A bursary is helping hundreds of Humber Polytechnic students in financial need by providing $2,000 to learners who are completing unpaid work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities as part of their studies.
The Giving Learners the Opportunity to Work (GLOW) Bursary is available to full-time Humber or University of Guelph-Humber students who are participating in curricular, unpaid WIL experiences. The bursary is funded by IGNITE and Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL) and is a partnership with Humber’s Academic and Career Services and IGNITE.
The funding came from the CEWIL Innovation Hub (iHub), which is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Innovative Work-Integrated Learning Initiative.
In 2023, the program received $350,000 from CEWIL and $60,000 from IGNITE. The former supported 175 domestic students while the latter went to 13 international students.
In 2024, CEWIL increased its funding to $500,000 to support 250 domestic students while IGNITE’s $60,000 helped 30 international students.
This year, CEWIL upped its funding to $600,000, which supported 300 domestic students. IGNITE also increased its contribution to $96,000, and that was used to assist 48 international students.
Additional funding for GLOW was made possible by the redirection of $150,000 from the Humber Career Fee that was earmarked for another student support project but came in under budget. This allowed 75 more students (32 domestic and 43 international) to benefit from the GLOW bursary in 2025.
In total, more than $1.35 million in grant funding for the program has been secured since its inception.
To some of the students who have received a bursary over the years, it has been a lifeline.
"As a nursing student, being paid for my WIL experience through GLOW lifted a huge financial weight off my shoulders,” said Tracy Nguyen. “It allowed me to truly focus on learning, building my confidence in clinical skills and connecting with patients without worrying about balancing a full-time job on top of it all. I’m so grateful for the support."
One of the goals of the program is to alleviate financial burdens for students from underrepresented groups and they’re achieving that with more than 88 per cent of recipients identifying as being from an underrepresented group.
The hope is that by removing financial barriers, students are empowered to gain valuable work experience without the added stress of financial constraints.
It’s the brainchild of Phil Legate, manager, Student Learning Services with Student Success and Engagement, and Sieu Moi Ly, director, Student Success with IGNITE. It earned the two and their teams an Extra Mile Award as part of the President’s Awards at the 2025 President’s Breakfast.
Tuba Chishti, senior administrator with Student Success and Engagement, said they’ve heard from many students about how the bursary has helped them access field-relevant work that can help elevate their future employability through these valuable WIL opportunities. It means they don’t always have to worry about finances when taking part in unpaid WIL experiences.
The money can be used by the students at their discretion.
“We’re incredibly grateful for CEWIL’s partnership and advocacy in helping to secure funding that supports students in unpaid work-integrated learning experiences,” said Chishti. “Their leadership and commitment have been instrumental in helping Humber level the playing field for our learners.”
Ly explained that a percentage of the CEWIL funding could be used for administration purposes but IGNITE and Humber decided to put all the funding towards students.
“Every single dollar they give us goes directly into the pockets of students to help alleviate financial need,” said Ly.
“Everyone sees the value in funding students,” added Chishti.
More information can be found by visiting the GLOW Bursary webpage.