SUSRE Undergraduate Strategy Research Assistant (Student Engagement and Synthesis)
Supervisor: Dr Rick Colbourne
Project: Carleton University Strategy Planning Initiative (2025–2030–2042)
Location: In person Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa
Position overview
Carleton University’s Strategic Planning Group is recruiting an undergraduate student to support the University’s institutional strategy planning initiative, with a particular focus on student engagement, peer-led input gathering, and synthesis of student perspectives as part of the University’s wider consultation and engagement process.
The successful candidate will work in person with Dr Rick Colbourne and the strategy leadership team to help design and coordinate structured student input activities and translate student perspectives into clear, strategy-relevant insights. The role is designed to strengthen student voices in institutional planning while providing the student with hands-on experience in research design, coordination, qualitative synthesis, and institutional decision-making.
Core responsibilities
- The Undergraduate Strategy Research Assistant will:
- Support the design of structured student engagement and interview frameworks aligned with the University’s strategic priorities
- Contribute to the research ethics process
- Coordinate and support a small group of peer student contributors, including onboarding and guidance on approach and note-taking
- Support the ethical and responsible collection of anonymised student perspectives
- Organise, code, and synthesise qualitative input to identify recurring themes, tensions, and priorities
- Prepare concise briefing materials that translate student input into strategy-relevant insights for internal use
- Contribute to broader strategy-related work as required, including background research, consultation synthesis, and preparation of internal materials
- Responsibilities may evolve over the course of the internship in response to the needs of the strategy process.
Project scope
- Student engagement and strategy support activities may focus on topics such as:
- Student learning experience and academic pathways
- Belonging, support, and community
- Career readiness and future skills
- How students understand and experience the University’s strategic priorities
- All work will be conducted under faculty supervision and within agreed institutional guidelines.
Desired skills and attributes
- Strong listening, synthesis, and analytical skills
- Clear and professional writing ability
- Ability to organise and coordinate work involving peers
- Comfort handling qualitative information with discretion
- Interest in higher education, strategy, governance, or student experience
- Prior research, facilitation, or student leadership experience is an asset but not required.
Work format and expectations
- The position is in person and based at Carleton University
- The student will work full time for the full 13-week period
- All student input will be anonymised and used for internal strategy purposes only
The successful candidate will submit research outputs during the course of the engagement and create a short reflective blog post by August 14, 2026.
If you have any questions or to further discuss this opportunity, please reach out directly to Dr. Rick Colbourne.