Connect Concordia is attempting to bridge the divide between staff and student bodies at Concordia University and cultivate mutually beneficial dialogue between the two parties while also giving students a chance to improve their workplace literacy by gaining insight into the nature and range of staff positions at the university.

Connect Concordia is a project with an organic origin: linking students and staff. It all began when a class project sparked an awareness of how much happens behind the scenes that students don’t know about and a realization of the opportunity that lies in students connecting with staff members. At the same time, we became equally aware that few opportunities exist for students and staff to engage in meaningful ways. The program aims to stimulate personal and professional development for both staff members and students through a job shadowing program that:

• Helps students gain insight into different jobs and fields, while doing hands-on work that helps them develop their workplace literacy
• Provides staff with the opportunity to gain insight into the student experience and feedback about their services
• Opens a generative and mutually beneficial dialogue between students and staff, allowing a mostly stable staff body to connect with the ever-changing student body, helping the system to ‘see itself’ more clearly and cultivating a more connected community