Employment
Student employment opportunities at Arrell Food Institute (AFI) are paid learning experiences that engage students in experiential learning to help them develop key employability skills in demand by today’s employers.
About AFI Employment
In 2016-2017, experiential learning (EL) was defined by the University of Guelph’s Experiential Learning Task Force as: A pedagogical practice whereby students gain new knowledge, skills and abilities due to the intentional application of classroom learning in a workplace or simulated workplace setting. Experiential learning opportunities are grounded in an intentional learning cycle and clearly defined learning outcomes. They engage students actively in creating knowledge and critically reflecting on their experiences, allowing them to understand how to transfer their knowledge and skills to future endeavours.
AFI student employment opportunities are associated with key learning outcomes specific to the position and are informed by best practices in experiential learning. Students working at AFI will not only develop key employability skills in demand by today’s employers, but will also be exposed to leaders in the academic setting and be a part of the larger AFI mission to elevate food and improve life at the University of Guelph, Canada’s Food University. Participating students gain on-the-job training that integrates education, career development and public service, and join a small but unified group of staff and faculty working to fulfill the AFI mission. AFI is able to employ students on a rolling basis during the academic school year as well as during the summer term and positions range from 4 – 8 months.
For Students
Opportunities to work with AFI are usually advertised at Experience Guelph, which is an on-campus portal to employment for students and employers.
Experience Guelph provides information on how to apply for a variety of positions on and off campus, including work study, undergraduate research assistantships, and co-op positions.
As an undergraduate, students can apply for AFI positions advertised at Experience Guelph.
On the AFI team, undergraduate students can apply for Work Study, Undergraduate Research Assistantships (URA) or Peer Helper positions.
Those students interested in Work Study and URA positions must first demonstrate financial need. More information on these positions can be found at:
Graduate students can apply for any positions through Experience Guelph.
On the AFI Team, graduate students can apply for Work Study positions, Graduate Research Assistants (GRA, tier 1 and 2), and Graduate Student Assistants (GSA-1). GSA-1 positions are subject to CUPE and as such, have a more strident application process.
Occasionally, AFI will also advertise positions through list-serves of various departments on campus.
When full time and other roles become available, they will be posted to the University of Guelph’s Current Opportunities page.
AFI is currently recruiting for the positions of: