Through the program, students are bestowed with both a bachelor of science in computing science from SFU and a bachelor of engineering from Zhejiang University (ZJU) in China. The program also offers studies at the masters and doctoral level.

Students who participate in the program study for two years at SFU and two years at ZJU, in the city of Hangzhou, south of Shanghai in the eastern coastal province of Zhejiang, China. It’s a unique experience that exposes students from both countries to the best that the other has to offer.

The program fosters top talent, with many students in this year’s graduating class receiving honours with distinction, including four who achieved first-class honours in recognition of their grade-point averages above 4.0 out of 4.33.

For Na, who is Canadian, the program was an exciting opportunity to learn from and work with inspiring minds from different regions around the globe.

“The experience gave me more confidence and the ability to adapt because I was required to learn new things on a daily basis,” he says.

Co-op was also an integral part of the SFU experience for fellow Chinese student, Chong Guo. Guo completed almost two years in total of co-op internships which led to him receiving competitive job offers from Microsoft, Google and Amazon; he has accepted a role with Google, at an office in Germany.

“DDP helped me so much in both my studies and work,” says Guo. “It gave me a great platform for my skills as well as an opportunity to network with past and present students at top companies that helped me when I applied to my co-ops, and eventually to get my dream job at Google!”

Jingmin Zhu, also from China, came to Canada thinking the cities would resemble the ones she’d seen in Hollywood movies.

“I was pleasantly surprised to learn that, because Canada is so multicultural, it’s also very welcoming and I was able to adjust easily to the new country,” says Zhu. She completed co-op internships with three local companies and fell in love with the cuisine and active lifestyle in Vancouver.

“Through SFU’s co-op program, I improved my communication skills and learned how to work with people from other cultures,” she says.

Zhu recently applied to, and received, Canadian permanent residency. She was hired as a software development engineer at Amazon’s Vancouver office this spring.