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Professional Development

Complement your course learning by attending co-curricular workshops offered by Faculties and Academic Departments to develop professional skills. 

Certificates/Workshop Series that appear on the Laurier Experience Record help you gain skills and expand your knowledge on a wide range of topics. Register and complete the certificate/workshop series directly with the host department. Completed programs will automatically appear on your Laurier Experience Record by April.

ASPIRE: Skills Training and Professionalization

For Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows 

Invest in your future and earn the ASPIRE Certificate, which is designed to complement your academic program by providing opportunities to develop a range of skills and competencies. 

To earn the certificate, complete five workshops in at least two ASPIRE pillars.

Learn more details about the ASPIRE Professional Development Certificate.

Available in Brantford and Waterloo. 

Certificate in Practical Politics

Political Science and North American Studies students have an opportunity to complete our Certificate in Practical Politics alongside their academic course of study. To obtain the certificate you will complete a series of four (out of a possible six) "Practical Politics" skills-building workshops over the course of the academic year. These workshops will focus on skills-development in several areas that are of direct relevance for the job market.

All workshops are being coordinated by our practitioner-in-residence for the Department of Political Science, John Milloy (former Ontario cabinet minister and legislative assistant to Prime Minister Chretien), and involve additional guest practitioners.

Available in Waterloo

Early Literacy Professional Development Certificate

Recipients of the Early Literacy Professional Development Certificate successfully complete all requirements for the Learning Toolkit (LTK+) Teaching Early Literacy through the ABRACADABRA online course. This course covers fundamentals of early literacy including Alphabetics, Fluency, Comprehension, Vocabulary and Writing. The course also provides training in the use of ABRAVCADABRA, an online early literacy software program for children, that can be used in conjunction with traditional teaching methods to support the acquisition of critical early literacy skills. Recipients also explored READS, an online repository of free books for children.

For registration info, contact Dr. Eileen Wood - ewood@wlu.ca

Available in Waterloo. 

Laurier Summer Institute of Research Methods

The Laurier Summer Institute of Research Methods (LSIRM) offers both introductory and advanced courses for training in research methods. These courses are designed for students, researchers, and professionals alike. The courses cover a variety of research methods and data analysis from both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. LSIRM is designed to enhance the skills of researchers through practical training from experts in the field. It is a great way for students, researchers, and professionals to learn new skills or build upon existing skills.

LSIRM is offered by the Centre for Community Research, Learning and Action (CCRLA).

LittleCounters® Program Certificate

Recipients of the LittleCounters® Program Certificate successfully complete all requirements for the play-based program supporting early numeracy development and numeracy school readiness for young children. The LittleCounters® program is co-developed by Drs. Joanne Lee and Donna Kotsopoulos. This course covers the five counting principles and other fundamentals of early numeracy through the framework of purposeful play. 

For registration info, contact Dr. Joanne Lee at jlee@wlu.ca.

Available in Waterloo

Mastering the Details: Practical Piano Tutorial

The purpose of this intensive Spring term piano lab is to master a weaker area in the student's playing by dedicating three weeks to working on it exclusively, which would enable handling similar challenges in subsequent repertoire with more ease. Students get three 45-minute individual lessons per week and a minimum of one masterclass in total (subject to enrollment).

Available in Waterloo

Prism Resources

The Prism Resources program offers members training sessions on skills for the workplace. If you are a student in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, you are already enrolled. If you are in another faculty, you can a pay fee to enrol in the program.

  • Prism Audit (CaseWare) offers two audit courses (both must be completed) that teaches members what audits are, discusses common audit procedures and what to expect when working for a public accounting firm, and CaseWare that is a practical course where students learn to use the software commonly used by public accounting firms. 
  • Prism Bloomberg certifies members on the basic usage of the Bloomberg platform used in industry.
  • Prism Excel VBA offers two courses in VBA where members are able to learn how to automate databases, record a macro, and more.
  • Prism Office Suite Prism Resources offers two courses: PowerPoint/Word and Access, where students learn how to navigate and use the software and most commonly used functions in a work environment. 
  • Prism QuickBooks teaches students how to use the software to set up a new company, navigate the different types of transactions and how to record them, as well as, perform the various functions required for small and medium-sized businesses.
  • Prism R Prism Resources offers a 1 and a half hour R course where students learn the basic functions of the program and then build off of that knowledge.
  • Prism Salesforce provides an overview of the widely-used customer relationship management (CRM) software and teaches students to perform common functions. It also introduces students to trailhead training modules.
  • Prism Stata students will learn the basic fundamentals of Stata. This course is beneficial for Economics students
  • Prism Statistics offers courses where students learn the basic functions of the program and then build off that knowledge. In the advanced module, students focus on manipulating regressions, hypothesis testing, generating variables and confidence intervals.
  • PRISM Python Learn the basics of programming with one of the most flexible and popular programming languages.
  • Prism Web Design offers two web design courses in which students learn about HTML and CSS, and combine the two of them to create a functional and visually appealing website.

Available in Brantford and Waterloo.

SOLIDWORKS CAD Training

Student completes a one-on-one training session where they learn how to do a technical drawing and how to incorporate some very basic engineering principles in the design process. This session culminates with the student using SOLIDWORKS (CAD - or Computer Aided Design) to create a 3D virtual assembly, then taking this design, processing it through CAM (Computer Aided Machining) software, and finally using a CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) 3D printer or Laser Cutter to produce a physical copy of the design that they've created. Alternatively, the student can record both audio and video.

Available in Waterloo

Voice Lab

This year's Voice Lab brings together classical and music theatre singers, encouraging exploration across genres and facilitating cross-training. Participants will engage in yoga, acting, dance and movement classes, reinforcing the connection between body and voice.

The concentration of studies during this week results in significant, often accelerated vocal progress. The workshop focuses on the creative process of the singer, with ample one-on-one lesson time with voice instructors and collaborative pianists, group lessons, seminars (dance, acting, improvisation, belting and Linklater training), bodywork and more.

Available in Waterloo