Coming to work in a Barney costume might be taboo in most offices, but at You.i TV it was just another day at the office for Travis Swan, who joined the team as a co-op student in the fall of 2015.
You.i TV is a company that has taken multiplatform video streaming apps by storm. Their product, You.i Engine, helps companies build multiscreen apps that create fans, engage users and convert consumers from a single code base. With such a high demand for their product, You.i TV has been growing at an exceptional rate. As the company grows, co-op students are beginning to play a key role in driving the company forward. Right now co-op placements make up just under 10% of the 150+ person driven team. There are a variety of co-op opportunities available to students in each term of the school year within the Software Testing, Software Development, Project Management and Sales teams.
Hackathon Planning at You.I
On top of the work that they do, students have access to many great professional development opportunities. During their first month at the company, students are paired with a buddy who is there to mentor them and answer any questions they may have. They can also take advantage of other programs such as lunch & learns and various guilds within the company that focus on developing different tech-related skills. Most importantly for the team at You.i TV is making sure that co-op students are always engaged. With many projects in the works, the company makes sure that students always have an active role in the work being done.
The co-op students working there have embraced the positive environment that You.i TV has created for employees and they, in turn, have contributed to the atmosphere. A great example of this is from one of the internal hackathons that You.i TV puts on. Mark Leung and Sofiane Battou, both former co-op students at You. TV, decided to showcase the ways in which You.i Engine is similar to Unity, a game development engine, and they were able to fully recreate one of the company’s apps from scratch in a single day.
Tamimi Ahmad
Some of You.i TV’s current co-ops, like Tamimi Ahmad from Carleton University like things so much at You.i TV that he has been with the company for a full year as a co-op.
Says Ahmad “Simply put, working at You.i TV is a combination of energy, enthusiasm, motivation, empowerment and of course free snacks! What I love about working here is the experiences gained that vary from science to art. Blending this experience with a unique culture that encourages personal development and growth is a great way to work on something that will change the future of television for everyone around you. I’ve been working at You.i TV for a year now and my experience has been nothing but positive.”
This strong co-op environment has created many opportunities for You.i TV as it continues to grow. They have been able to hire back many of their co-op students for full-time positions with the company. You.i TV has also developed great relationships with the co-op offices at various universities. These relationships have given them the opportunity to hire other recent graduates who have had co-op experience with other companies.
Co-op students have become part of the core of You.i TV as the company experiences rapid growth. The positive and creative energy that the students bring to the company is reciprocated by the experience and opportunities that are being offered back. It is a great example of how much successful co-op programs can offer!
About the Author: Ezra Poplove is a 4th year economics student at Queen’s university. He has spent this summer working with the Kanata North BIA. He is also a musician who frequently enjoys street performing all over Ottawa.