Department of Mechanical Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

Co‑op Requirements

The co-op and internship programs were established by the department as a formal mechanism by which the department monitors and assesses the engineering work experience gained by mechanical engineering students during their work terms.

In the event of an inconsistency in information between the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Dalhousie Co-op Office, use the following information as your guide.

Requirements

1. Co-op work term report

  • Students are required to submit a work term report at the end of every registered 4-month work term. The co-op work term report must be submitted to the Mechanical Engineering Office within the first week of the academic term.
  • The work term report should be about a project that you personally worked on and it should be technical in nature. A general overview of the company or organization should be included in the introduction along with a process flow sheet, if applicable. You are welcome to include any professional interactions, incidents involving engineering ethics and law in a separate section.
  • A research paper or a document you produced for the company is not acceptable.
  • Your report must be a reflection of your good technical writing skill. Good sentence structure, proper use of language and proper formatting are requirements of the report.

2. Confidentiality

The Department of Mechanical Engineering will not enter into any confidentiality agreement with your employer. You must discuss this with your employer at the beginning of your work term and have your report released by them for review by any Mechanical Engineering Faculty member.

3. Monthly Experience Records (APENS Diary)

The Monthly Experience Record, as required by Engineers Nova Scotia, should be completed and signed by your supervisor at the end of each month and be included in the appendix of your work term report. Students are required to submit Monthly Experience Records at the end of every registered 4-month work term.

4. Performance appraisal form

  • The performance appraisal should be completed online prior to you leaving your work term placement. This is submitted electronically to the Co-op Office. You have until the end of the first week of the academic term to have this completed.
  • It is your responsibility to have the performance appraisal completed by your supervisor. Without the submission of the performance appraisal, you will obtain an 'Incomplete' grade.
  • If, after repeated attempts, you fail to get your supervisor to submit this - within two weeks of the academic term - inform both the department and the co-op office immediately. The co-op office will then pursue the matter on your behalf.

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