NAIT’s Mawji Centre received almost $10,000 in funding this school year from Alberta Innovates to provide students with the opportunity to attend conferences of their choice without having to pay.
Cecile Wendlandt, the Mawji Centre coordinator, said she is surprised that some funds are still left for students to use.
“When [students] reach out and say what kind of things would you pay for, I send them links, and then they can see, I could take a weekend workshop that’s going to cost five hundred dollars. They’ll pay for that and see the scope [of events]. And all we ask is that you follow up with us and let us know if you got any value out of it. So, we know for the future if we have that kind of funding again,” said Wendlandt.
Students at NAIT can attend these events if they can explain why it’ll be beneficial to their future careers. The events are not restricted to just Edmonton, and there are some students attending conferences online that are taking place in cities like Toronto. For some events, a deposit is required and returned to the student after participating in the event.
“It needs to be some sort of entrepreneurial or innovation type [event] or something that’s going to help them with a business that they plan on starting. I had a student contact me that wants to do a workshop on natural skincare and hair care because they’re creating natural hair care products for their business,” said Wendlandt.
Although the Mawji Centre is business and entrepreneurship-focused, Wendlandt says that any student at any program across NAIT can attend these events. The funding is not limited to business administration students.
“So, if it were a photographer, and if there was something that they wanted to take to help with their photography business. Or, if somebody wanted to take a course on how to do their own company website. If it’s going to help them start their company and improve their company, we can pay for it,” said Wendlandt.
Wendlandt said many of these events could be used as micro-credentials on a student’s resume for the future.
“Companies don’t want to hire people who are done learning. They want to hire people that still want to grow, develop, learn, and showing your credentials and your micro-credentials shows that you’re that kind of person,” said Wendlandt.
Students can enquire about paid conferences and events by checking here.
