Rising Stars

By Victor Romao

When Nishant Gowthaman arrived at CenterLine (Windsor) Limited for his co-op placement, he was presented with a challenge that extended far beyond writing code.

The company had years of estimating data stored across thousands of spreadsheets, containing valuable knowledge that engineers often struggled to find and reuse. 

By Victor Romao

For Harshkumar Nayanbhai Patel (MAC '26), a co-op placement at RBC became more than a learning opportunity. By the end of his work term, he had helped develop AI-powered solutions that were saving thousands of engineering hours annually and earned a full-time software engineering position with the company.

By Victor Romao

For Abigail McLeod, a co-op placement at PromoShop became an opportunity to make a measurable impact while discovering where she wants her career to go.

The third-year Odette School of Business student contributed to marketing and business development initiatives that helped strengthen client relationships, improve campaign performance and support company growth.

By Victor Romao

A University of Windsor engineering student’s ability to bridge classroom theory with real-world problem-solving helped clear a major hurdle for an industrial product and led directly to a job offer.

Tyler Ballard, a fourth-year electrical and computer engineering student at the University of Windsor, was recognized for his contributions during a co-op work term at Tregaskiss, a local developer and manufacturer of robotic MIG guns and welding consumables.

By Victor Romao

University of Windsor student Bianca Toma entered a high-pressure legal workplace and quickly proved she could handle real legal responsibility as a second-year student.

In her second year of the Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Co-operative Education) program, Toma completed her placement at the Law Office of Amy Osman Professional Corporation, working as a legal assistant supporting immigration and criminal law files while gaining direct experience inside Ontario courtrooms.

By Victor Romao

Michael Joyce (BComp ’25) still remembers arriving at work as a co-op student, unsure of what questions he was allowed to ask — or whether he belonged in the room.

Now, he is the one making sure students never feel that way.

By Victor Romao

Vansh Jignesh Patel is completing his final semester in the Master of Applied Computing program at the University of Windsor, and his work is already making a measurable impact in the enterprise software and artificial intelligence industry.

Through his co-op placement with the University's Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnerships program, Patel is contributing to production-level AI systems used in real-world voice and data workflows.

By Victor Romao

A co-op placement with the Town of Kingsville gave University of Windsor student Mohammed Parvez the opportunity to apply his technical skills in a real-world municipal setting while gaining confidence through collaboration across municipal departments.

Parvez worked in a GIS-focused co-op role, where the placement helped shape his professional development and future career interests.

By Peter Marval

“What career am I getting myself into?” was the question on Cameron Anderson’s mind when he decided to pursue co-op.

Anderson said he crafted a plan to work at different placements to gain a broad understanding of what it’s like to work as an engineer.

The third-year mechanical engineering student was one of six honoured with the Rising Star Award, which recognizes students who excel during their co-op placements, as selected by the University of Windsor’s Co-operative Education and Workplace Partnerships office.