By Yumeng Zhang
On April 11, the U of T Engineering Career Centre hosted its sixth annual awards reception recognizing excellence in the Professional Experience Year Co-op Program (PEY Co-op) during the 2022–2023 work term. The event highlighted the outstanding contributions of employers, mentors, students and staff who have supported the program’s enduring success.
The PEY Co-op program has prepared U of T Engineering students to contribute meaningfully to top global organizations for more than 40 years. Conceived in the 1970s by Professors Derek McCammond, David Scott and Ron Venter from the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, the program has since influenced more than 20,000 students across various engineering disciplines.
Today, PEY Co-op is one of U of T Engineering’s most popular co-curricular offerings, with more than 94% of the first-year class joining over the past four years.
Facilitated by U of T’s Engineering Career Centre, the PEY Co-op work term offers undergraduate engineering students the opportunity to gain full-time, paid work experience over 12 to 16 months. The program is a degree-long work-integrated learning journey that begins in first year by preparing students for the recruitment process and work term, which begins after students’ third year of study.
This year’s awards reception not only celebrated individual successes but also highlighted the lasting impact of the PEY Co-op program on the U of T Engineering community
“We have many people to credit for the success of the PEY Co-op program. To the organizations that employ our students, thank you for having the foresight to see how engaging with our students benefits your companies and is crucial in developing the next generation of engineering leaders,” says Chris Yip, Dean of U of T Engineering.
“And congratulations to the exceptional U of T Engineering students who have pursued PEY Co-op. Each of you have made the most of your experience by collaborating with diverse teams and being intentional in acquiring a global perspective. These are the qualities that will enable you to address some of the most complex challenges we face as a society.”
The ceremony also recognized 11 peer coaches and 12 alumni ambassadors for their crucial contributions to mentoring current students and enhancing the PEY Co-op program.
See more photos from the event in the awards reception photo gallery.
Student of the Year
The PEY Co-op Student of the Year Award recognizes a student who demonstrated excellence in the workplace as an outstanding member of the employer’s team. Employers nominate students for this award.
Barry Bytensky (Year 4 EngSci)
During his PEY Co-op at The Hospital for Sick Children’s PCIGITI Lab, Bytensky developed a novel simulation platform to explore prospective high-intensity focused ultrasound treatments of retinoblastoma. His promising findings led to several presentations at SickKids research conferences.
Karma Sadhwani (Year 4 ChemE)
Sadhwani completed her PEY Co-op work term at Scotiabank, where she served as a trade floor technology consultant with the Global Banking & Markets Technology team. In this role, she was involved in managing various high-risk trading applications utilized within the department and actively pursued automation opportunities across different teams on the trade floor. This summer she will return to Scotiabank as a sales & trading rotational analyst.