CO-OP | RIT Kosovo

The Co-op & Career Services office acts as the point of contact for Employers as well as students when it comes to Co-op & Career opportunities.

^OVER150

Students

attended the on campus Career Fair last year

Students

Participate in CO-OP

200

Is the number

of Companies Hiring CO-OP`s from RIT Kosovo

60^%

Of students

in CO-OP end up with a permanent contract

^OVER70

Students

are engaged for work-study in our campus yearly

Over 10 Years of CO-OP

What we do?

Functions as the link between Employers in the private & public sector and the RIT Kosovo (A.U.K).
Informs students and alumni about job and co-op vacancies.
Assists employers with recruiting within the RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) community by calling for applications and collecting CV’s.
Assists students with finding a Co-op, exploring their career objectives, writing their resume and preparing for a job interview.
Manages the process of Co-op registration & approval, and Co-op evaluation.
Organizes RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) career events and workshops.
Identifies new qualitative Co-op opportunities.

Why CO-OP

We’ve heard the word “co-op” mentioned left and right in our RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) sphere, but what is it exactly?
Our world of learning at RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) cooperates with the real world, with its many players: private businesses, governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations and associations, etc.
Co-op is another word for internship. But there’s more to it. A co-op is a paid professional experience in a real work environment that allows you to put your knowledge gained in courses into practice, and benefit from experiential learning. Each student at RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) and RIT completes two co-ops of 400 working hours each, before obtaining that much-desired RIT degree.

why co op

Why the sweat, Isn’t your Professional Career supposed to start after you finish University

The two co-ops required before you finish university enrich your degree. The co-op program is at the heart of the successful RIT model of ‘career education’, a model that does not divorce the conceptual from the practical but rather integrates these dimensions of learning. Universities are no longer ivory towers you are locked into for 4 years, after which you wake up to reality. This brings a sigh of relief to employers, who may complain that the university equips graduates with knowledge too abstract and far removed from real working world scenarios. Employers give preference to graduates who have already tested their knowledge and skills ‘out there’, and who have built themselves up as competent human resources by investing in experience. RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) graduates are employees ready for the next challenge. It comes as no surprise then that in an economy with soaring unemployment approximately 95 % of RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) graduates are employed. Co-ops make the difference.

Confused

Finding Out What Makes Your Heart Beat

At RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) you start your career while studying. This begs the question: what career do you have in mind for yourself? You might have a very specific idea about this, and have decided to become a bank manager, or a graphic designer, or an IT specialist, or even a diplomat. Perhaps you see limitless options and want to try them all. Maybe you have a strong determination to make it, but have no clue which field or occupation.

When developing your career goals, thoroughly investigate options. Don’t be satisfied with following your parents’ footsteps unless you’ve discovered this is what you truly want to do. Don’t limit yourself by over focusing on compensation packages and how important a job title sounds. Go beyond the myths. Find accurate information about all the possible career choices, and find out how these resonate with your passions, your talents, and your unique potential. After all, what truly makes your heart beat is doing something that gives you fulfillment, that is meaningful and challenging to you. This could be anything ranging from exploring reality through research, doing magic with numbers, giving strategic advice, serving customers, designing solutions to social & economic problems, managing processes of change, creating innovative products, working with the power of language, discovering the performing arts and the influence of media, or developing learning tools.

CO-OP Procedure

Step 1: Find a Co-op

You can do this through open applications, networking, and/or applying to positions advertised by the Co-op & Career Services.

Step 2: Register your Co-op

A co-op can be registered by filling out and submitting the Registration Form for approval to the Coordinator of Co-op & Career Services together with a Job Description prior to start. The job description can be written by you or your Co-op supervisor and needs to be typed up in a Word document. You can submit the form and the job description as a hardcopy or by e-mail. You cannot register nor drop your Co-op through SIS. The Co-op is administratively registered in SIS by the Co-op & Career Services office in the following quarter.

Step 3: Start your Co-op

You receive an e-mail that will notify you whether your Co-op has been approved or not. If your Co-op has been approved, an e-mail will also be sent out to your Co-op supervisor. As soon as you have received the approval e-mail you can officially start your Co-op. If your Co-op is not approved you may want to get in touch with the Co-op & Career Services to find out why and to receive assistance.

Step 4: Complete and evaluate your Co-op

When you complete 400 working hours it is time for the Co-op evaluation. A performance/employer evaluation form will be filled out by your Supervisor and sent directly to the Co-op & Career Services in a sealed stamped envelope or by e-mail. You can obtain a copy of this evaluation from the Co-op & Career Services so that you know the feedback of your supervisor and can learn from this. There is also a Student Evaluation Form with some questions about your Co-op that you need to fill out and submit as a hardcopy or by e-mail to the Co-op & Career Services.

Step 5: Receive your Co-op grade: ‘S’ (satisfactory)

If you have successfully completed your registered Co-op and made sure both evaluation forms were submitted, you will see an ‘S’ grade in the SIS system at the end of the (administrative) quarter during which you have completed your Co-op. If as student who has received an incomplete grade fails to finish the Co-op within two consecutive quarters, the Co-op grade becomes F (Failed) and the student has to do another Co-op to fulfill the degree requirements.

Note: Providing False Information and Misbehavior

Students providing any kind of false information while registering and/or completing their Co-op will be subject to disciplinary sanctions as according to the RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) Conduct Code. In addition, students are responsible to represent RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) in accordance to the RIT Kosovo (A.U.K) policies, rules and regulations while doing their Co-ops. If the student completing the Co-op receives bad employer evaluation, such a Co-op may be considered as invalid and the student must do another Co-op to complete the requirements.