When you ask Computer Science student Evan Campbell-Weiner how much he’s benefited from his fall 2019 placement, his response is to the point: “An incredible amount!” One example he cites is placing second (and winning an audience choice award) during last summer’s Hack Instead (a virtual hackathon for students across Canada). He says the wins were directly connected to work he did during the placement. 

Through his co-op placement, Mr. Campbell Weiner had the opportunity to develop web software for iApotheca Healthcare, a company specializing in software for pharmacies. He also contributed to both internal and client-based projects.

“I really enjoyed working on reporting and scheduling software with my boss, David Hallin,” says Mr. Campbell-Weiner. “I’d work on the front end and he worked on the back end and then we’d combine our work. I was able to learn from a professional, seeing how somebody in a real work space goes about their job.”

Through the placement, he found he was immediately able to put to use programming languages he’d learned in courses at Trent the semester before, saying it was rewarding to offer something “practical and useful” to the placement organization.

At the same time, he received valuable on-the-job training in Laravel, an open-source framework that uses expressive syntax for web applications. He believes this combination of skills development connected to a working reality was invaluable.

Now in his third year of the Computer Science program, Mr. Campbell-Weiner is envisioning a future career path similar to his placement experience, noting how the opportunity clarified how much satisfaction he’s able to derive from working on web and software development that results in real-world products.

“Trent taught me the fundamentals, what everyone should know, so when I got to my placement I was working from a really strong baseline,” explained Mr. Campbell-Weiner. “Then I was able to extend that into what the workplace was actually doing. I like knowing at the end of the day someone is out there using what I’ve worked on, and it’s helping them.”

Learn more about Computer Science and practical learning opportunities at Trent.