On December 16, 2020, the newly minted Shopify Remote Working Badge was awarded to 13 Business Marketing students who demonstrate the workplace mindset expected of Shopify employees.
The badge, or digital credential, is a result of the ongoing dedication to project-based learning by Professor Pam Bovey-Armstrong and fellow faculty members in the School of Business. Since 2018, Bovey-Armstrong and Therese Kirrane, Opening Learning Program Manager at Shopify, have created opportunities for students within School of Business programs to earn several Shopify badges and expand employability skills.
The new Shopify Remote Working Badge came as a result of June 2020 Program Advisory Committee meeting, of which Kirrane was a part, during which external stakeholders asked how SLC was preparing students to work remotely. Kirrane offered to share Shopify’s criteria for remote workers. Shopify considers two skill groups, under which 31 attributes and abilities fall under: group mindset (e.g., self-directed learning, resilience, self-awareness) and operational expertise (e.g., time management, reliability, ability to prioritize).
Upon reading Shopify’s remote working criteria, Bovey-Armstrong had an aha! moment, realizing much of the criteria aligned with what she and fellow professors teach in relation to emotional intelligence assessment and the WorkPlace Big Five Profile™.
With the help of Professor Wendy Whitehead, Bovey-Armstrong created a reflection piece assessment related to students’ aptitude for remote work. The assessment covers 24 attributes and abilities (e.g., resilience, openness, empathy, flexibility and adaptability, determination).
60 students in Bovey-Armstrong’s MARK15 class participated in the assessment, with 13 students earning the Shopify Remote Worker Badge: Amanda Crooke, J.J. Dennis, Bryan Deroche, Shannon Godin, Michelle Greyling, Ethan Grice, Bibin Mankathra Prasannan, James McCarten, Zachary Raymond, Ruchika, Vitalii Salenko, Bandhan Singh, and Touhid Wadsariya.
See the digital credential on LinkedIn: Shopify Remote Working Badge.