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QUICK SOLVE: How would you dramatically improve co-op education programs?
Challenge Type: humanities & arts
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$800
top 28
60
submissions
DONE
81 months

NOTE: The three top solvers will receive $100 each. The first 25 solvers to submit complete and detailed responses will receive $20 each.

Have you or has one of your friends gone through an experiential learning/co-op program that combines classroom-based education with practical work experience? We want your input on redesigning these experiences. The world of work is changing and co-op programs need to evolve as well.

What is a co-op? Cooperative education (or co-operative education) is a structured method of combining classroom-based education with practical work experience. A cooperative education experience, commonly known as a "co-op," provides academic credit for structured job experience.

Sample current co-op models for reference:

Deliverables

We are looking for your ideas to redesign the program with two objectives:

• For majors (like engineering and design) where co-ops ARE a standard feature in many universities, we want new ideas to serve the changing needs of students and employers.
• For majors (like liberal arts) where co-ops ARE NOT a standard feature, come up with co-op program ideas that could be beneficial to both students and employers using some of the characteristics below.


Explore these characteristics and feel free to evaluate other characteristics you identify:

• New types of work arrangements: gigs, part-time, remote, cross-disciplinary roles
• New types of employers: technology companies, startups, incubators, self-employed, self-initiated projects
• New types of payment: success-based, task-based, challenge wins, equity


To solve, use the above information to tell us: (1) how to dramatically improve existing co-op structures for programs where they are common and (2) how to make co-op programs beneficial in majors where they are not common.


We are looking for truly innovative and different ideas, NOT incremental ideas that improve the current model of co-ops. Imagine the features of a program that would make students choose a university offering this co-op program over others.

    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Reward Tiers
3 Winners
will receive $100 each
25 Honorable Mentions
will receive $20 each
Leaderboard
$120.00 Dr. Janelle Christine Simmons Liberty University
$120.00 Jake Jarvis Stlcop
$100.00 Aaron Barrera University of Florida
$20.00 Sumana Mahata UCSD
$20.00 Abhijit Singh Visvesvaraya Technical University
$20.00 Gunvir Kalra Queen's University
$20.00 Lisa Nguyen University of British Columbia
$20.00 Isaac Barnett Ofori University of Mines and Technology, Ghana
$20.00 Christopher Adjei-Frimpong University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa
$20.00 K M University of Calgary
$20.00 Bolanle Dahunsi Louisiana State University
$20.00 Adithya Santhosh Madras University
$20.00 Francis Daniel Santia Harvard University
$20.00 Kaelan Lupton Queen's University
$20.00 Dyllan Hancott Yorkville University
$20.00 Meenu Kumari
$20.00 Mohan Krishna Yarramsetty usc
$20.00 Giri Sivakoti Northwest Missouri State University
$20.00 Abhishek Singh WBUT
$20.00 Brian Wynder Ursinus College
$20.00 Manisha Daruka Rajasthan University
$20.00 ANKUR KUMAR Visvesvaraya Technical University
$20.00 Joshua Y. Ansong Düsseldorf
$20.00 Janeth Kibuta university of manitoba
$20.00 Susan Kownacki Indiana University of Pennsylvania
$20.00 Priyadarshani Singh
Submission questions


What is your age?

(Required)

Which college or university do you/did you attend?

(Required)

Did you participate in a co-op education program?

(Required)

What is your field of study?

(Required)

What is your full legal name? Include your first name, last name, and surname?

(Required)

Where do you currently reside? Include city, state, and country.

(Required)

Do you hold a Director or Officer position, or are you a Significant Shareholder, at any public or private company?

(Required)

If you answered yes for the previous question, provide the full legal name for each company and its country of domicile.

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