The 2025 Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) Employer Impact Awards were announced on Oct. 8, with Judene Pretti, the interim associate provost, presenting. This is the sixth year of the ceremony.

“[It’s] where we recognize and honor University of Waterloo co-op employers,” Pretti said at the awards. “We celebrate their organizations, their people, and the incredible opportunity they’ve provided to Waterloo students.”

The six awards include impact in equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), impact in innovation, impact in international excellence, impact in research, impact in sustainability, and impact on student experience.

The winners of the awards are chosen by a committee of UW employees who review the applications submitted by co-op employers against specific award criteria. Each award has its own set of criteria, with the Impact on student experience category specifically allowing students to vote from a list of employers that have submitted applications. According to Pretti, this year saw a record 2,000 votes from students. The UW CEE site outlines the different rubrics for each award in detail. A minimum eligibility requirement for employers include an overall work term satisfaction rating of seven or higher.

Each award was presented with a description of the company, student testimonials, and the opportunity for employers to accept the award.

To start, the winner for Impact in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion was Nuclear Promise X (NPX), with Ontario Institute for Cancer Research being an honourable mention. NPX is a nuclear engineering consulting firm. Shabnam Ivkovic, director of industry relations, said that, “Students tell us that NPX’s welcoming culture and mentorship allowed them to thrive.”

The winner for Impact in Innovation was Shoppers Drug Mart Whitehorse, with Dark Vision Technologies as an honourable mention. Student testimonials from UW PharmaD students reflect how Shoppers Drug Mart Whitehorse aims to “develop and deliver innovative solutions to enhance community-focused care.”

Impact in International Excellence was awarded to the Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre with Randox Laboratories as an honourable mention. Faculty of health co-op student Christina Yang’s testimonial highlighted how Sunnybrook has provided her with new experiences and the knowledge to write her own publications. She also said, “[It] taught me what it meant to take care of patients, be a healthcare professional, and a healthcare provider.”

InfinityQ Technologies Inc. won the Impact in Research award and Terray Therapeutics was the honourable mention. InfinityQ solves “complex challenges across industries using their custom mathematical optimization solver.”

For Impact in Sustainability, Mattamy Homes was given the award with Purolator as the honourable mention. The home construction company was praised by UW for their sustainability efforts, “The company’s sustainability capstone project inspires students to make a positive impact.” In discussing her experience with Mattamy Homes, Kennedy Bee, an engineering co-op student, said, “As a student, ownership and recognition is really important because it helps motivate you…It shows what you do is important and impactful.”

WUSA director Iman Khan presented the final award for Impact on Student Experience. Sony Interactive Entertainment was given the honourable mention, while the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) was named the winner. Khan thanked OICR “for fostering [their] culture of adaptability, curiosity, and collaboration.”

Application for the 2026 CEE Employer Impact awards open this fall and require a minimum of one student testimonial.