might be in different time zones, be quarantined in less than ideal working conditions, and be experiencing stress from isolation and/or illness. We needed to build a learning experience that was adaptable for the range of circumstances people were experiencing.
Facilitating Application
Just handing students a bunch of content, even if it was well-organized, would never be enough. I provided context, weaving explanations throughout the content to help students see connections between concepts and to imagine how they might apply their learning in their upcoming projects and later career.
Outcomes That Matter
Our goal wasn’t to provide the most comprehensive coverage of each topic or to design a flashy experience. It was to equip co-op students with highly practical skills that would enhance their employability. I frequently reminded myself of this when I had to make very quick decisions about what to include. In some ways, the format actually furthered the objective because it mimicked the way students would be expected to take ownership of their own learning journeys later in their careers.
Check out the ongoing evolution of this program on the University of Waterloo’s website.
So What Happened?
We launched a credible, engaging program in just a few weeks, enabling students to stay on track academically and professionally. The model was so successful it became a standing alternative even after the pandemic.
Actionable Insights
- You don’t always need to build from scratch. A curated experience with the right structure and support can be just as impactful.
- You don’t need to know the full solution to begin. If you know the outcome you're aiming for, you can build toward it incrementally.