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How positive team collaboration helped to foster Jasmine Bamba's professional growth

Introduction:

At Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), I worked as a Multimedia Designer in the VCH Learning Technologies department, a role that involved design, e-learning, and adult education. I collaborated with a strong, supportive, and multidisciplinary team including other multimedia designers, instructional designers, back-end developer & system analysts, and e-learning system support coordinators.

My focus was to design, develop, and improve the user experience of an online, e-learning course project educating 25-26,000+ healthcare employees and 100+ managers on scheduling tasks. I also filmed on site and edited training videos related to the course project. This project gave opportunities for co-ops to learn how to utilize feedback and collaborate with a design team and clients who represented the Vancouver, BC healthcare industry.

How teamwork and collaboration shaped my co-op experience:

I believe this specific co-op felt familiar to user experience (UX) projects and skills that students learn while in the SFU SIAT program, so it was fair for me to adjust to the workplace in the first two weeks of onboarding. Nonetheless, I am convinced the areas where students (including myself) would grow the most is learning the workplace culture and collaborating with a design team and clients.

I am very grateful to have worked as a designer in a positive, friendly workplace where my team members and supervisor were supportive of co-op students' professional, career directions, and design decisions. I liked how the VCH campus was located near Cambie St. and West Broadway, Vancouver, so my team and I would go out for coffee breaks or have lunch together, strengthening our communication and collaboration when working together on projects.

The majority of the time, I worked individually at my own desk in-office and remotely, and had weekly team meetings online. My instructional designer (who I worked with) supervised me during our e-learning, course project on scheduling tasks, while I was mentored by another multimedia designer who provided me with constructive criticism on my work. Sometimes I would go out with my two colleagues for in-person filming for my client’s videos. Other times, towards the end of my co-op, I focused on collaborating with my instructional designer where we would analyze the timeline for our project, and confirm next steps with our client. As a student, I appreciated the trust and support I had built with my instructional designer and multimedia designer where I felt more confident in taking the lead in my design decisions.

Working in co-op or internships is where students will truly recognize the realities of working with clients, specifically those who have limited backgrounds in design. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to collaborate with a friendly client who had a background in scheduling services at VCH. We would have weekly team meetings where I would make notes as we discussed questions, project updates, and accomplishments between my client’s team and my team, or communicate via email and direct messages on Microsoft Teams. In some cases, my client would provide me with written lists, detailed documents, and screenshots for edits/changes to the project. I would utilize their feedback and would communicate with my client often via Teams confirming my work progress.

Lessons I learned:

After working in this co-op, the most important thing I learned about myself, the design, e-learning, or education field and industries, was that I learn more efficiently and quickly by actively participating in the workplace.

During the early stages of my co-op, I received some coaching from my supervisor regarding the different methods of learning—passive learning (information and lecture-type learning) and active learning (hands-on learning and active participation). I learned how (adult) students can be educated and to consider utilizing these learning methods throughout my work, specifically during my one-year co-op at VCH. Involving passive learning into my work, like asking for feedback, 1-on-1 coaching sessions, researching for resources, communicating with my client through visuals, and establishing good time management habits effectively helped me reach my goals in co-op.

In regards to this field and industry, I learned that the most important thing to consider when working is that it’s not only about the work that you create, but acknowledging how to navigate the workplace culture and how you work with your peers (your team or clients) throughout your career. The experiences in this industry purposefully taught me the importance of how we collaborate, communicate, and integrate within a team setting, and that prioritizing effective and positive team collaboration will strengthen our growth as professionals.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed my time at VCH, and I’m looking forward to continuing my growth and learning in my career journey.