ACE-WIL Student of the Year Award Nominations
ACE-WIL BC/Yukon is looking to recognize students that participated in work integrated learning and you can help! The four awards recognize: a college and a university student participating in co-operative education and in other forms of WIL. Each of the four winning students, their institutions, and partner organizations will receive provincial recognition. Each winning student will receive a $500 cash award.
An ACE-WIL BC/Yukon institutional member may nominate one (1) candidate per category (co-op and WIL) with the support of the host organization/employer and approval of the student. All nomination materials become the property of ACE-WIL BC/Yukon to be used in promoting work integrated learning. Each winning student may be required to provide their Social Insurance Number once announced.
Eligibility
- Each nomination must focus on one WIL experience in the past calendar year 2024, even if the student participated in more than one. Candidates may not be nominated twice in two consecutive years for a co-operative education experience that spans two calendar years. The experience must meet the CEWIL WIL Definition found here.
Deadline to Nominate an Industry Partner is Coming Soon!
Deadline: Monday, January 26, 2026, 9:00 a.m. PST
Selection Criteria
The ACE-WIL BC/Yukon Student of the Year Awards Committee evaluates candidates on their impact to the three main stakeholders of co-operative education:
- How did the Co-op/ WIL learning experience(s) impact the student? (30 points)
- A. Evidence of reflective learning & implementation of that learning through assignments, academic choices, and career choices.
- B. Goal setting and achievement; overcoming challenges; evidence of effort to engage in WIL.
- C. Took initiative to become involved outside of their regular expectations; may include being invited to represent organization e.g. presentations, public events, or stakeholder consultations.
- How did the student impact their educational institution? (30 points)
- A. Acted as ambassador of institution/promoter of WIL.
- B. Mentored/helped other WIL students.
- C. Recruited/created new WIL opportunities.
- D. Enriched learning back on campus (e.g. recruiting guest speakers for campus events or classes, connecting faculty with contacts, and using experience to enrich course discussions/assignments.)
- How did the student impact their workplace/partner organization and/or community during the work term? (30 points)
- A. Significant Impact/above normal expected performance/extraordinary achievement.
- B. Brought ideas, solutions, and perspectives from their academic study.
- C. Took initiative to become involved outside of their regular expectations; may include being invited to represent organization e.g. presentations, public events, or stakeholder consultations.
Nominations
Nominations must include:
- ACE WIL Member Nomination form
- Employer Support form
- Bio of their nominee (a maximum 150 words) to be used in ACE-WIL BC/Yukon communications
- Student’s 2-page essay on the benefits of Co-op/WIL
- Student’s portfolio (optional, two (2) pages maximum)
- Student’s current unofficial transcript
All applications must follow the current year’s application process. Incomplete or improperly prepared nominations will be disqualified by ACE-WIL BC/Yukon. To avoid this happening, we recommend that you submit your nomination well in advance of the deadline, so that the ACE-WIL BC/Yukon committee can try to alert you if something is missing.
We wish all nominees the best in their consideration for the Student of the Year Awards.
Nominations Process
Step 1
The nominator, who must be an ACE-WIL member, completes the relevant form and submits it.
Step 2
A secondary form will be sent to the nominee to gather their personal information and confirm nomination.
Step 3
When the student completes their portion of the form and confirms their nomination, an additional form will be sent to their employer.
Once the student and employers have submitted their form segments, the nomination is combined and sent to ACE-WIL for review.
By filling out the nomination form, we will learn your insights on the following factors:
- How the 2024 Co-op WIL experience impacted the student
- Did they show evidence of learning through their work
terms by producing top notch assignments or making decisions based on their experiences (e.g., changing education plans, making new employment leads); - Have they shown an ability to articulate the relevance between their Co-op/WIL
experience, their study, and their career goals; - Have they shown an improved ability to navigate job search or other
aspects of the professional working world; - Did they show extraordinary commitment to participating in Co-op/WIL?
- Did they show evidence of learning through their work
- How the student impacted their educational institution
- How have they helped promote Co-op/WIL to peers or academic units;
- Have they helped other students with Co-op/WIL issues like whether to participate or how to succeed;
- Have they created new Co-op opportunities for themselves or others;
- Have they used workplace learning or professional connections to enrich learning back on campus? Some examples include: students developing new Co-op/WIL opportunities, being a peer helper, volunteering at mock interview sessions, sharing their Co-op/WIL experience in institutional promotions or events, inviting a member from their partner organization to academic initiatives like a course discussion and connecting faculty researchers with industry researchers.
Nominated students are required to prepare and submit:
- An essay on the benefits of co-operative education or work integrated learning – (two (2) pages maximum, 1-inch margins, 10-point font). The essay should be contextualized in the student’s experience and could include topics like:
- Reasons why you participated in Co-op/WIL and why you are happy you did;
- How Co-op/WIL has enhanced your personal, academic, and career development.
- Students may also include up to 2 pages of additional items (ie a portfolio) they feel will give the selection committee a better idea of how co-operative education/WIL is important to them and how it has impacted them, their workplace (partner organization), and/or their school. Portfolios may include things like photos, articles, excerpts from research work, and letters of recommendation. Creativity is encouraged.
The Awards Committee is also interested in the partner organization/employer perspective; how did the student impact their workplace/partner organization – did they achieve something extraordinary; were they chosen or invited to represent the organization on research or other public domains, did they show evidence of bringing the best of themselves and their academic programs?
Through this form, we are looking for the following factors:
- The student’s duties/responsibilities last year;
- The student’s impact to the organization – did they bring ideas from their academics?
- Outstanding work achievements (e.g., cost savings, process/quality improvements, design/development innovations, improved customer service, significant research or other initiatives etc.); and
- Extra duties or opportunities that were assigned because the student performed above expectations
Step 1: Complete Nominator Form
Please complete all sections of this nomination form including signatures. Any false information provided in a nomination may result in disqualification or retraction of the award.
Only ACE-WIL BC/Yukon members may submit a nomination. ACE-WIL BC/Yukon educational institutions must have support of a host organization/employer, as shown by the completed Organization/Employer Support Form. If you are not an ACE-WIL BC/Yukon member, please have someone from your institution who is, sign and submit the nomination.
Note: As an ACE-WIL Member, you may save a draft or edit this nomination form, as long as you are logged in when you begin the form.