Innovative Cross-border Academic Partnership Empowers Students and Industry Partner
Students from two Northeastern University campuses recently contributed to exciting artificial intelligence (AI) innovation projects at a leading engineering professional services consultancy firm. The experiential learning opportunity with WSP Canada and WSP USA highlights how collaboration within the university’s global network benefits students and industry partners on both sides of the border.
“With Northeastern’s global university system, students can move around and interact with economies, employers, and opportunities across various global contexts,” says David Munger, Experiential Pathways Program Manager at The Roux Institute, Northeastern’s graduate campus and research centre in Portland, Maine. “The flexibility of having multiple campuses can also make relationship-building and cross-border academic partnerships with global companies easier. As a result, companies like WSP can discover various inroads to accessing talent at Northeastern.”
A Unique WSP and Northeastern University Collaboration
Designed by WSP leadership, the company’s AI Incubation Challenge started as an internal project to generate ideas and innovation around AI applications to solve clients’ challenges or improve internal processes. After choosing two winning employee teams in Canada and two in the U.S., WSP initially turned to The Roux Institute for technical support.
Thanks to Northeastern University in Toronto’s existing relationship with WSP Canada, extending the opportunity to students in Canada was a natural fit. The two global campuses worked together and with WSP to create a framework that would ensure high-quality deliverables for the company and significant learning outcomes for students.
“Because our company is very talent-driven, we are always looking for new ways to engage with the next generation of leaders in this space,” says Jonas Roberts, WSP Canada’s Director, Digital Environment. “So, we collaborated with Northeastern University on this opportunity as a way to bring in subject matter expertise in the world of data science and AI.”
After an application process, WSP chose four students from wide-ranging programs, such as Master of Science in Computer Science, Master of Professional Studies in Analytics, and Master of Science in Project Management, to serve as technical advisors to the WSP teams. Guided by faculty members who offered mentorship, students’ contributions ranged from data augmentation and analysis to implementing machine learning codes.
“We tried to give students diverse experience and engagement so they could get a well-rounded view of how innovation projects work in the real world,” says Roberts of the 12-week engagement.
One of the participants was Darsh Patel, who is studying data analytics at Northeastern University in Toronto. Patel worked on WSP’s AI-Based Surface Temperature Model Build-up Project, an initiative to help road authorities and municipalities during winter maintenance. Other students worked on projects involving AI in engineering workflows, return on investment for environmental remediation using a best-in-class database, and automating an apparel retailer client’s product lifecycle assessment process.
Patel says the opportunity allowed him to apply what he had learned in class, gain new skills, and distinctively bolster his resume.
“The project helped me to see how what I am learning during my degree can impact society,” says Patel. “I also got exposure to new software I hadn’t previously worked with and picked up skills I can now apply to my academics, such as improved time management and efficiency. Plus, I can showcase on my resume that I worked on a real-life case.”
Northeastern University’s Approach to Graduate Student Industry Projects
The projects students contributed to were only some of the innovative aspects of this WSP and Northeastern University collaboration. Munger says the opportunity also represents the university’s forward-thinking approach to offering students unique ways to gain real-world experience while responding to industry partners’ needs.
“This was an innovation challenge for WSP, and we brought our own innovative approach to it,” he says. “At the graduate level, students are expanding and formalizing their expertise, so it’s important for them to have various ways to apply that knowledge. Engaging with industry partners on projects gives them a different perspective than a traditional co-op opportunity, for example. There was real pressure, in a good way, and students were accountable for a project with a tight deadline rather than working on various things over a few months. It took experiential learning to a new level.”
Roberts agrees. He says that while WSP Canada engages Northeastern University in Toronto for co-op placements, for example, the company’s project cycle does not always accommodate the academic calendar year. That’s why the opportunity for short-term engagements is a new and meaningful way to tap into Northeastern University talent.
“This type of on-demand talent approach is very aligned with WSP,” Roberts says. “Northeastern’s ability to respond in an agile way to participating in non-traditional experiential learning allows us to take advantage of fresh perspectives from the next generation, which brings new ideas and energy needed to steer innovation in a positive direction. For the students, these types of projects, meanwhile, can be a much more realistic representation of consulting life. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
By Izabela Shubair