Professional Development

 

Turn your degree into a career

As your student council, we want to make sure you’re aware of the many resources available at Huron that can help you develop skills, gain experience, and prepare for life after graduation. This page outlines the services and opportunities related to career development, research, and professional growth — whether you're planning for a job, further education, or simply exploring your interests.

Career Development Services

Career Development provides support for students in acquiring professional skills, getting job experience, and planning their postgraduate careers from first-year to graduation. This includes a variety of specific support areas, including job and volunteer opportunities, professional development programs, and much more.

Career and graduate school advising

Your Career Development Coordinator can help you to plan out your trajectory during your undergraduate degree, as well as to determine what you may want to do postgraduation and what will get you there.

Job Search and Application Support

Your Career Development coordinator can help you in all steps of your job search, from brainstorming lists of potential employers through to mock interviews.
For application support, you must submit the application a minimum of 1 week before the due date.

Huron Exclusive and Highlighted Opportunities

The Career Development team collaborates with local businesses, NGOs, and local government to create job and volunteer opportunities just for Huron students (Exclusive Internships), and highlights opportunities that for which the hiring committee has a specific interest in hiring Huron students, or with which the Career Development team has contacts (Highlighted Internships).

To apply for these, you are expected to connect with a Career Development advisor at least 1 week in advance of the application date to receive application support, and may be required to attend a mock interview, depending on the position.

More generally, the Huron Connect page also includes other positions that may be of interest to students that the team may come across. Career Development also provides a list of job boards relevant to different fields that students can use as a starting point in their job search.

Professional Development Programs

Huron offers a variety of professional development programs, including workshops, on topics such as Resume and Cover Letter Writing and Networking.

The Huron MEntorship Program

A program that pairs first and second-year Huron students with upper-year students, and upper-year students with Huron alumni, to provide insight and support the students’ academic and career goals.

RBC Innovation Bootcamp

A biannual three-day bootcamp in which students are taught innovation methodologies, and then placed into teams of 5 and tasked with creating and pitching solutions for a partner organization to a panel of judges. The winning team will receive $2,500 dollars, and all participants will receive a certification of participation and food delivery gift cards to be used for meals during the bootcamp.

ScotiaBank Career Accelerator Program (CAP)

A designation in which students complete a variety of hands-on experiences (i.e., attending workshops, completing an internship and volunteer placement, etc.) in order to develop various professional skills that are desired by certain employers.

Harvad CORe Program

A certificate program in partnership with Harvard Business School Online which teaches participants business and problem-solving skills. The program consists of three courses: Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting.
Huron students who complete the application form with a strong reference, and have a cumulative average of 80% or higher, will have a seat held in Harvard’s cohort and be considered for scholarship funding. Financial aid may be available based on need.

Volunteering

An opportunity for students to develop transferable skills, gain experience, and build a professional network in a flexible, real-world setting. Supporting the development of leadership, compassion, and civic engagement, volunteering is considered work experience and allows students to explore different industries and roles, while also contributing to meaningful causes they are passionate about. Students are encouraged to select opportunities aligned with their career goals and values, and to reflect on the skills they gain from each experience. 

For more information on any of these opportunities, visit the Huron Connect and Career Development pages, or speak to your Career Development Coordinator.

 

CURL

CURL, a.k.a. the Center for Undergraduate Research Learning is a place for all students to learn more about research, pursue independent projects, and learn new research skills.

Research fellowship

CURL awards 8 students per year (4 in Fall/Winter, 4 in the Summer) with a $1500 fellowship to fund an independent research project with the support of a faculty mentor. Additional fellowships are sometimes offered based on external donations (eg. Taylor Boyd Fellowship which support projects related to Psychology or Education). Students receive the monetary award to support any research-related costs and to help supplement students’ income during the duration of the fellowship period, as well as receive one-on-one faculty mentorship.

Projects from any discipline are welcome, with preference for projects that are interdisciplinary in nature or employ innovative methodologies.

Research skills bursary

The Research Skills Bursary is a $150 fund to support students’ skill-building through workshops and conferences. Students must have a faculty mentor sponsor the application and have knowledge of the student’s intention to attend the event or program in question. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis from July 1 to March 30 during the academic year.

Travel Bursaries

Travel bursaries fund students’ travel expenses to conferences, events, research locales, or opportunities that bolster the student’s academic or career skills. 

The $500 awarded is intended to fund students’ registration, transportation, housing, and other expenses during their trip.

Workshops

CURL offers free workshops throughout the year to the student body to help them further develop skills and learn more about research. Past topics include:

  • Prepare to Pitch: A research proposal workshop to help students improve their skills for both CURL Fellowship and other applications

  • SSHRC  OGS: An information session for students pursuing SSHRC and OGS funding for their graduate studies.

Activities include personal writing workshops and student assistant roles to suppot your growth opportunities.

Conferences

CURL hosts two conferences each academic year (a Fall exhibition and a Spring Conference) in which students present their work to the community to build their knowledge mobilization and presentation skills. Presenters are encouraged to use innovative, more accessible ways to communicate their findings to their audiences and to think “beyond the PowerPoint.” Presentations come from students of all disciplines, including as part of course work or independent study. These biannual conferences are part of CURL’s growth opportunities, celebrating your research achievements.

For more information, application forms, and due dates, visit the CURL website, or follow CURL on Instagram at @curlathuron.

CURL Contacts

If you have any questions about the CURL at Huron program, please reach out to:

  • Dr. Christine Tsang, Chair of the CURL Steering Committee (ctsang33@uwo.ca)

  • Emily Poirier, HUCSC VP Student Affairs  CURL Steering Committee Student Representative (vpstudentaffairs@myhuron.ca).