Information for Students

One of CanAssist’s primary goals is to increase awareness of disability issues through inclusion and education. One step in achieving this goal is to provide students with outstanding experiential learning and other enriching opportunities (see Vision, mission and goals).

We believe it is important that students be given every opportunity to interact with those with special needs and to learn about disability issues. After all, as they take their positions as society’s leaders, former students who have had such experiences are more likely to be passionate supporters of increased inclusion and accessibility.

To date, many hundreds of students have taken part in CanAssist’s activities. There are four main ways in which students – from UVic or elsewhere – can participate:

1. As co-op students – CanAssist regularly hires 10 to 15 co-op students each year to support our assistive technology R&D activities, along with other projects. Co-op positions are posted on the CanAssist website and in the co-op offices of various UVic departments, usually around June, October and February of each year. For more information on our co-op opportunities, please contact Michelle Cho.

2. As graduate students – CanAssist is delighted to sponsor and support graduate students to work on their master’s or doctoral degrees. In most cases, students work full-time with CanAssist; however, some work with programs at other academic institutions. CanAssist will consider providing financial support to graduate students, depending on the relevance of their research to CanAssist’s goals and objectives. For more information on graduate student opportunities with CanAssist, please contact Dr. Nigel Livingston.

3. As volunteers – CanAssist welcomes student volunteers from all disciplines and offers roles for them in a variety of activities. For more information on volunteer opportunities with CanAssist, please see Information for Volunteers or contact Caroline Graham.

4. As part of academic courses or student practica – Each year, CanAssist provides opportunities for students to work on disability-related technologies or issues as part of their academic program or course requirements. For example, we have engaged engineering students to design assistive technologies and systems, business students to produce market analysis and business plans, and social sciences students to look at policy and community issues. In some cases, we work with faculty to present specific projects to student classes or groups. We are also very open to having students approach us directly. If you have ideas as to how you could involve CanAssist in your academic experience (and feel free to be creative!), please contact Elsa Yan.