Mahdis Habibinia | Executive Editor (Online)
Featured image courtesy of Jessica Sripaskaran
Lassonde School of Engineering has partnered with Shopify to offer “Dev Degree,” and York is officially the second institution offering the program in Canada. The program essentially gives students an Honours Bachelor of Computer Science (BSc Hons) which includes credits for the work they do on Shopify development teams.
It’s an innovative, intensive program requiring approximately 90 credits in the core subject areas of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Math.
The Dean of Lassonde, Professor Jane Goodyer, says: “The unique program embeds students directly into development teams at Shopify through a paid internship while they complete courses to fulfil requirements for a BSc Hons degree.”
The innovative program’s paid internship also includes vacation time, and Shopify pays the students’ tuition for the full four-year program. Each student is paired with two mentors: a technical mentor and a Life@Shopify mentor.
Goodyer explains that the program provides students with the qualifications to explore how hardware and software can be applied in innovative ways. “This, coupled with over 4,500 hours of on-the-job experience, and professional and personal development opportunities, helps students build both the technical and soft skills required to accelerate their careers after graduation,” she continues.
Since students will be working and studying simultaneously, this makes learning new concepts and applying them that much easier and effective. It will give students a competitive edge.
“As part of the Industry Partnership Stream of Lassonde’s Computer Science program,” Goodyer explains, “launching Dev Degree in Toronto with Shopify furthers our journey in reimagining STEM education, and is a giant step toward bringing our vision to life.
“The alignment in values and forward thinking that we have found in an industry partner like Shopify is core to making this kind of change. Either through the Industry Partnership Stream or Dev Degree, we hope to increase these kind of opportunities for our students in the future.”
Shopify is a leading cloud-based, multi-channel commerce platform.
“Shopify is one of Canada’s great success stories of innovative entrepreneurship combined with outstanding and visionary leadership, and we are honoured to be their first university partner in the GTA,” said President Rhonda Lenton.
The program began this Fall Term, with eight students splitting their time equally between Shopify’s downtown offices and their coursework at Lassonde. The students will work alongside industry mentors and gain critical skills to solve real problems with modern technology.
The initiative is part of Shopify’s attempt to offer education through experiential means. Students admitted to the program will complete practicum credits in addition to any existing degree requirements for the Computer Science program.
Faculty at Lassonde will oversee each student’s coursework. After completing their degree, students will have more than 4,500 hours of paid work experience when they graduate.
