COVE continues to provide students with on-the-job work experience needed to succeed in the thriving ocean technology industry.
3 May 2021 (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia) – Twenty-one university and college students from across Canada are set to gain valuable ocean technology experience and insight through the 2021 Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) Internship Program. In its second year, the number of participants and companies is double last year’s pilot internship program, highlighting the interest in ocean technology careers among Canada’s future workforce.
The sixteen-week COVE internship program provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in relevant and challenging project-based work integrated learning while receiving mentorship from industry leaders.
“The number of responses we received this year for the internship program is an indication of how important this initiative is for students, and how in-demand the ocean technology sector is for a skilled workforce,” said Melanie Nadeau, Chief Executive Officer, COVE. “Our interns have access to the best ocean tech companies in the world and are gaining real-life work experience, even when many other internship programs decided not to continue during the pandemic. We are proud to provide an opportunity for young talent who have pivoted to a career in the ocean.”
Through the program, COVE will coach the interns and they will receive professional development training from business leaders on topics such as design thinking, risk management, sprint methodology, and lean start-up, which will benefit their academic pursuits, career development, and workplace readiness.
Mentors from DeepSense, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ocean Start-Up Project, Convergent Consulting, CMAR, Ultra Maritime, and NATIONAL Public Relations have donated their time and resources to consult with the interns weekly.
The interns are completing, or have completed, their studies at Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University (MSVU), the University of British Columbia (UBC), and Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC). Their backgrounds range from commerce/finance, public relations, computer science, industrial engineering, ocean sciences and technology, economics and sustainability, and mechanical engineering.
COVE leads the recruitment process and assures that there is an interdisciplinary approach to projects while keeping diversity at the forefront.
The 21 participants are working on projects with eight technology organizations, RBR Global Ltd., Kraken Robotics, Leeway Marine, Perennia/Centre for Marine Applied Research (CMAR), DeepSense, Impactful Health R&D, Tidal Flyer Renewables Canada, and COVE. The internship program will be delivered virtually until COVID restrictions are lifted and in-person meetings are allowed.
“The COVE’s Intern program provides an opportunity for two students to work directly in their field of study with both Leeway Marine and CMAR to support our extensive coastal waters monitoring program,” said Leah Lewis-McCrea, Research Manager, Centre for Marine Applied Research. “The interns will contribute to informed decision making and management of our coastal resources and gain invaluable experiential experience to further their knowledge and connect them to other professionals.”
Four interns will work directly with COVE on the Stella Maris project, a unique testbed for marine instrumentation which is scheduled to launch on June 8th as part of COVE Demo Days.
“The internship with COVE will expose me to true ocean industry expectations and allow me to create a strong network with individuals to help me find my place in the ocean world,” said Kennedy Sittler, 2021 COVE Internship Program Participant, NSCC Ocean Technology Advanced Diploma student, and Dalhousie University Ocean Sciences graduate.
Funding for the COVE Internship Program is provided by the Information & Communications Technology Council (ICTC), Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), the Department of Labour and Advanced Education (LAE), and The SOI Foundation.
“As a student, it can often be a struggle to secure meaningful work experiences,” said Tim Perron, Regional Coordinator (Atlantic), Information & Communications Technology Council. “The COVE internship program is helping students gain the necessary work-readiness skills within the ocean tech sector to help them find employment opportunities upon graduation and stay in our region.”