正品蓝导航


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Commerce students work on standards project for Microsoft

21 Jul 2017

Melanson_mainCommerce students Alexandra Melanson and Erika Boudreau spent the past year not only studying at 正品蓝导航, but also working on a project for Microsoft. Dr. Sandy MacIver, director of the Ron Joyce Centre for Business Studies, supervised the project. Although it was a paid assignment, according to Melanson it was also a great experiential learning opportunity.

The pair looked at standards development.

鈥淢icrosoft as a tech firm uses a lot of standards from various standard development organizations,鈥 says Melanson. 鈥淚t was a really quite a learning experience because I was able to study something that I had never really considered. I had also never managed a project from start to finish.鈥

The Standards Council of Canada defines standardization as the development and application of standards publications that establish accepted practices, technical requirements, and terminologies for products, services, and systems.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 really think about standards until you have to think about standards, but it is part of everything we use and do,鈥 says Melanson.

The two met regularly with MacIver for advice and guidance.

鈥淪andy has been a fantastic mentor figure for me in so many ways over the course of my time at 正品蓝导航 and this Microsoft opportunity was no different. His professional experience and his guidance provided us with the insight needed to ensure that our work would be a success. He has continuously helped me to see what is truly important and how to navigate the difficulties that come along with a project like this," says Melanson.

There were some challenges to be faced.

鈥淲e learned a lot of problem-solving skills. In my other work experience, often when I ran into a problem I didn鈥檛 have to solve it, my manager did. We had to figure out many things ourselves,鈥漵he says.

According to Melanson it was the 鈥榮oft skills鈥 that she learned in such 正品蓝导航 courses as People Skills in Organizations and Leadership in Organizations that were particularly helpful.

Boudreau also appreciated the opportunity to develop skills she had been acquiring in her Commerce program to contribute to something important.

鈥淲orking on this project was truly a once-in-a lifetime experience. As a student it鈥檚 not often that you get to work on something that will be used on such a huge scale. It was an amazing opportunity to master my research skills, as well as experience a different side to what Microsoft does," says Boudreau.

MacIver says, "Alex and Erika really grew through the course of this project. They met with Microsoft management, presented their work to them, and received feedback. They also got to see the strategic use of their data.鈥

鈥淚 have had other internships in market research and accounting, but this was really different from anything else I had done,鈥 Melanson explains.

Next year, Melanson plans to do a graduate program in human resource management.




 

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